Basil and Joyce (Leslie Howard and Bette Davis) are hammy stage actors who have an incredibly tempestuous relationship. They have been engaged repeatedly...and soon end up breaking it with yet another enormous fight. However, this time Basil vows to be a better person and make the marriage work...and to do this he wants to do something decent and unselfish...for once. Henry is the son of an old friend and Henry is beside himself because his dopey fiancee, Marcia (Olivia de Havilland), is so smitten with Basil that she goes to all his performances. He asks Basil to do him a favor...come to the house and act like a boorish lout so that Marcia gives up her infatuation.
This movie features actors acting like over-actors. For Joyce and Basil, it fits their characters. But some of the rest of the cast overact shamefully. De Havilland, one of my favorite actresses, overdoes it here as the smitten lady. Worse is Bonita Granville, who usually was a good child actor but here she overacts so much you cannot help but hate her AND be pulled out of the story. I blame the director for these excesses...and the acting was at times most excessive. It's a shame, as it's generally a good story and stars some of Warner Brothers' best....but the overacting was a serious problem here. I give it a 6...when it easily could have earned an 8 or more.
This movie features actors acting like over-actors. For Joyce and Basil, it fits their characters. But some of the rest of the cast overact shamefully. De Havilland, one of my favorite actresses, overdoes it here as the smitten lady. Worse is Bonita Granville, who usually was a good child actor but here she overacts so much you cannot help but hate her AND be pulled out of the story. I blame the director for these excesses...and the acting was at times most excessive. It's a shame, as it's generally a good story and stars some of Warner Brothers' best....but the overacting was a serious problem here. I give it a 6...when it easily could have earned an 8 or more.