The film is based on a Broadway production, and it stars MGM contract player Robert Montgomery as the title character. He appears opposite Irene Purcell, a leading lady who preferred stage work and didn't make many motion pictures. MGM later remade this story just six years later with Robert Taylor and Jean Harlow, called PERSONAL PROPERTY (1937).
While I think the remake benefits from slightly better production values than this talkie version, I feel Robert Montgomery gives one of his best performances here, and for that reason, the picture is certainly worth seeing. He exudes the perfect combination of glibness and charm, both infuriating and endearing. I guess you might say he's a posh trickster.
The main conflict involves Montgomery's recent release from prison, which caused considerable embarrassment to his well-off parents (C. Aubrey Smith & Beryl Mercer). Montgomery was sent to Cambridge when he was younger, given all the finest advantages in life, but made some bad choices that led to his temporary incarceration. Now that he's out, father and brother (Reginald Owen) want to send him away, far away, so there will be no more scandal. Mother and housekeeper (Maude Eburne) want him to stay, but there's too much arguing.
Montgomery ultimately leaves the nest and gets a job as a sheriff's assistant. He shows up with a head bailiff (Forrester Harvey) at the opulent home of Purcell. She's a woman over-extended on credit, about to lose all her most valuable possessions including the house.
Montgomery's boss has him spend the night to watch over the property and its contents, which Montgomery takes to mean watching over the lady of the manor as well. Ironically, she turns out to be the fiancee of Montgomery's brother (Owen).
There's an uproarious sequence where Montgomery's family comes to dinner, and they help keep Montgomery's real identity a secret. At the same time Montgomery doesn't let his relatives know the brother's fiancee is broke.
A few additional characters are seen. Charlotte Greenwood, who gets second billing over Purcell, plays a maid who tries her best to help Purcell keep up appearances. And Alan Mowbray plays one of his typically smarmy roles as a millionaire who's fond of Purcell and may bail her out financially.
Of course Montgomery and Purcell fall in love after a night of premarital precode sex that involves the ripping of undergarments. The physical consummation of their affections is confirmed when he makes breakfast the next morning and arranges slices of bacon on the plate to spell out "love."
These developments spell trouble for Purcell. Her engagement to Owen is called off, and she must refuse any advances from Mowbray since she knows the one truly in possession of her heart is Montgomery. It all somehow works out in the end, and the two lovebirds get a chance to start a life together.
While I think the remake benefits from slightly better production values than this talkie version, I feel Robert Montgomery gives one of his best performances here, and for that reason, the picture is certainly worth seeing. He exudes the perfect combination of glibness and charm, both infuriating and endearing. I guess you might say he's a posh trickster.
The main conflict involves Montgomery's recent release from prison, which caused considerable embarrassment to his well-off parents (C. Aubrey Smith & Beryl Mercer). Montgomery was sent to Cambridge when he was younger, given all the finest advantages in life, but made some bad choices that led to his temporary incarceration. Now that he's out, father and brother (Reginald Owen) want to send him away, far away, so there will be no more scandal. Mother and housekeeper (Maude Eburne) want him to stay, but there's too much arguing.
Montgomery ultimately leaves the nest and gets a job as a sheriff's assistant. He shows up with a head bailiff (Forrester Harvey) at the opulent home of Purcell. She's a woman over-extended on credit, about to lose all her most valuable possessions including the house.
Montgomery's boss has him spend the night to watch over the property and its contents, which Montgomery takes to mean watching over the lady of the manor as well. Ironically, she turns out to be the fiancee of Montgomery's brother (Owen).
There's an uproarious sequence where Montgomery's family comes to dinner, and they help keep Montgomery's real identity a secret. At the same time Montgomery doesn't let his relatives know the brother's fiancee is broke.
A few additional characters are seen. Charlotte Greenwood, who gets second billing over Purcell, plays a maid who tries her best to help Purcell keep up appearances. And Alan Mowbray plays one of his typically smarmy roles as a millionaire who's fond of Purcell and may bail her out financially.
Of course Montgomery and Purcell fall in love after a night of premarital precode sex that involves the ripping of undergarments. The physical consummation of their affections is confirmed when he makes breakfast the next morning and arranges slices of bacon on the plate to spell out "love."
These developments spell trouble for Purcell. Her engagement to Owen is called off, and she must refuse any advances from Mowbray since she knows the one truly in possession of her heart is Montgomery. It all somehow works out in the end, and the two lovebirds get a chance to start a life together.