Lady Behave! (1937)
Promising Premise Partially Realized
11 August 2019
Fitfully funny slice of madcap. Movie picks up steam as it goes along, especially when the kids come in. Seems only way Paula can keep sister Clarice from jail for bigamy is to get her sister's first marriage annulled. But to do that Paula has to pretend to be wife Clarice in first husband Cormack's wealthy household. Seems Cormack was too foggy to remember the real Clarice, so the trick might work, that is, if his two rambunctious teens will accept their new mom. If this sounds complicated, it is, so you may need a scorecard.

I wish there were more snappy lines to go with the fast-paced hijinks, but apparently the censors were active- (IMDB)- given the.touchy premise of fake marriage. As a result, the dialogue doesn't help the potential, leaving the chuckles to various antics instead.

Anyway, Eilers does well as the sober-sided Paula who centers the film; then too, I think I notice a faint facial resemblance to Joan Crawford, of all people. At the same time,1960's Batman- helper, Neil Hamilton, shows a handsome younger face as Cormack, combining both looks and straight-man deadpan. There's also a good look at peppy teenager Marcia Mae Jones who does keep things moving. In fact, she almost takes over the film in its latter stages.

All in all, if you're not expecting polished madcap in the 30's style of MGM or TCF, the antics are mildly amusing, even if no thanks to the Breen office (IMDB).
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