Vivacious Lady **** (1938, Ginger Rogers, James Stewart, Charles Coburn, Beulah Bondi, James Ellison) – Classic Movie Review 2709

Producer-director George Stevens’s expert and delightful 1938 comedy pairs James Stewart and Rogers effectively. The stars are perfectly cast and on their best form.

Stewart plays young university professor Peter Morgan who takes a quick trip to the city and falls in love with nightclub performing showgirl Francey Brent (Rogers). After a whirlwind romance, he impulsively marries her. But when he goes back home, he hasn’t the courage to break the news to his stuffy parents (Charles Coburn, Beulah Bondi) in his conservative, ultra-respected family.

Stevens’s movie proves to be a nimbly written, sparkling romantic comedy with vivacious star performances, tasty support acting and expert direction. Among the highlights of this enduring film are Stewart’s scenes with his university president dad Charles Coburn and Rogers’s stand-up row with Stewart’s old flame Frances Mercer.

Also in the vintage cast are James Ellison, Franklin Pangborn, Grady Sutton, Jack Carson, Hattie McDaniel, Phyllis Kennedy, Willie Best, Spencer Charters, Maude Eburne, George Chandler, Lloyd Ingraham, Dennis O’Keefe, Edgar Dearing and Barbara Pepper.

The screenplay is by P J Wolfson and Ernest Pagano, adapted from a short story by I A R Wylie. The score is by Roy Webb and the cinematography by Robert De Grasse, who was Oscar nominated for Best Cinematography, along with James Wilkinson for Best Sound.

A nice little earner, it cost $703,000 and took $1,206,000, a recorded profit of $75,000.

Rogers recommended Stewart for the role. However, Stewart became ill after just four days of shooting, but RKO shelved the production from April till December 1937 and had to recast, losing Donald Crisp and Fay Bainter.

Steve McQueen planned a remake that happily never happened.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2709

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