MartinHafer
Don Marshall (Ray Milland) is rich...really, really rich. And he's met a nice young lady, Irene (Anna Neagle) and wants to see her happy and successful. So, he buys a fancy fashion studio and gets her hired as one of their models...and she has no idea that Don is helping her not that he is 'Madame Lucy', the 'lady' who owns the shop! Soon, Irene goes from a poor working girl to the rage of society, as there is a mix up and folks think she's related to some rich O'Dare family back in Ireland. In the meantime, one of Don's friends, Bob (Alan Marshall) has also fallen for Irene. Who will end up with her at the end?This is a mildly enjoyable comedy-romance. Nothing stands out other than the acting, though the film is an enjoyable time-passer. Nice...but that's about it.
GManfred
Very glad I caught this old-timer. I am a fan of musicals, especially good ones, and this one was good. It is also old and was on Broadway in 1926, according to the website. According to Maltin, most of the music of the original has been left out, but what remains was very good; The title song, "Alice Blue Gown" and especially a number I never heard of before, "You've Got Me Out On A Limb", a lame title but very tuneful. The 'Alice' number was done several times, including a jitterbug version by an all-black ensemble, which was bizarre. The plot, in a nutshell, was a lovers triangle, between Ray Milland, Anna Neagle and Alan Marshal and they were ably supported by some of Hollywood's best second line actors, May Robson, Roland Young and Arthur Treacher among them. It is a musical with some light comedy and the whole effect was enchanting, to dust off an old-fashioned word. Do yourself a favor next time it's on - it's worth your time if you're a fan of 'charming old musicals'.
Robert J. Maxwell
It seems to have been powerful entertainment when it opened as a play in 1919, and why not? There's nothing offensive about it, there are a few amusing moments, and some tunes that have lingered in musical memory like pressed flowers. You'll recognize them when you hear them, not necessarily the names, but the melodies. "Irene" is constantly used as the theme. And "Alice Blue Gown" is even more endearing when you realize the eponymous color was named after Teddy Roosevelt's daughter Alice.But, overall, what a bore. In 1940, the circumstances, the social conditions of the play, were only twenty-one years behind the audience. That's not very far. Twenty-one years ago, as I'm writing this, Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City, there was an Ebola outbreak in Africa, Windows 95 and Javascript were introduced, and "Die Hard With a Vengeance" was playing in theaters. The good folks of 1940 could remember bustles as easily as we can remember Whitney Houston and Michael Jordan.The audience could get with "Irene" but I had trouble. I haven't got the slightest interest in fashions, in class endogamy, or in haute couture. It was cute, what with the stereotypical Irish family, featuring Anna Neagle, and the aristocratic Proddies, featuring Ray Milland, but it had no substance, no comedy really except the most innocent sort -- cute, you know? -- and no bite, a kind of cinematic cotton candy. Somebody with a different sense of humor, Howard Hawks or Ernst Lubitsch, might have twisted it into shape.However, I can understand its appeal for some people, in the middle of these turbulent times.
Kalaman
"Irene" is very entrancing screen version of Joseph Tierney and Harry McCarthy's 1919 stage musical, glossily directed and produced by Herbert Wilcox. I happened to catch it the other night, and I loved it. I was entranced by the charm of the actors -- and the songs, while not first-rate, are quite pleasing. Anna Neagle stars as whimsical Irish sales girl Irene O'Dare who is introduced into Long Island's high society culture, and becomes infatuated with two suitors, Ray Milland and Alan Marshall. Billie Burke plays their mother who becomes impressed with Irene, turns her into a celebrity sensation in "Madame Lucy" dress collection. May Robson is very memorable as the irrepressible Granny; so is Roland Young as Milland's partner in business. The highlight is the sumptuous ball sequence shot in Technicolor, "Alice Blue Gown", where Irene, dressed in blue, is waltzing with Milland in a very tuneful number. The other songs include, "You've Got Me Out on a Limb", "There's Something in the Air", "Worthy of You", and "Irene". Enjoyable stuff.
AD
