vincentlynch-moonoi
I'm not going to try to tell you this is a great film, but it's a decent B film, and -- a rarity -- it has a very different story line than you've probably seen before.Robert Young, who does nicely here, plays an ace advertising man who is fired from his job, despite being in love with the bosses daughter...or perhaps because he is in love with the bosses daughter! So, he opens his own business -- a sort of "I'll do anything to help you...for pay" business. This leads to finding a new love interest, though he doesn't know it at the time, and what is mistaken for a kidnapping.Considering the year -- 1935 -- this is more sophisticated than many of the films of that era. Not one for the DVD shelf, but a rather pleasant way to spend about 90 minutes.
crispy_comments
Even a weaker B-movie like "Calm Yourself" is more entertaining to me than your average blockbuster of today. However, the humour is rather frantic and forced, as other reviewers have mentioned - plus that unfortunate blackface gag must bring the rating down.Madge Evans deserved to be a bigger star, and deserved better scripts than this one. I enjoy Robert Young in anything, but he plays a slightly less likable character here than usual. Preston (Young) comes across as rather callous in switching from one fiancée to another, even taking into account that this is standard behavior in screwball comedies. However, I did enjoy the fact that he made romantic doodles about both women...you know, the kind we usually see adolescent girls scribbling in movies, writing their names in combination with the names of their crush-object.My main beef is that Preston shows no qualms or regret about sabotaging the potential relationship between a father (Ralph Morgan) and daughter (Madge Evans), who don't know each other. Although initially working at the father's request (he's trying to keep his daughter away until he can muster the courage to tell his young second wife about the existence of a grown daughter - and thus, his real age), Preston goes a bit too far in deceiving both of them and badmouthing each one to the other...apparently for purely mercenary reasons. But of course it all works out in the end, and I'm definitely taking this silly movie too seriously! I should, ahem, calm myself.
wes-connors
Advertising executive Robert Young (as Preston "Pat" Patton) is fired from his job for kissing boss' daughter Madge Evans (as Mary Elizabeth Allenby). Taking a cue from his frequently uttered "Calm Yourself" motto, Mr. Young starts his own business, called "Confidential Services, Inc." Young explains, "Our large and versatile staff will pawn your jewels, send your strategic telegrams, hold your hand during operation, or do almost anything you ask." Just say "Calm Yourself" and allow Young to handle it, for a fee.Young gets off on the wrong track by delivering the wrong drunk to an overweight wife's bed. Next, he is hired to keep beautiful Madge Evans (as Rosalind) away from her father's new wife because rich old papa Ralph Morgan (as Kenneth S. Rockwell) has been passing himself off as a younger man. So, Young hires Ms. Evans as his secretary, allowing her to become involved in some comic misadventures. They also become romantic. A baby and a dog are added to the confusion. Everybody tries to remain calm.**** Calm Yourself (6/28/35) George B. Seitz ~ Robert Young, Madge Evans, Betty Furness, Ralph Morgan
David (Handlinghandel)
It's not terrible. It actually gets better as it goes along. But emblematic of the frantic efforts for a laugh is the shoe-eating dog: Robert Young, who has set himself up as someone who can resolve sticky situations for pay, finds himself saddled with a huge dog. The dog is ill behaved in the extreme and neither cute nor likable. When things seem to have slowed down, the dog is, no pun intended, trotted out again to give proceedings a hectic flavor.Madge Evans, the daughter of client Ralph Morgan, is appealing. Betty Furness is fine as the girl Young is after when we meet him. Nat Pendleton is always good for a smile when he shows up, as he does so often in movies of this decade.There are far worse movies. But this one can get on one's nerves in its attempts at being funny every second.
AD
