Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16594 in VHS
• Released on: 1991-01-23
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Black & White, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Customer Reviews

on the joy of living
Quite different from the swashbuckling Fairbanks as he falls for an actress played by Irene Dunne who is supporting a lazy whiny family one of whom is played by Lucille Ball. It could also be called a musical since Irene Dunne sings quite a bit. Douglas Fairbanks is a happy go lucky who shows Irene Dunne the joy of living.

Chief Two-Bucks!
Though nearly forgotten today, this charming and enjoyable comedy musical directed by Tay Garnett and starring Irene Dunne and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is a little gem. My favorite studio from the 1930's, RKO, surrounded this good story by Dorothy and Herbert Fields with top production values and some very nice songs from Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. The story is slight but quite charming and becomes very funny if you stay with it.

Irene Dunne is Margaret Garret, a broadway and radio musical sensation mobbed at every turn by adoring fans. She is rescued from one of these mobs by Daniel Brewster, a wealthy young shipping tycoon with his own island in the South Seas who has fallen for Margaret from afar. She, of course, promptly has the brash Daniel arrested as a masher! When he brings her to court and the judge is going to give him six months for doing what amounts to nothing, Margaret persuades the judge to go easy on him.

To her dismay, however, the judge uses a little known law to appoint her his probation officer, creating just the opportunity Daniel needs to show Margaret how to have fun. She is all responsibility, supporting her entire family, who have become much too dependent on Margaret and her ten thousand dollar a week salery, which they squander as fast as she can earn it.

Dunne, who many forget starred in Show Boat and other great musicals in this early portion of her career, does a nice job with some very pretty Jerome Kern melodies such as "Just Let Me Look at You" and "You Couldn't Be Cuter," the latter which she uses as a lullaby to get her twin nieces to sleep after a show. Lucille Ball is her not so adoring sister and understudy, Salina, chomping at the bit to be in Margaret's shoes. Alice Brady and Guy Kibbee are her mother and father. Her dad has no end of ingenious methods of sneaking liquor into every container in the house!

Daniel's enthusiasm for living life to the fullest finally wears down Margaret's defenses and a night on the town loosens her up-- maybe too much! The ever responsible Margaret gets tight and very irreverent as the two record their own song, have a drinking contest, and have a hilarious time at a rollerskating rink. Fairbanks shows off his special charm and Dunne is a hoot as she constantly reminds everyone who'll listen that she is Margaret Garret and can do as she pleases!

After a few twists and turns, it is obvious to Margaret she will have to choose between her family and her own happiness. Dorothy and Herbert Fields' story resolves everything quite nicely and the final scene is quite enjoyable. Because of the expensive production values RKO poured into this film, it was considered somewhat of a disappointment in 1938, coming as it did on the heels of Dunne's success in The Awful Truth with Cary Grant. Today, however, it is easy to enjoy it for the little gem it is rather than what it is not.

This film slides by on its charm and a slight premise at first, but treats those who stay with it to a night on the town with Irene and Doug which is quite memorable. A fun and charming little film that will hopefully get a second life on the small screen. A nice surprise for those who haven't seen it.

An expensive flop

"Joy of Living" was an expensive flop for RKO in 1938 and it is not hard to see why. The film copies bits of other much more successful films but it just does not come together here.

Irene Dunne plays a successful musical comedy actress who supports a lazy family and has no time for herself. Along comes bohemian Douglas Fairbanks Jr who teaches her to relax and eventually break away from her stilted lfe.

So many ideas can be sourced in better films - the family of leeches from Jean Harlow's "Bombshell", a court scene reminiscent of "The Awful Truth", ladylike Dunne acting zany like "Theodora goes Wild" etc etc. It is very contrived. Douglas Fairbanks is no substitute for Cary Grant. Dunne glides through the nonsense competently but her performance lacks the spontanous joy of "The Awful Truth". She betrays a touch of disdain for the familiar material.

The supporting cast are all familiar. Alice Brady does her scatty mother but is very unsympathetic and Lucille Ball is shrill and unattractive. The best thing is Dunne's cool singing of some lovely Jerome Kern tunes.