The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"The Bride Came C.O.D" is sustained by the performances of James Cagney and Bette Davis, who both manage to overcome a weak screenplay. Both actors manage to demonstrate a talent for light comedy. The laughs aren't exactly plentiful but at least the film isn't depressing or melancholic. Cagney and Davis have brilliant on- screen chemistry and they should have been paired up more often and in better movies. Davis is a rich socialite who is about to marry a famous and rather pompous musician - Jack Carson. They are about to fly to another state so they can be married in secret. Her father doesn't particularly care for the planned marriage and wants to stop it. Cagney as a pilot, is employed to keep Davis from tying the knot but things don't exactly go according to plan! The scenes of Cagney and Davis alone in the desert and then spotting a seemingly deserted town are probably the best in the film. Although the film isn't a very long one, it outstays its welcome about 20 minutes before the end. A lot of the film is tiresome and the comedy "Torrid Zone" is much better (also with James Cagney).

Bette Davis and James Cagney are professionals and so is director William Keighley. They may have had to brave sweltering temperatures in Death Valley, but they have focused on the material and turned out an above-average picture. The script is rather intelligent and has a lot to say about the conditions these characters (and actors) are experiencing.Regarding the actual production of the film, it is said the stars did not want to do the project, that they did not get along, and that a rewrite was ordered. All of that seems irrelevant when one looks at the finished product; it is clear to see that this is a great screwball comedy and it works better than a lot of other films that attempt to cover similar territory.

Cagney and Davis fans will want to give this one a try and for completists it will deliver a fair amount of fun. However most of the story is rather hokey, and even though the chemistry between the principals don't seem to be what you might expect from a pair of romantic leads, they do spar verbally rather well, which is what I look for in any good screwball comedy. The pair worked before in 1934's "Jimmy the Gent", another picture featuring snappy dialog in which Cagney had a stronger presence than his co-star at the time. This time out they're about on equal footing, with Cagney's character taking pains to stay one step ahead of oil heiress Joan Winfield (Davis), her fiancée Allen Brice (Jack Carson), and authorities determined to capture the man who kidnapped the wealthy socialite.Some of the attempts at slapstick seem forced, as in repeated landings of Miss Davis on various cactus plants, the first time requiring Cagney's help in extracting the offending needles. One wonders what might have been going through Miss Davis' mind as this scene was being filmed, or those of theater goers of the era who already had an entirely different impression of the celebrated actress. For me, the best scenes were those involving Pop Tolliver (Harry Davenport), as demonstrated in the understated handling of his first breakfast meeting with the pair ('You take bacon too.'), and later his surreptitious partnership with Steve Collins (Cagney) to outwit the authorities.The 'C.O.D.' business of the title references the basic plot element of the story - Collins, seeing an opportunity to pay off his airplane, haggles with Joan Winfield's father (Eugene Palette) to deliver his unmarried daughter before an elopement seals the deal. At ten dollars a pound they strike a bargain, eliciting a mid-flight response from Miss Winfield that would frustrate Cagney's character throughout the picture - "You're not even good enough for the cuss words I know."

Much better and much more fun than expected. I actually think it's slightly underrated. While it's nowhere approaching the best of either stars (Jimmy Cagney and Bette Davis) wonderful careers, this is certainly no blotch on their resumes and is quite a lovely screwball comedy. Davis is the heiress getting married to a guy who's just after her money (Jack Carson), and Cagney is the pilot who has been charged by her father to kidnap her and stop the wedding. Sparks fly when furious Bette and cocky Cagney find themselves stuck in the Californian desert together after the plane is wrecked. The leads play roles that you would normally find the likes of Cary Grant and Carole Lombard inhabiting at the time, so it really is interesting to see them in something unusual. Once you get over that Bette is not playing one of her great roles in Regina Giddens or Margo Channing, and Cagney is not Cody Jarret, you'll be fine.Plus it's fascinating to see two of the most dynamic, energetic and often dominating actors of the time fight it out. They have a curious sort of chemistry, borne out of both of them exuding so much of their own trademark charisma and mannerisms. The plot is a little thin, but there are plenty of funny situations to be had and Davis could actually do comedy, so there you go, she's the best and she rules. William Keighley directs in solid workman-like style, and the result is a film that should be better appreciated. It's no great classic but it is well worth seeing.