blanche-2 Set in the absolute seat of anti-Semitism and after Austria was annexed by Germany comes this little light comedy, "Paradise for Three" starring Robert Young, Frank Morgan, Mary Astor, Edna May Oliver, Henry Hull, Reginald Owen, and Florence Rice.Many, many classic films are set in European locations, even though for years, they were done on Hollywood sets for the most part. Was it because of the European market? To give the films an exotic feel? Even if the film were adapted from a foreign book, a studio could still set it in the U.S. But no, it was always Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, etc.Why would anyone set a film in Vienna in 1938? No idea, except that Hollywood (and I guess the U.S.) ignored what was going on in Europe for several years. Even when it was acknowledged, studios were careful in their films not to state that people were Jewish (in the Mortal Storm they were non-Aryans) or talk about the Nazis (in the Mortal Storm they showed swastikas but never used the word Nazi), at least at first.Robert Young is Fritz Hagedorn, a constant contest winner (26 in all) who wins the Tobler Soap motto competition. In second place, unknown to anyone, is the big guy himself, Rudolph Tobler (Frank Morgan). The prize for both is a ski vacation in the Alps, which Tobler takes under an assumed name and brings his butler (Owen) along as an associate.The hotel is ready to lay out the red carpet for Tobler because his housekeeper (Oliver) has called to say the contest winner is a wealthy gentleman is arriving and has to have the best of everything. She has to hang up before she can give his fake name, so when Fritz arrives, he gets a suite and all the perks. When Tobler arrives, they take him for a bum and throw him up in a freezing cold attic room.Believing Fritz to be the rich one, Mary Astor sets her eyes on him and makes a play. While in the hotel room with Fritz and Tobler, Fritz opens some brandy. When Tobler tastes it and identifies it by name, as a very expensive brandy, she realizes she's got the wrong guy. So she changes lanes.Fritz meanwhile is falling for Tobler's daughter (Rice). She tells him that she's poor, knowing he doesn't want to marry out of his class.Very funny film with some wonderful character acting from the hotel people (Hull, Herman Bing, Sig Ruman), a great dishwashing scene, Tobler being introduced to the features of his hotel room (broken window in the middle of window, ice in the sink, rock hard mattress), and Edna May Oliver skiing. By the way, she was 55 at the time of this filming and died at 59.The acting from the rest of the cast is delightful. I guess Hollywood least of anywhere cared what was going on in the rest of the world. Just put in a few yodelers, show some mountains, and that's it.

vincentlynch-moonoi The first time I watched this film, I started out my review by saying, "I'm surprised at how positive the other reviews here are of this film. And to be honest, I'm surprised that I have a negative view of this film...Maybe watch this once to enjoy Frank Morgan and Edna May Oliver. But this one gets a thumbs-down from me, despite my liking the cast very much."I watched the film again last evening, and had a completely different take on it. I found it to be...well, I thought of the word charming and I thought of the word delightful.Frank Morgan has long been my all-time favorite character/supporting actor. And this is classic Frank Morgan...and filmed the same year as he was the Wizard Of Oz (although he definitely looks a little pudgy here)! The other delight here is the wonderful Edna May Oliver, who turns in another of classically drool performances; she was an eccentric gem on screen! Robert Young is the male love interest here, and does very nicely. Not so impressive was a rather limp role and performance by a generally underrated actress -- Mary Astor; Astor had a film career that seemed like a roller coaster ride, with this being one of her lesser roles. It could have been a good role -- she plays a broke woman out to find a millionaire...in this case Frank Morgan. Florence Rice is the love interest of Robert Young here; she does just fine. I have rarely seen any reason to be impressed with Reginald Owen, although he does his job here. Henry Hull, a veteran character actor, is interesting here.The film is supposedly set in the German Alps, where Morgan -- a rich businessman -- goes incognito and is mistaken for a poor man who has won a contest to stay at a hotel in the Alps. Meanwhile, Young has no job, but is mistaken for being rich. Oliver is watching over her employer (Morgan), and the only real disappointment in the film is that in the end they don't realize how much they are for each other.This is one of those B pictures that with a little more in terms of production values, might very well have been an A picture. A good example of the poor production values is how fake the background shots of the Alps look. Nevertheless, I do recommend this film to enjoy the wonderful Frank Morgan and the equally wonderful Edna May Oliver.

