There Goes the Bride (1932)

That was an excellent one.

Best movie of this year hands down!

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

There Goes the Bride is a story about a rich, young woman who runs away from her father and her fiancé; then when she's on a train, she gets robbed and is forced to seek refuge with a perfect stranger, with whom she bickers and subsequently falls in love. Does that sound familiar? Too bad for Henry Koster, Wolfgang Wilhelm, and W.P. Lipscomb, because their movie went completely unnoticed, and two years later, It Happened One Night swept the Academy Awards!It's a very similar movie, except this one has British actors in it and a side plot involving a misidentify instead of a hitchhiking scene. Jessie Matthews is the adorable lead, and she sings the song "I'll Stay with You", whose theme is repeated throughout the film, making it a delightful old movie to watch. I happen to think It Happened One Night is overrated, as there were dozens of romantic comedies at that time which were just as cute if not cuter. I only came across this forgotten film because it was David Niven's first movie, and it's become a bit of a challenge to watch his early films and try to spot him among the extras. I wasn't successful, since the movie's loaded with crowd scenes. Still, I'm glad I watched it, and if you like watching obscure very old movies, you might want to give this one a try, too.

This British film begins with a father practically selling his daughter to a man in order to make a big business deal take place. Not too surprisingly, the bride soon runs away—after all, there appears to be no romance whatsoever—just a sleazy business deal.Shortly after this interesting start, the film falls apart for me. That's because the runaway bride is now on a train and it sure looks as if she's trying to rob a man. So what does the man do when he awakens? Does he call the police? Well, considering she refuses to account for what she was doing or who she was, his actual course of action in the film makes absolutely no sense—none. Instead of turning her in, he takes her with him and gives her 24 hours to tell him who she is! When she does tell him the truth, she inexplicably gets him to agree not only NOT to turn her in but hide her for 24 hours—at which point, he new husband will be on his way to South America. Who thought this was a viable plot for a movie?! Certainly not any sane person and the film completely lost me at this point. A radical rewrite was needed, as the plot simply made no sense at all and the film was a waste of time.

Another enjoyable Jessie Matthews' movie! I didn't know she was in it till I started to watch it. I don't share the view she was over-acting.She's just got an impish effervescence about her contributions in light-hearted musicals & comic situations of farce & misunderstandings, near-misses & genuine harmless fun that she excelled herself in! I simply don't understand why she was not a more famous & more sought after talent! Probably it's because her movies were made in the 1930s & in black & white. This doesn't detract from quality cinema! All of her movies I've seen are enjoyable. This is no exception!

"There goes the Bride" is essentially and simply a farce (albeit one set -- for no very clear reason -- in France). As such, the plot makes about as much sense as in any other of the many films in which the heroine proves herself irresistible by making the leading man's life a complete misery; and it contrives to be considerably less irritating than most of them.As the pert and wilful Annette, Jessie Matthews is all big eyes and eloquent reaction; it is interesting to note that she has already established the character without any real dialogue to speak of until after the first few scenes. In fact, for an early sound film this shows a notable willingness to tell its story through visuals in addition to the laughs obtained by an often genuinely funny script; there were moments when the audience were literally shouting with laughter.It has to be said that Miss Matthews, in her first leading screen role, sometimes overacts. If she were not already in possession of top billing one might assume that she is doing her best here to steal the show! However, it is hard to say where the actress's cinematic inexperience begins and the impudent Annette's 'putting on an act' ends; certainly her charm is more than enough to excuse any exaggeration. Conversely, Owen Nares has been criticised for lack of charisma, although I couldn't see it -- I did notice one or two flat line readings on his part that sounded as if they should have gone for a retake.All in all I found this surprisingly good entertainment: undemanding fluff in a polished production that manages to be witty without being annoying, ridiculous without stupidity, and sneaks in a good deal of conscious naughtiness into the bargain. I'm frankly amazed that this apparently rated a 'U' rather than an 'A' ('Adult') certificate on release, as I'd have thought parts of it were quite risqué!