Looking on the main ICM thread,I noticed a discussion about the original To Be or Not to Be,which led to me seeing Carole Lombard's brilliant, tragically final performance again. Checking BBC listings a few days later,I was thrilled to find that a Lombard was being shown that I've not heard of!,which led to me putting my name down.The plot:Stuck in a marriage that has gone off the rails long ago,Alec and Maida Walker spend each day having huge arguments with each other. Crossing paths with widow Julie Eden, Alec feels like entering a new relationship for the first time. Talking to Maida about getting divorced,Alec discovers that Maida will not let this marriage in name only end easily.View on the film:Proceeding when the Hays Code was at the peak of its powers,Richard Sherman's adaptation of Bessie Breuer's book is impressively frank about the broken state of Alec and Maida Walker's marriage,with the blunt exchanges between the couple having a sourness and a prickly nature which lay bare the disintegrated state of the relationship. Blossoming Eden and Alec's romance at X-Mas time,Sherman takes any hope of Christmas cheer away with a silk Melodrama which sows the quality light touch Alec has with Eden with the bitterness Maida can't stop expressing,even in front of Alec's deathbed! Working twice with Lombard in 1939,director John Cromwell & cinematographer J. Roy Hunt give the romance between Alec and Walker a playfulness with on the snow covered streets,which melts into a rich Melodrama atmosphere,as stylish overlapping images and soft close- ups expose the possible fatal clouds on the horizon.Taking the role after being labelled "box office poison" Kay Francis gives a magnetic performance as Maida,with Francis sinking her teeth into the take no prisoners exchanges Maida has with everyone. Toning down her comedic side, Carole Lombard (who replaced first choice Katharine Hepburn when she became "box office poison") gives a fantastic performance as Eden,who is given a breeziness from Lombard which gives the Melodrama a sincerity. Catching the eye of all the ladies, Cary Grant gives a marvellous performance as Alec,thanks to Grant balancing his leading man charms burning whilst delivering abrasive dialogue,as Alec and Maida find themselves in a marriage that is in name only.

Shrewdly acted soaper. Usually these weepies milk over-emoting but not here. Grant, Lombard and Francis under-play despite strong feelings, thereby highlighting character rather than emotion. That opening scene at the river is delightful, a great hook. The remainder, however, switches to understated drama. Seems Grant's trapped in a loveless marriage that his influential but misled parents embrace. But when he meets the winsome Lombard, he's smitten. He'd like to divorce the icy Francis and marry Lombard, but remains torn until the conniving wife becomes impossible. However, now Lombard's too wary of his complications to follow through, and wants to take a job in faraway Paris. So what will happen, as if you didn't know.Kay Francis as the ice-queen wife is truly unsettling. With an unblinking stare, a majestic bearing, and a regal wardrobe, she's almost scary. In fact, it's sort of hard seeing how Grant could have fallen for her, except for her deadpan good looks. Note that the star-crossed Lombard remains deglamorized throughout much of the movie. So her rivalry with Francis dwells on personality instead of glamour. That's a tribute, I think, to her ego as an actress. However, except for the river opening and bar scene, Grant's celebrated comedic touch is mostly secondary to his romantic quandary. Still, his innate charm shines through. Anyhow, I didn't recognize Helen Vinson, who plays the cruel Suzanne, but I sure do now. And finally, catch little Peggy Ann Garner as the tyke—given more screen time, she could have stolen the show. Except for the car crash, there's no action to speak of. Still, the talk moves along smoothly enough, without dawdling. Fortunately, fans of the three principal players should find plenty to enjoy, which all in all, amounts to a bigger draw than the rather patchy storyline.

Cary Grant is trapped in a loveless marriage with viper Kay Francis, who only wants him for his money and status. He meets and falls in love with pretty artist Carole Lombard. He asks Kay for a divorce and she eventually agrees. But it's soon obvious she has no intention of letting him go and will do whatever it takes to keep her sham marriage intact. Grant and Lombard are both great. Kay Francis is excellent as the venomous wife. Helen Vinson plays her bitchy friend. Charles Coburn is disappointingly cast in a serious part as Cary's stuffy father. Enjoyable soaper with a good cast that should please even those who normally don't love these types of films.

The film begins with Cary Grant meeting and soon falling in love with Carole Lombard. The only trouble is that it turns out Cary is already married! And, to make matters worse, the wife has no intentions of giving him up to Lombard.A long time ago, I saw this movie and wasn't at all impressed. I really felt that the film was somehow trivializing divorce and supported the idea that infidelity was okay. However, after seeing it again, I realize that the movie really was a lot better than I first thought and I am happy I gave the film another chance. The missing piece that I forgot all about was that the wife (Kay Francis) was truly an awful person and she had tricked Cary Grant into marrying her and never loved him. Given that she went into the marriage fraudulently and given the viper-like speech she made at the end of the film, it really did make sense why Cary dumps this "lady" in favor of sweet Carole Lombard. This is a very adult but slickly made film. It's only deficit is that Charles Coburn (who I love) is given a rather bland supporting role.