By Your Leave (1934) User Reviews

Frank Morgan in innocuous RKO programmer...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 1 June 2007]

One of the pleasures of my movie-going life is to watch FRANK MORGAN in just about anything. His well established mannerisms gave many an MGM film a lift, particularly in the '30s and '40s, but here he's doing a job for RKO under Pandro S. Berman's auspices and his lovable presence is somewhat ill served by a less than original script.

But even a mild programmer like this has some compensations. MARGARET HAMILTON plays a nosy maid influenced by astrology and a platinum-haired BETTY GRABLE makes a brief appearance in one of her early starlet roles. But the story revolves around the "seven year itch" aspect of Frank Morgan's marriage and his own inability to accept the fact that he's middle-aged. GENEVIEVE TOBIN makes no particular impression as his understanding wife who reluctantly accepts the idea that they take a vacation from marriage. NEIL HAMILTON has virtually little to do as her romantic interest.

It's Morgan's restless, blustery performance that carries the film, but there's not much plot to carry. Based on a play, it's a theme better handled years later in THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH.

A vacation from each other

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 1 June 2015]

In 1934 Frank Morgan who had played conventional if slightly older leading men for the most part got a role that changed his entire career. He played the befuddled Duke Of Florence in The Affairs Of Cellini and got an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. After that for the rest of his career he played mostly variations on what he did in The Affairs Of Cellini. Roles such as in By Your Leave.

Which was a flop play on Broadway that starred Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Gish, but in the days of the big studios they bought even flop plays and turned them into decent entertaining films such as was done here. Morgan and Genevieve Tobin play the parts that Lindsay and Gish did on stage of a respectable married couple who feel their in a rut. The answer is to take separate vacations from each other and see what develops.

Both are tested him by vivacious Marian Nixon, her by explorer Neil Hamilton both are glamorous figures to them. But as this was the days of the new Code you know what the answer would be.

Gene Lockhart made his film debut here as a companion in revelry that Morgan picks up along the way. You'll also see young Betty Grable in a small part. Best of all is Margaret Hamilton as Morgan and Tobin's maid. The future wicked witch acts like a Dutch aunt to the future Wizard of Oz.

By Your Leave is a pleasant entertaining film and one that fans of Frank Morgan should not miss.

Pleasant Enough

[Calaboss · 6/10 · 1 June 2015]

If you took Bob Newhart's stammering, befuddled style and turned it up to 10, you'd have Frank Morgan. I guess some find it a bit grating, but I've always found it endearing. Morgan stars in this familiar story of a man in the throes of a midlife crises.

Margaret Hamilton has a small role in this as well, and while this film did not go on to distinction, a few years later Morgan and Hamilton would forever be remembered as the Wizard and Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. No flying monkeys here though, and nothing to really make this movie stand out. The whole thing pretty much centers on Morgan, and if you like him, you'll find this a pleasant enough way to pass 80 minutes.

Look fast for some early Betty Grable. She only gets about two minutes of screen time. There are a number of other familiar faces for fans of movies from the 1930's.

While the story idea is very hard to believe, it's executed so very well this can be overlooked

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 2 June 2007]

The basic idea for this film is a bit hard to believe. Frank Morgan plays a man who has become aware that he's middle-aged and no longer attractive to women other than his lovely wife. He has a yen to prove his virility--not by bedding other women but by seeing if he can at least get them interested! So, he discusses the idea of having separate vacations with his wife on the condition they be "no questions asked" trips--just like a variation on the Las Vegas motto, "what happens in New York, stays in New York". She is naturally hurt, but oddly she agrees to do this.

As far as Morgan goes, he isn't very successful with women but when he later has a chance at a conquest, he runs back to his wife at top speed--realizing he does NOT want anyone but her. Unfortunately, the reluctant wife IS very successful without even trying--getting handsome and rich Neil Hamilton to propose to her after spending just two days together! How all this works out in the end is something you'll have to see for yourself. I liked this slight film despite the silly plot, as the film actually evolved into a sweet little romance. Not a great film by any means, but a bit more than just a simple time-passer.