MartinHafer This is one of those films that you see and then can't understand why it isn't more famous. This delightful film is clearly one of the best comedies of the 1930s--you today practically no one has heard of it! The film begins in Austria. The owner .of a soap company (Frank Morgan) has sponsored a contest where the two people who write the best company jingle each will receive a two-week trip to a resort in the Alps. The first prize is won by Robert Young--a very poor man who desperately needs a job. The second prize is claimed by Morgan himself! Whether this is clearly nepotism or not is uncertain....but you assume his owning the company MUST have had something to do with this win! As for Young, he needs money more than a trip but decides to go anyway--perhaps if he hobnobs with the rich at this resort it will open up some doors to a job. As for Morgan, on a lark, he decides to go there as well--but incognito. He's tired of the high society life and decides to just go as a regular guy--in regular guy clothes. However, before they both arrive, Morgan's nosy housekeeper (Edna May Oliver) calls ahead to the hotel to be sure they treat her boss well--after all, he's a millionaire and should be pampered. But, in a case of mistaken identity, the hotel manager thinks that Young is the rich millionaire--and he and his assistant dote on him and give him a deluxe room. At the same time, they are both snobs and when they see Morgan in his ordinary clothes, they assume he's just some poor jerk who won the contest and treat him like dirt!The hotel workers are not the only ones who make this same mistake. A gold-digger (Mary Astor) thinks Young is her meal ticket and begins throwing herself at him incessantly. Only later, when she reads through a copy of "Who's Who" does she realize that Morgan is rich and single--then she chases him like a hungry lion chasing a Porterhouse steak! In addition to these characters, the vacation begins to really hum when Oliver shows up--along with Morgan's daughter (Florence Rice). In addition, Morgan's butler (Reginald Owen) comes along--posing as a rich industrialist. Oliver and Owen are fantastic in these comedic roles and provide lots of rich color to the film. Rice, though not in a comedic role, was also quite good and it's odd she never really gained fame as a star.Once Oliver and Rice show up, in addition to the plot involving Astor trying to vamp Young and Morgan, Rice and Young hit it off as well. The only problem is that Young doesn't know that Rice is rich--and she's afraid to tell him because he says he can't stand rich folks! So how will all these stories work out and will the snobs at the resort ever get their comeuppance? See for yourself--though I can pretty much guarantee you'll see everyone get what they deserve. The way the film takes all these elements and ties them all together AND makes you laugh out loud (I know I did several times) is wonderful and just goes to show you what wonderful writing and acting can do. Despite not having a lot of 'big name' stars, this is a great little film and one of the reasons I didn't give it a 10 was the sloppily made skiing sequences--these will NOT come off as well as the James Bond skiing scenes, that's for sure! Overall, a lot of fun and not a bad date movie provided you have someone who also appreciates movies made in "the good old days", too! And, by the way, if she or he doesn't...find someone else!By the way, my theories for as to why this film is a hidden gem, I have two ideas. First, while these were all fine actors, they were not top names and some times this is a strike against a film. Second, this was made just before WWII and feelings towards Austria were NOT at an all-time high now that the country was absorbed into the Nazi empire. Plus, once WWII started, it wasn't like the studio was going to re-release a comedy that takes place in Vienna and the Alps.

cynthiahost I just saw this movie and i was surprised.I had saw a movie that was made in 1955 Dire Manners in Schnee sometimes back. Like the twilight zone this other version was the same way. Well I learned that This was based on a book by Erich Kastner. He lived in that region it's just MGM saw the novel first.In 1955 it was remade in Germany.But this American version was a lot better. The version made in 1955 was too Hiemantish.But what an Irony. The first version was an attempt to make Florence Rice a star. The remake was attempt to make Johanne Heesters daughter a star. Neither worked. Germany never saw this version until 1995 on TV. So the filmmaker was not aware that it had already been a film.This version is better .