It's easy to see why Joan Crawford was one of the top box office draws of the mid 1930's. She was simply one of the most exquisitely beautiful and natural movie stars, not a superb actress, but purely ravishing in looks, poise and personality. She sang and danced, clowned and cried with conviction, and audiences adored her. The masculine 1940's and 50's look was far off, so here she is at her most appealing.This romantic comedy has Crawford as a madcap socialite traveling aboard her father's (Frank Morgan) private yacht around the Greek isles where she meets a struggling archaeologist (Brian Aherne) who thinks she's a secretary. Fate reveals the truth in New York when he meets her father, and once all is revealed, the sparks continue to fly. Aherne is one of Crawford's better romantic leads, not a he-man like Gable or dull like real-life hubby Franchot Tone, but a likable masculine male who will not tolerate her nonsense, yet would never bore her, either.This isn't all champagne corks and society shindigs, however. This delves into visions of the lives of the idle rich and how a working man could never tolerate such an existence, particularly in the depression. When Aherne is made a vice president in the company run by Crawford's hard-as-nails granny (the fabulous Jessie Ralph), he goes ballistic as he realizes the pointlessness of it all and his title in name only position. Eric Blore and Arthur Treacher exchange some great "sissy" dialog as butlers of the different households, and the always wonderful Aline MacMahon is fun as Aherne's assistant. There is also a fabulous Christmas sequence where the guest at the unseen Ralph's annual shindig sing one of the funniest versions of "Silent Night" ever heard on film.This has one of the wittiest screenplays of MGM's golden age (outside a "Thin Man" movie), with gems such as Morgan's retort to Aherne, "After all, Rome wasn't burnt in a day!" and Ralph's acceptance of Aherne when he fibs by telling her that his ancestors were horse thieves and pirates. "Good Stock", she says, as she could in that truly inimitable vinegary way.

Tall, dull and handsome Brian Aherne is no match for Joan Crawford in this tepid, loose screwball that never catches fire. Trouper Crawford looks fit and trim riding a donkey backwards as well as stunning in a form fitting wedding gown but Aherne's Terry lacks the male intensity to parry with Joan for the film to balance properly making it a rather lopsided and unsatisfying affair. The only , albeit brief, moments of humor belong to two of the best go to servants in film history, Arthur Treacher and Eric Blore. Spoiled little rich girl Kay Bentley literally falls into an archaeological dig in Greece where she meets Terry O'Neil who is at first annoyed but soon bewitched by Kay. He pursues her back to the states and the two begin a romantically abrasive relationship that continues right up to the altar.As the entitled and rebellious Kay, Crawford's character is given little to work with and undeveloped while Aherne's thick headed and socially inept Irishman is an insensitive but then as now acceptable stereotype. He may have a doctorate but he's Irish and lack of decorum in polite society is to be expected. Support wise, Frank Morgan does his usual dithering and calming influence Aline MacMahon lends council in a typical day's work for both but like the rest of the cast fail to put any life into this formless formulaic that limps along rather than stride.

MGM came up with a very predictable formula for Joan Crawford in the 1930s. Despite the films' limitations, casting her as a poor girl worked well in the box office. In most of these films, she wanted to marry a rich man and live a life of leisure, but regardless of her aims, she became known for playing her earthy ladies from working-class roots. Despite this, the studio worked against type and cast her as a rather shallow rich lady in I LIVE MY LIFE--a role that seemed ill-suited to her. On top of that, the film really didn't seem well written, as the characters often act in ways that make little sense.The film begins with Crawford and her clan on a yacht in the Greek Isles. Crawford goes to shore and meets an archaeologist (Brian Aherne) and they hit it off pretty well. However, he says something about his prejudices against rich and shallow folks (that's her in spades), so she lies and tells him she's a secretary--not a pampered 'princess'. However, after spending all this time with him, she just leaves--without telling him who she really is, as she knows the relationship can't work.Later, after she never answered any of his letters to her in America, Aherne comes to the States to look for her. He soon finds out that she is NOT who she says she was, so he digs deeper and eventually finds her in her mansion. They argue a lot and split. Then, when he's giving a lecture in a nearby museum, she arrives--to tell him how much she doesn't love him. Naturally, this is a giant cliché and soon they begin snogging (for those not acquainted with 'British', this is KISSING). Soon, they are preparing for a wedding(!?).In the meantime, Crawford's father (Frank Morgan) finds out his investments have gone bust and the family is in jeopardy of losing all their stuff so Crawford knows she can't marry Aherne but must marry a rich guy. Now considering that this film was made during the Depression, the idea of Morgan or Crawford having to get a real job doesn't seem THAT awful. It was hard to care about some flibbertigibbet who has to vacate their mansion when the average American was pondering whether or not cat is the other white meat! So worrying about whether this brood can keep their wealth seems rather unimportant. So, will Crawford marry Aherne or some other dude? Well, instead, she has the idea of having Aherne suck up to her grandmother--maybe she will give them the money they 'need' to bail out the family. So, in other words, she wants Aherne to become a man-whore. And, once he gets a job from her where he gets to sit around and do nothing and collect a HUGE salary, the audience is expected to feel sorry for him! As for all this nonsense, does anyone care? Well, as for me, I didn't and had a hard time following this film to the end--especially since late in the film Crawford showed herself to be a total brat. In one scene, she destroys thousands of dollars worth of things around the house and a designer dress!! Poor little pampered princess!I recommend this film only for completists who insist on seeing all of Crawford's films--otherwise, skip it. It's a sad shadow of her better films of the era. A sad misfire with an uninvolving plot and rather unlikable characters--aside from the crusty grandmother. This, by the way, is quite a waste as the film did have a great supporting cast consisting of Frank Morgan, Arthur Treacher, Eric Blore and Aline MacMahon.

There are three major things wrong with this movie: Joan Crawford, playing a role that should have gone to Carole Lombard; and the script, which they must have been writing as they were shooting, and the direction -- you can almost pinpoint the moments when the director must have been screaming "More energy, I want more energy up there!" Joan and Brian Aherne meet cute at an archaelogical dig in Greece, then fall in love (Joan has to lie about her wealthy background), part, Brian travels from Greece to marry her, and then they go back and forth and back and forth -- we love each other, we don't love each other, we're getting married, we're not getting married. It must have been hard on the screenwriters to keep having to come up with endless boring and unplausible reasons for keeping them apart. Obviously, I didn't enjoy this, but I must say you haven't lived until you've watched the scene here where Joan verbally attacks her wedding gown -- honest, like two pages of dialogue -- before ripping it to shreds.