A somewhat fascinating film when considered purely as an artifact of the times in which it was produced. While the story reflects the background of the Great Depression and it is clearly evident in the plight of the character portrayed by Robert Young, it is the black storm clouds of the coming war that cast their shadow across this motion picture. Based on a German novel that is harmless enough to have escaped the flames of a Hitlerian bonfire, the setting is Vienna, 1938. The fluff that is the plot plays out in a city facing its utter doom as Hitler is fated to soon shatter forever the loveliness of the cultural mecca. The delusional will hysterically welcome the evil seducer into their midst and crush the illusion this motion picture projected on thousand of screens. It is the beat of storm troopers' boots that echo in the background, overwhelming the soundtrack as the cast frolics in the Alpine snow soon to run red with the blood of Nazi victims. It is as if monstrous hordes of black helmeted ski troops line the peaks of the slopes, waiting to sweep savagely down upon hapless Hollywood stars. The characters seem oblivious to what is to come but their future is inescapably intertwined with the geo-political environment in which they are trapped. This film stands as a curious moment in time, a snapshot of people dancing on the precipice of the abyss. The Europe in which they exist will soon be no more and they will be engulfed in the wave of unrelenting violence and horror that will break upon them within months. The creative minds behind the production can not ignore the headlines and that shadow of fear fleets across the shallow smiles of the actors. The theatre audiences that watched this film were well aware of what was happening and perhaps had just seen a newsreel of goosestepping SS parading before the swastika draped maniac who would soon touch all their lives with his frigid fingers. It is this background that is the foundation of this production and our hindsight cuts deeply into the way we view this film. The audience of the era sat uneasily in their seats, conscious of the horror awaiting them but in determined denial regarding the future. The audience of today can see that future and watches powerlessly, looking at the images that are now tainted by the dark knowledge of historical perspective. The broad grins that illuminate the opening credits seem forced now and strange in the harsh light of reality. But what indeed is reality once time and history have had their way with it? The images in this movie are the present and what we see is what was as well as what will be. It is in this context that the true value of the film can be discovered and considered.

The Tobler Soap Company has sponsored a slogan contest that an unemployed young man (Robert Young) wins and the owner of the company (Frank Morgan) places second (!). They both win a two weeks vacation at a fancy resort in the Alps. For the trip Morgan's Rudolph Tobler decides to go incognito and uses the name he won the contest under – Edward Schultz. The movie revolves around mistaken identities – who is rich and who is poor. The snobby hotel head staff (the wonderful Herman Bing and Sig Ruman) and the gold digging Astor character think Young is wealthy and Schultz poor. In the hopes that he will leave the hotel, Bing and Ruman give Schultz not a guest room but the crummiest little room in the hotel. To spice things up, Astor finds out that it is Schultz who is wealthy, Schultz (i.e., Tobler's) daughter (Florence Rice) shows up and immediately falls for Young, and along with her comes Tobler's long time – and nagging – housekeeper played by Edna Mae Oliver. The cast – especially Edna Mae Oliver and Frank Morgan make this movie a delight. It was also fun to see Jack Norton playing yet another drunk – this time at a water fountain. Talk about being typecast! And what an impressive (and somewhat sad) list of uncredited actors – Gustav von Seyffertitz, and Anna Q Nilsson for heaven's sake. Except for the crummy skiing scenes, this movie is a joy to see.

