THE KING AND THE CHORUS GIRL is a 1937 romantic comedy from Warner Bros., directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Fernand Gravet & Joan Blondell. The movie was written by Norman Krasna and none other than Groucho Marx.
Alfred (Fernand Gravet) is an ex-king of an unnamed European country who now resides in Paris in luxurious exile. The former royal is bored with his existence, until he reluctantly attends the Folies Bergere one night and discovers a flirty chorus girl (Joan Blondell) trying to attract his attention. Alfred assumes he'll just have a fling with her but the chorus girl, an American named Dorothy, isn't all that taken by his indolent ways. In classic movie fashion, the two fight, argue, deceive and fall in love with one another.
THE KING AND THE CHORUS GIRL was a starring vehicle for Belgian-born actor Fernand Gravey, whose name was adjusted to "Gravet" for American audiences. Warners tried very hard to turn Gravet into a star--after this film, the actor and Mervyn LeRoy reunited to make FOOLS FOR SCANDAL, which also starred Carole Lombard. FOOLS FOR SCANDAL is now considered one of Lombard's worst films (especially by me), and THE KING AND THE CHORUS GIRL isn't all that much better.
It's apparent that Warners was trying to make Gravet out to be a suave, sophisticated light romantic leading man. In this film and in FOOLS FOR SCANDAL, Gravet comes off as annoying and silly instead of witty or charming. In Gravet's defense it must be pointed out that the character of King Alfred doesn't do him any favors. Alfred spends most of the film drunk or asleep, and despite all his money and all the time on his hands, he isn't particularly keen to take advantage of his privileged status. One can easily see why Joan Blondell's Dorothy would play hard to get, but one can't believe she would fall for such a person, despite all his money. It's ironic that Groucho Marx co-wrote the script for this, since King Alfred is the type of elitist fop that the onscreen Groucho would verbally shred to pieces.
As a matter of fact, while watching this film I thought that it would have been much better if Groucho himself played the role of the King. The sardonic wit that the Marx Brother was known for is sadly absent here. The film lacks the snap and crackle of the best screwball comedies of the era, and the relationship between the King and Dorothy grows tiresome after a while.
The best thing by far in this movie is Joan Blondell, who displays her usual spunk and effervescent attitude. The thing is, this production is built around Fernand Gravet. He gets most of the close-ups and screen time, and in a number of sequences Blondell's on-camera time is reduced to some reaction shots. Trooper that she was, Blondell tries hard to make it work, but you have to wonder after all the time and energy she spent on the Warners backlot how she felt playing second fiddle to a mediocre European.
The supporting cast for the film isn't as notable as most Warners pictures made around this period. Edward Everett Horton does his typical flighty and fussy bit as a Count who is Alfred's advisor and protector, and Alan Mowbray plays a waiter who gets involved in the machinations of the leading couple's problems. Jane Wyman has a small role, and gets to use a French accent, as Dorothy's friend.
Warners didn't learn much from THE KING AND THE CHORUS GIRL. In FOOLS FOR SCANDAL, they cast Gravet as another European nobleman based in Paris, who chases after another spunky American female (Carole Lombard). That film didn't work either, and Gravet was soon back across the Atlantic, where he had a long acting career. Groucho Marx never wrote a screenplay for another film, which is somewhat disappointing. (For all I know, what Groucho originally wrote for this film might have been far better than what wound up on screen.) As for the final verdict on THE KING AND THE CHORUS GIRL, it's worth watching for Joan Blondell, but you have to put up with way too much Fernand Gravet to fully enjoy her performance.
No comments:
Post a Comment