Please Believe Me (1950)

the audience applauded

Simply Perfect

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The film Please Believe Me is based on a simple premise, that people who are from Texas have to be rich and vulgarly so in fact. When Deborah Kerr, a most prim and proper English lass inherits property in Texas everyone assumes she inherited something like South Fork. Especially after the English tabloids get a hold of the story and she goes sailing to the other side of the pond to claim her inheritance.On ship three guys start buzzing around Kerr, playboy Robert Walker, millionaire Peter Lawford, and lawyer Mark Stevens. Walker has a real good reason for wanting to marry her, he's owing big bucks to gangster/gambler J. Carrol Naish so his courtship is tinged with some big desperation.People will recognize the resemblance with this and the earlier RKO Ginger Rogers classic, Tom Dick, And Harry. If you think you know who Rogers winds up with after seeing that one, you'll be wrong. Please Believe Me also bears strong resemblance to another MGM film with Jane Wyman, Three Guys Named Mike.Kerr's career in America was zooming into high gear at this time, she was doing a number of classic films like King Solomon's Mines and Edward My Son. This one is funny, but it seems like it was done as an afterthought, all the men and her happened to be free so let's do this property we've had sitting around for a while.Funny, but Please Believe Me won't be on anyone's top ten.

I watched this last night and I have to say that it was a fun way to spend 90 minutes. The storyline was zany and I thought that the actors did a good job with what they had to work with. Of course, Deborah Kerr, the reason I even watched this, was lovely and fun to watch. It shows that she was having a good time with this role. Some of her amused facial expressions seemed absolutely genuine. The three men in hot pursuit of Miss Kirbe were amusing and easy on the eyes. James Whitmore is the one who really stood out for me. There was one moment with him that just tickled me to no end. I thought that he looked like a funnier version of Spencer Tracy.This was #40 in my quest to view all of Deborah Kerr movies and I found it worth the effort. It was nice to see her in a comedy even if it was lightweight. It still confirms that she never phoned in a performance even if the role wasn't "Oscar worthy". This is one that I'm sure that I will watch again.

Sometimes I wonder why people who don't understand little movies like these didn't just turn them off. No offense to the other reviewers. They are, of course, entitled to their opinions.However, for the romantics out there that can easily grasp the comic confusion of 3 men after (and sometimes not) one supposed heiress, this is a well-made romantic comedy that would hold up today with gorgeous scenery and a lovely soundtrack. I'm a chick who loves chick flicks. This isn't a guy flick by any stretch unless said guy digs chick flicks. We chicks don't get films like The Departed (this one doesn't care for it), but we romantics get a film like this.2 of the 3 leads didn't quite make the first tier of films (one died at age 32, sadly). If this film had one more certifiable movie star, then this would have sent it to the level that might have made it memorable to many. I'm so grateful I take a chance and record films like these on TCM and then discover new faces and a new film to keep on my DVR. This isn't the finest review. This is a suggestion to the lovers of light romantic comedy to record it the next time they see it and give it a look see. It works for me and did for this film, too:)

According to the TCM notes, Ms. Kerr was offered this by MGM as a respite from her usual dramatic roles. And while she's more remembered for her dramas, she turns out to be a natural comedienne. Playing a presumed heiress courted by three con men (and the one who wins her is a surprise--it's not the biggest star of the three), she offers dry, inventive line readings and priceless facial reactions; the lady even can do slapstick. Kerr was at her prettiest and most spirited here, and it's a relief to learn that MGM resisted the temptation to boost the budget and cast June Allyson. As a shipboard romance, it's an assembly-line job and short on real wit, but its leading lady does sparkle.