The Lucky Lady (1926)
Convent-bred to assume her position of nobility when the time comes, Princess Antoinette plays hooky from school one day to attend a theatrical performance. Here she meets a handsome young American, and it's love at first sight. Meanwhile, in the Princess' home country, the Prime Minister plots to quell a rebellion by arranging a marriage between Antoinette and the Grand Duke.
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Wonderful character development!
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
A strangely neglected movie that I would have thought capable of more than satisfying current tastes is the 1926 romantic comedy, "The Lucky Lady". Thanks to stunning sets by Hans Deier, gorgeous costumes by Travis Banton and/or Howard Greer, lustrous photography by Victor Milner, accomplished, fast-paced direction by Raoul Walsh, plus a super-lustrous performance by lovely Greta Nissen in the title role, "Lucky Lady" is a winner. Lionel Barrymore and Marc McDermott are also delightfully charismatic. Admittedly, hero William Collier, Jr., as the naive American abroad in the wastes of Monte Carlo (alias San Guido here) is little more than serviceably handsome, but you can't have everything. It's Nissen's movie! And she is wonderful!
Princess Antoinette (Nissen) of San Guido, a fictional Monte Carlo which depends on gambling, is forced to wed the unwilling, womanizing Count Ferranzo (Barrymore). This will accomplish two things; keep the monarchy alive and wipe out the Count's 1,500,000 francs debt to the casino. However, the Princess has her own ideas about the marriage and prefers an American visitor to her town (Collier). She disguises herself and lures the Count into a compromising relationship which makes him unsuitable to the Royals. With just a brunette wig, she fools everyone as a seductive alter-ego, and the fact that no one else recognizes her verges on ridiculous. She ultimately runs off with her true love. The story has some charm but it's handled in a fairly clumsy way. No Lubitsch touch here. Fortunately, Walsh would find his true calling in action/adventure movies during the next four decades.