Her Cardboard Lover ** (1942, Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor, George Sanders) – Classic Movie Review 9964

Director George Cukor’s 1942 MGM black and white romantic comedy Her Cardboard Lover stars Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor and George Sanders. It proved the final film of Norma Shearer, one-time ‘The First Lady of MGM’ or ‘Queen Norma’.

Still in her prime at 42, Norma Shearer retires from the movies slightly hurt with this flop Cukor comedy, which is the third version of Jacques Deval’s French play Dans Sa Candeur Naïve (filmed with Marion Davies in 1928 as The Cardboard Lover, and with Buster Keaton in 1932 as The Passionate Plumber). The screenplay by Jacques Deval, John Collier, Anthony Veiller and William H Wright is based on the English version of Deval’s play, Her Cardboard Lover, by Valerie Wyngate and P G Wodehouse.

Robert Taylor plays poor young songwriter Terry Trindale, the pretend lover wealthy Consuelo Croyden (Shearer) agrees to hire to discourage her former fiancé Tony Barling (George Sanders) and keep him in his place and keep her from succumbing to his charms. Obviously, Terry, who needs the money to pay off his gambling debts to her, is soon in love with Consuelo for real.

Sanders heads a good, stylish support cast and both Shearer and Cukor work hard and effectively as always, but the script remains earthbound. Maybe the material was just past its sell-by date.

The song ‘I Dare You’ is written by Burton Lane and Ralph Freed.

Joan Crawford and Hedy Lamarr both turned down the role. Shearer selected it over Mrs Miniver, which she refused, not wanting to play a mother with a grown-up son.

The film was a box-office flop, taking $637,000 in the US and Canada, and $336,000 elsewhere, causing a loss for MGM of $348,000.

Shearer had just come off a previous flop comedy, We Were Dancing (1942), so she probably thought it was a good time to retire, though she said she was taking an extended vacation. Later in 1942 she married Sun Valley ski instructor Martin Arrouge, thereafter largely avoiding the limelight but dabbled in the film industry. Later she discovered Janet Leigh and Robert Evans. She was a conservative Republican active in the presidential campaign of Dwight D Eisenhower. Montréal-born Shearer lived happily on till 1983, passing away at 80. She won an Oscar for Marie Antoinette (1938).

In 2008 she was commemorated on a set of postage stamps honouring prominent Canadians in Hollywood, along with Marie Dressler, Chief Dan George and Raymond Burr.

Also in the cast are Frank McHugh, Elizabeth Patterson, Chill Wills, Ben Carter, Hobart Cavanaugh, Thurston Hall, Raymond Hatton, Olin Howlin, Bud Jamison, King Baggot, John Berkes, Heinie Conklin, Richard Crane, Frank Elliott, Rex Evans, Bud Geary, Winifred Harris, Harry Hayden, Fred Kelsey, Arthur Loft, Louis Mason, Ottola Nesmith, William H O’Brien, Dick Rich, Florence Shirley, and Gertrude Short.

Jacques Deval’s French play opened in Paris on 13 January 1926.

Valerie Wyngate and P G Wodehouse’s English version of the play, Her Cardboard Lover, opened in New York City on 21 March 1927 and ran for 152 performances starring Jeanne Eagels, Leslie Howard, Stanley Logan and Valerie Wyngate. Then Tallulah Bankhead starred with Leslie Howard in a 1928 London production running for 173 performances.

In December 1934, Shearer’s husband, the MGM production chief Irving Thalberg, announced his plan to make a musical version of the play, starring Grace Moore and Maurice Chevalier, but Chevalier backed out because he was asked to take second billing to Moore.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9964

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