Oh, and by the way. At the beginning of the film look for a young and soon to be famous Betty Grable as a neighbor.

It doesn't take a wizard or witch to fix this marriage.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 19 August 2020]

Margaret Hamilton should spend more time wielding her broom as Frank Morgan's housekeeper in this delightful drawing-room comedy than interfering and bossing her boss around. He's married to the beautiful Genevieve Tobin come back but their marriage is a bit staid. Involved in show business, he flirts with neighbor chorus girl Betty Grable, tries to get my secretary to go to a show with him and eventually spends a night on the town with an escort. Tobin herself isn't idle, going to New York City with a handsome Neil Hamilton who has fallen in love with her. Each of them have temptations, but there's a power of magic in their marriage that doesn't require a crystal ball or hot air balloon to bring them back together.

While Tobin is lovely and Neil Hamilton dashing, it's Morgan and Margaret Hamilton, the future costars of "The Wizard of Oz" (who unfortunately did not share a scene together in that classic) who play off of each other beautifully as the incredible pros they are, reunited four years later for a delightful single scene in "Saratoga". Miss Hamilton runs the household as if she owned it, and neither Morgan or Tobin stand up to her, making her hysterically funny with great lines involving a variety of subjects including astrology. She shares one scene with Grable, and was reunited with her 15 years later for two bit parts a few of Grable's big budgeted musicals.

Based upon a flop Broadway play, this transfers nicely to the screen and features combination of scenes that are poisonous and humorous and never dull. Morgan, a surprising leading man in films of the early thirties, we both need each other is very likable and you can see a bit of the disappearing nitwit that he would play in his various Oz characters. Smooth editing and great art direction makes this a lot of fun. A few scenes making light fun of the pending production code and somehow wittingly slam it without being caught.

I love the way your generation waltzes

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 22 November 2013]

Mid-life crisis movie about a guy (Frank Morgan) who proposes the idea to his wife (Genevieve Tobin) that they take separate "no questions asked" vacations. Subject matter could have lent itself to one of those melodramatic weepers from the period but it all stays fairly light. The plot is contrived and not ever as interesting as it sounds on paper. Morgan's stammering performance wears thin pretty fast. Genevieve Tobin plays the wife and looks quite a bit younger than Morgan. They were nine years apart in real life. She was a lovely actress whose face reminds me a little of Joan Blondell. Neil Hamilton (always Commissioner Gordon to me) plays the guy Tobin becomes interested in. Worth a gander for a very young and very adorable Betty Grable. She's almost unrecognizable and had I not been tipped off by another review pointing her out, I doubt I would have realized it was her.

earlier look at the Wizard and the Wicked Witch

[ksf-2 · 8/10 · 1 June 2015]

(Minor Spoilers) This one has both the "Wizard" and "The Wicked Witch" from the Wizard of Oz... Frank Morgan is the husband Henry who is looking for trouble on the side, and somehow gets his wife to agree to a week of separate "adventures". Margaret Hamilton is the maid to his wife Ellen (Genevieve Tobin). According to the trivia on IMDb, this only ran on Broadway for about a month before closing. I'm surprised that it shut down so fast. It has an interesting plot, some intrigue and some snappy lines; i guess it just needed some fixing up that didn't happen. It was also an interesting era in Hollywood, where the Hay's code was just starting to be enforced, so I'm actually surprised that RKO was able to make it into a film, with the less than proper storyline. The story has Henry trying to get a date, but it never seems to work out -- one brings along her husband, one changes her mind and just drives off, which was a little odd, since his friends were also in the car. Ellen, the wife, has her own adventures, and does pretty well with Neil Hamilton, who will play "Commissioner Gordon" in Batman. Also keep an eye out for "Andree"... Marian Nixon. She had started in the silents, did well in the talkies, but seems to have retired from the biz when she married big-shot director William Seiter. Frank Morgan plays his usual stuttering, stumbling character. This one turns into a madcap caper, with the usual whirlwind blow up scene at the end (kind of). It's a pretty good story. An entertaining hour and 15 minutes, with some fun actors.