blanche-2 Claudette Colbert is Marilyn, "The Gilded Lily" in this 1935 film also starring Ray Milland and Fred MacMurray. Colbert plays a young woman who hangs out with a reporter friend, Peter, (MacMurray) as she waits to be swept off her feet. Enter Milland as Charles, a duke visiting the U.S. incognito. They fall in love, and he decides that he wants to marry her instead of his fiancée back in England. His father (C. Aubrey Smith) talks him into breaking up with the fiancé the honorable way: return to England, see her face to face, and then return to the states. Peter, who has no idea that Charles is Marilyn's dream man, gets wind of the royalty and blows their identity in the paper. Marilyn thinks Charles lied to her about his feelings and is simply returning to England to get married. When Peter realizes Marilyn fell for Charles, his paper does a scandal sheet-type job on Marilyn. Before she knows it, she's the '30s version of a Tiger Woods' girlfriend and launched into a singing career.It's all very odd -- MacMurray acts like a total jerk, and Charles apparently assumes she's been sleeping with Peter and invites her for a weekend at an inn when she's in England doing her act. She really should have dumped both of them, but she chooses one instead.Colbert is very beautiful, and this was a breakthrough role for MacMurray. Milland is very charming - he came up through the ranks slowly and can be seen uncredited in "The Man who Played God" in 1931.Dated but pleasant, basically thanks to Colbert.

mark.waltz And that's to the type of man any 30's shop-girl would want. The girl is Claudette Colbert and the boy is Ray Milland, a British Lord who is incognito as a tourist. In a Pat O'Brien type role, Fred MacMurray is the guy Colbert obviously loves as evidenced by their recurring scenes right outside the main library in New York on 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. In fact, the stone seats they take over are still there today! Colbert gets a bit of notoriety because she publicly rejects him when she finds out who he really is, and ends up singing at a fancy nightclub even though she really has no talent as a singer. The scene where she fumbles the song but brings her audience to laughter by ad-libbing is very funny. However, the dress she wears (with a huge feather in her nose) is tacky.It's obvious whom she'll end up choosing, but it's how she makes the choice that will keep audience's interest and the trouble she gets into as she makes up her mind. This isn't one of the better 30's screwball comedies as it's not a great script, and the story has been done better. There are, however, some great scenes of 30's New York on the subway and in Coney Island that are of interest today. Colbert and MacMurray do share a good chemistry, which is why they appeared in more than half a dozen similar films over a 15 year period.

movingpicturegal Entertaining romantic comedy starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray as a pair who have a "date" each Thursday meeting on a city bench to eat popcorn together, sans shoes. He seems to be in love with her, but she longs to meet her dream man for her idea of an ideal romance. And she does - in the form of handsome Ray Milland, who assists her in a crowd situation on the subway. They have a fun date together at Coney Island where the camera takes us on a wild ride on the roller coaster with them; they fall in love instantly. She thinks he's out of a job - he doesn't tell her he is a Lord (and has a fiancée back home in England!). But when she sees his picture in the paper (coincidentally attached to a story done by MacMurray, a reporter) she believes she's been duped. Follows a series of publicity newspaper stories, out of her control, which causes her to become famous as "The No Girl" for saying "no" to a lord. Then he thinks she was just in the whole relationship with him for the publicity. Well, based on her huge public fame, she is amazingly hired to sing and dance in her own solo nightclub act - even though, as seen in a quite amusing performance scene, she has zero talent! This is a fun, enjoyable romp - a little frustrating in the way of many romantic comedies in which you feel like you know a couple should be together, but misunderstandings have caused them to remain apart. The ending of this was not particularly what I hoped to see either. But - Claudette Colbert sparkles as always, she's great. Fred MacMurray also does a fine job in his part, Ray Milland looks very young, handsome and, well, rather dashing! One thing I wondered about in this film - why are the Colbert and MacMurray characters so satisfied with just a date on a bench once a week, how come they never desire to get together for a dinner out, go to a movie, or any other normal type activity?! Seemed a bit odd to me. All in all, a quite enjoyable film.

fedor8 Lame ol' comedy that is as unfunny as it is absurd in plot. I mean, did I miss something?... Colbert gets the WRONG man in the end! She ends up with MacMurray instead of Milland. MacMurray plays a deceitful journalist who'd sell his own mother for a good story, plus he ruins Colbert's romance with Milland out of sheer jealousy - yet he is the one we are supposed to find likable, whereas Milland is supposed to be a snob! This is the only (comedy) film - as far as memory serves me - that has the girl getting the wrong guy. Besides, MacMurray is bland.It was weird seeing a young Milland; I don't know if I would have recognized him very quickly had I not read his name in the opening titles. MacMurray had his breakthrough with this movie, and only God knows why. Colbert is charming and cute, and does her best but the script offers little.There is the absurd way in which Colbert and Milland fall into a dumb bad-comedy-style "misunderstanding". Later, when MacMurray publishes lies about Colbert she isn't even properly angry at him! Jesus, even comedies have to follow SOME basic logic regarding human behaviour.