Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

LOVIN' THE LADIES

Rita La Roy vamps Richard Dix
LOVIN' THE LADIES (1930). Director: Melville W. Brown.

Useless rich popinjay Jimmy Farnsworth (Jimmy Kearns) has such a cynical attitude that he thinks he can take any two people and get them engaged to each other in a week or so, and love has nothing to do with it. For his experiment he chooses an electrician named Peter (Richard Dix) and a somewhat plain and haughty woman named Betty (Renee Macready). Unfortunately, Peter falls for Joan (Lois Wilson), whom Jimmy hopes to marry, while in the film's funniest scene Jimmy is vamped by the highly aggressive Louise (Rita La Roy). Dix [Seven Keys to Baldpate] has about as much sex appeal as Ernest Borgnine, but he gives a good performance. Another cast stand out, after La Roy, is Virginia Sale as the saucy maid, Marie. This old drawing room comedy is fairly creaky and only intermittently amusing.

Verdict: Horny La Roy is a riot. **.

No comments: