JohnHowardReid Copyright 15 March 1937 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. New York opening at the Capitol: 15 April 1937. U.S. release: 19 March 1937. 84 minutes. (An excellent DVD from Warner Archive).SYNOPSIS: The scene is England, and Miss Harlow is an American widow who is in financial straits. Taylor plays an irresponsible playboy of good family who gets into trouble for selling a car he didn't own and is disowned by his family, including father E. E. Clive and brother Reginald Owen, who consider him hopelessly and irredeemably shiftless. Taylor accepts a sheriff's offer to watch the house and furnishings of widow Harlow to make sure she moves nothing. COMMENT: High-grade upper-crust comedy, with the cast in fine form, under the expert direction of W.S. Van Dyke. Harlow is given several opportunities as a comic impersonator and acquits herself well. The accent is much more on her ability as a comedienne than on her physical charms, which, if anything, are under-emphasised - although cinematographer William Daniels does give her some attractive close-ups, he also treats us to an equal number of unflattering angles. Similarly, although she has a good wardrobe by Dolly Tree, she slops around for a good deal of footage in an unrevealing bathrobe. And Marla Shelton, at her first appearance wears a more gorgeous gown than any Harlow puts on. Also Harlow's brunette hair is not as alluring as her platinum blonde tresses were.Oddly, therefore, it is not Harlow but Robert Taylor who walks away with the film's acting honors. Harwood's play is a typical comedy of manners, its storyline slight but long on co-incidence, its chucklesome but one-joke plot fleshed out with a host of captivating and wonderfully quirky characters. Yet, though surrounded by such scene-stealing stalwarts as Reginald Owen as the blustering brother, E.E. Clive as his nervous nellie dad and Una O'Connor as a quarrelsome slavey (not to mention Forrester Harvey's punctilious bailiff, Billy Bevan's adroit waiter and Barnett Parker's unintelligible lounge lizard), Taylor is completely unfazed, delivering a professional performance that is at once suave, sophisticated, charming and wholly likable.Incidentally, Harwood's play was previously filmed by M-G-M in 1931 under its original title. Robert Montgomery had the Taylor role, whilst Irene Purcell enjoyed the Harlow innings and Charlotte Greenwood impersonated the cook-of-all-work. Cast in the same roles in both versions were Reginald Owen and Forrester Harvey. The 1931 picture was directed by Sam Wood from a screenplay by Sarah Y. Mason, with additional dialogue by P.G. Wodehouse.

vincentlynch-moonoi I was looking forward to watching this film, because I have come to appreciate more Robert Taylor's films, and more recently enjoyed several of Jean Harlow's films. But, at least to me, the situation or "set up" for this film was way too contrived to be believable. I just don't believe that even the basic situation -- that a man would be required to live in a woman's house under these circumstances -- is just beyond belief.I have no complaint about the performances. Taylor was good in light comedy. I did think -- as another reviewer mentioned -- that Harlow was a bit heavy handed here. However, the chemistry works, even if (at least for me) the plot didn't. Throw in some old reliables -- Reginald Owen, the delightful Una O'Connor, and Cora Witherspoon, and you have the ingredients for a good comedy...except it didn't pan out.I don't recommend this film. Both leads have far better fare you can select from.

Robert Gold I have been seeing many of Jean Harlow's films thanks to the glorious T.C.M. In the past few months, I have caught The Girl From Missouri, Reckless, Dinner at Eight, Wife Versus Secretary, and Red Headed Woman. My opinion of her as a comedienne has definitely improved after seeing her growth and maturation as an actor. Actually, all the titles I mentioned are better than Personal Property. As for this movie, Jean is charming as ever, but she does not exhibit the same sparkle as she had in previous films. She looks beautiful as always, but she does show a bit of the extra weight also exhibited in Saratoga. Of course, this was due to her kidneys failing, as her health was in serious and fatal decline. The movie itself is a bit on the slow side, and I think Robert Taylor, though handsome, wasn't up to her level. I think part of the film fell flat due to his performance. One thing that totally puzzles me is that in the movie Robert Taylor's family all have British accents except for him. He sounds totally American. What's the deal with that? A piece of trivia: I noticed that in the film she wore William Powell's star sapphire ring, a sort of engagement ring. If you are a Jean Harlow fan, this movie should be seen, but she's so much better in Red Headed Woman, The Girl From Missouri, and Bombshell, just to name a few. It's sad to see that Jean Harlow is largely forgotten by so many in our society today. Read David Stenn's book Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow for superb information on her.

KyleFurr2 This was directed by W.S Van Dyke the same guy who also directed the overrated The Thin Man and three of it's sequels. The movie stars Jean Harlow and this wasn't as good as some of her other comedies but better than some others like Saratoga. This was the only movie she made together with Robert Taylor. I always thought Taylor was overrated but he's pretty good in this movie. Taylor plays a man who just got out of prison for six months and his dad and brother want him gone now. The dad and brother own a business and it's doing pretty bad. Taylor then meets Harlow at a party and falls for her pretty quickly but she can't stand him. He follows her home and winds up getting a job as her butler and this is a pretty good comedy.