More 1930s ace-ness next with 1936’s classic romantic comedy And So They Were Married which, though a very smart film, pretty much spoils its plot in the title. Whoops. This one tells the tale of how a snowstorm leaves a divorcee and a widower stranded in a hotel for the holidays. Having both sworn off romance, they find themselves falling for each other anyway, prompting their sneaky kids to try everything they can to keep them apart.
This is another delightful discovery and I’m pleasantly surprised that an old film from the ‘30s can make me chuckle and smile so hard. It features performances so good it’s damn near irresistible, with a phenomenal set-up. Stephen (Melvyn Douglas) kind of hates women since the passing of his good lady and he's essentially raised his boy Tommy (Jackie Moran) single handedly. Edith (Mary Astor) has likewise been getting along just fine without men and has encouraged precocious daughter Brenda (Edith Fellows) to be wary of them. Naturally Stephen and Edith cross paths en route to the hotel and sparks fly during a bit of road rage. Brilliantly, upon arriving, they realise that due to the storm they’ll now be the only two guests at the huge hotel for a few days.
It's classic stuff, with the two initially despising each other, leading to some fun moments with them squabbling on the slopes and tormenting one another with party streamers in the banquet hall.
Of course, given the spiky chemistry and fizzing dialogue between the two, it’s inevitable that they’ll eventually fall hard for each other. Then the story switches smartly to being about the kids who are mortified to arrive and see their parents making doe-eyes at each other.
Fellows became a huge child star at the time and it’s easy to see why. She’s impossibly precocious here, giving a fine performance of the ‘Gee, golly!’ variety. Young Jack Moran is not too shabby either as Stephen’s spirited son. There’s some wry moments as the kids row and exasperate each other before deciding to join forces to keep their parents apart, like a reverse Parent Trap.
That it all takes place during Christmas week adds some delicious festive spice to proceedings, with the children trying to misbehave so their parents will want to keep them apart, but not wanting to be too naughty for fear that Santa might be watching.
There are some brilliant scenes of these two kids properly going for it and battering lumps out of each other in the snow. The fights look convincingly real at times and in one scene with the nippers brawling beneath the Christmas tree, I swear Douglas appears to shout out Moran’s real name as he tries to restrain the boy – a sure sign the kids were likely really going at it.
Elsewhere there’s a tremendous scene with Stephen and Edith declaring their love for each other on a speeding toboggan – right before it crashes. This looks like a serious breakneck stunt that could cause bodily injury, but of course they toddle off unharmed, laughing about the fun of it all. It’s bonkers, Jackass-esque stuff for a 1930s comedy and I love it.
It all escalates outrageously, culminating in an alleged kidnapping and a trip to jail. It’s deliriously entertaining, a comedy with real bite from an age before Hollywood settled on a more schmaltzy, safe formula for films like this. This is a Christmas cracker.
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