MGM certainly used a low budget to make PARADISE FOR THREE, and it shows when it comes to the outdoor winter scenes supposedly taking place on ski slopes at an Alpine resort. The use of process photography for all those mountain tops covered with snow is obvious.Nor did they use a top cast but the results are splendid nevertheless.An up and coming Robert Young has the star role of a contest winner who is mistakenly thought to be a millionaire by Herman Bing and Sig Rumann when he arrives at his destination at a swank hotel. He immediately attracts the attention of Mary Astor, hard on her luck as far as money is concerned and looking for an easy catch.But the fun begins when Frank Morgan decides to check on how the hotel treats the lower class and finds himself mistaken for a mere contest winner without money. The pretty blond Florence Rice plays his daughter who naturally falls in love with penniless Robert Young, who doesn't know she's a rich girl until the final reel.It's predictable and silly, with great support from Edna May Oliver as Morgan's housekeeper of thirty years who joins the group at the hotel to look out for Morgan's health and keeps an eye on his "woman trouble" with Astor. She makes the most of an amusing role in true Edna May Oliver fashion.This is one that's little known today. To put it in context, it probably played the lower half of bills in the "double feature" days which is why I call it a programmer. I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of those B-films that surprised audiences by being more entertaining than the main feature, which happened occasionally.

This is one of those films that you see and then can't understand why it isn't more famous. This delightful film is clearly one of the best comedies of the 1930s--you today practically no one has heard of it! The film begins in Austria. The owner .of a soap company (Frank Morgan) has sponsored a contest where the two people who write the best company jingle each will receive a two-week trip to a resort in the Alps. The first prize is won by Robert Young--a very poor man who desperately needs a job. The second prize is claimed by Morgan himself! Whether this is clearly nepotism or not is uncertain....but you assume his owning the company MUST have had something to do with this win! As for Young, he needs money more than a trip but decides to go anyway--perhaps if he hobnobs with the rich at this resort it will open up some doors to a job. As for Morgan, on a lark, he decides to go there as well--but incognito. He's tired of the high society life and decides to just go as a regular guy--in regular guy clothes. However, before they both arrive, Morgan's nosy housekeeper (Edna May Oliver) calls ahead to the hotel to be sure they treat her boss well--after all, he's a millionaire and should be pampered. But, in a case of mistaken identity, the hotel manager thinks that Young is the rich millionaire--and he and his assistant dote on him and give him a deluxe room. At the same time, they are both snobs and when they see Morgan in his ordinary clothes, they assume he's just some poor jerk who won the contest and treat him like dirt!The hotel workers are not the only ones who make this same mistake. A gold-digger (Mary Astor) thinks Young is her meal ticket and begins throwing herself at him incessantly. Only later, when she reads through a copy of "Who's Who" does she realize that Morgan is rich and single--then she chases him like a hungry lion chasing a Porterhouse steak! In addition to these characters, the vacation begins to really hum when Oliver shows up--along with Morgan's daughter (Florence Rice). In addition, Morgan's butler (Reginald Owen) comes along--posing as a rich industrialist. Oliver and Owen are fantastic in these comedic roles and provide lots of rich color to the film. Rice, though not in a comedic role, was also quite good and it's odd she never really gained fame as a star.Once Oliver and Rice show up, in addition to the plot involving Astor trying to vamp Young and Morgan, Rice and Young hit it off as well. The only problem is that Young doesn't know that Rice is rich--and she's afraid to tell him because he says he can't stand rich folks! So how will all these stories work out and will the snobs at the resort ever get their comeuppance? See for yourself--though I can pretty much guarantee you'll see everyone get what they deserve. The way the film takes all these elements and ties them all together AND makes you laugh out loud (I know I did several times) is wonderful and just goes to show you what wonderful writing and acting can do. Despite not having a lot of 'big name' stars, this is a great little film and one of the reasons I didn't give it a 10 was the sloppily made skiing sequences--these will NOT come off as well as the James Bond skiing scenes, that's for sure! Overall, a lot of fun and not a bad date movie provided you have someone who also appreciates movies made in "the good old days", too! And, by the way, if she or he doesn't...find someone else!By the way, my theories for as to why this film is a hidden gem, I have two ideas. First, while these were all fine actors, they were not top names and some times this is a strike against a film. Second, this was made just before WWII and feelings towards Austria were NOT at an all-time high now that the country was absorbed into the Nazi empire. Plus, once WWII started, it wasn't like the studio was going to re-release a comedy that takes place in Vienna and the Alps.