Ina Claire performing as Jerry in Avery Hopwood's "The Gold Digger" (1919)
could lay claim to being the first gold digger of stage fame - a part she
perfected in the uproarious pre-coder, "The Greeks Had a Word for
Them" (1932). She received high praise for every role she tackled, which
makes it quite sad that her film output, especially those early talkies
where she could have sparkled, was so sparse. "Rebound" found her
playing opposite Robert Ames, an actor with whom she was quite
involved (they were to be married) but sadly this proved to be his last
movie. All the Claire sparkling wit and scintillation was here as she
played Sarah, a bright and snappy modern woman who marries Bill
who is on the "rebound" and ends up a bit sadder and wiser!!
Bought this on a whim and so glad I did, I almost forgot the plot as I lost myself in the sparling repartee between Claire, Robert Ames and Robert Williams. They sounded as though they were having just as much fun as the audience. It may have been just wonderful to get a screenplay from Donald Ogden Stewart that gave them roles they each could really work with. Bill (Ames) marries Sarah on the rebound when flirtatious Evie (Myrna Loy) marries Patterson (Hale Hamilton), her latest fling but on their honeymoon they meet up with Patterson and Evie who is already bored and looking for a new thrill!! Claire is just magnificent, you can't take your eyes from her - yes, Myrna Loy is suitably slinky as Evie but it is Claire's vivacity that makes Loy take a back seat!!
I hoped and prayed that in this movie Robert Ames would be more of a hero (like his performance in "Holiday") but no, Evie had only to beckon for Bill to become like a giggling schoolgirl. Waiting in the wings was the ultra sophisticated Johnny (played magnificently by Robert Williams) who really loves Sarah but hides it under a dilettante persona - however she just thinks of him as a chum!! There are emotive scenes toward the end. Sarah, an intelligent, high spirited girl finds that love has changed her (something she vowed to her father it would not do) - she becomes clingy and even begs Bill to accept her love. Realising that she has lost her true self, it paves the way for a blistering showdown - where all players are gathered but Claire is hypnotic.
Sadly both Robert Williams and Robert Ames didn't live to see 1932. Williams who had originated the role of Johnny Coles on Broadway (his greatest success was in "Abie's Irish Rose") died of peritonitis. Ames who had starred on Broadway, vaudeville and the movies died of the D.Ts.
Bought this on a whim and so glad I did, I almost forgot the plot as I lost myself in the sparling repartee between Claire, Robert Ames and Robert Williams. They sounded as though they were having just as much fun as the audience. It may have been just wonderful to get a screenplay from Donald Ogden Stewart that gave them roles they each could really work with. Bill (Ames) marries Sarah on the rebound when flirtatious Evie (Myrna Loy) marries Patterson (Hale Hamilton), her latest fling but on their honeymoon they meet up with Patterson and Evie who is already bored and looking for a new thrill!! Claire is just magnificent, you can't take your eyes from her - yes, Myrna Loy is suitably slinky as Evie but it is Claire's vivacity that makes Loy take a back seat!!
I hoped and prayed that in this movie Robert Ames would be more of a hero (like his performance in "Holiday") but no, Evie had only to beckon for Bill to become like a giggling schoolgirl. Waiting in the wings was the ultra sophisticated Johnny (played magnificently by Robert Williams) who really loves Sarah but hides it under a dilettante persona - however she just thinks of him as a chum!! There are emotive scenes toward the end. Sarah, an intelligent, high spirited girl finds that love has changed her (something she vowed to her father it would not do) - she becomes clingy and even begs Bill to accept her love. Realising that she has lost her true self, it paves the way for a blistering showdown - where all players are gathered but Claire is hypnotic.
Sadly both Robert Williams and Robert Ames didn't live to see 1932. Williams who had originated the role of Johnny Coles on Broadway (his greatest success was in "Abie's Irish Rose") died of peritonitis. Ames who had starred on Broadway, vaudeville and the movies died of the D.Ts.