There Goes the Bride (1932)

Best movie ever!

Absolutely the worst movie.

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

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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.

Jessie Matthews has a couple of nice songs to sing and she dances briefly, but There Goes The Bride can hardly be considered one of her better films.Jessie is cast as a young bride who runs away on the eve of her wedding, a wedding that she's being hammerlocked into by her father because she's marrying some guy her dad does business with. More of a merger than a marriage. She runs off to the continent, but has her bag and money stolen and worse is accused of being a thief herself. Her accuser is Owen Nares and with that old Matthews charm worms her way into his house. That part gets rather silly and unreal. Topping it all off everybody thinks she's Nares intended and Carol Goodner who is the intended isn't at all pleased with that.It all gets sillier and sillier. I wish they had given Jessie Matthews a few more songs and dances, that might have made the film better. David Niven is supposed to be in this film, more than likely in the party scene. Tried to spot him and thought I might have.There Goes The Bride isn't a horrible film, but Jessie Matthews had much better to come.

When Jessie was filming this movie she was at the studio from 7am until 6pm, then travelling to the Gaiety Theatre in London, where she was starring in the stage production of "Hold My Hand", getting home at midnight. Next morning she would be up at 6am to start over. Director Albert De Courville was an eccentric slave driver. So if Jessie Matthews was accused of over-acting she was probably close to hysterics.She was always grateful to De Courville for giving her a chance in "There Goes the Bride" because none of the studio bosses wanted her. When they saw the finished film that was another story - Victor Saville thought she was the find of the year.Jessie is a delight in this comedy of mistaken identity. She plays Annette Marquand, an heiress, who runs away on the day of her wedding. She meets Owen Nare (almost 20 years her senior) who mistakes her for a thief, after an incident on the train. She is mistaken for his fiancée by his friends and they host a party for her. Then his real fiancée turns up.It is a bright little comedy that Jessie runs away with.There are some musical numbers. "I'll Stay With You" - Jessie sings and dances at the apartment. At the party with the great Carroll Gibbons and His Savoy Orpheans providing the music Jessie sings "I'm Looking for You" and is a big hit. (David Niven can be glimpsed standing around the table at the party). I don't know why it was set in Paris when they are all so terribly British.

This is Jessie Matthews second sound film.Whilst she exhibits much gusto and enthusiasm she rather overacts at time and her technique is lacking.I was fortunate enough to see her give a lecture with Michael Balcon at the NFT some 40 years ago.She explained that it was Victor Saville who had helped to give her the confidence to appear in front of the cameras.Anyway having said that she is rather oddly matched with a rather stuffy Owen Nares who was 17 years her senior at the time.Nares was a popular leading man of the 20s and 30s and who was by this time heading into the twilight of his screen career.There are some enjoyable,if unmemorable musical numbers.There is only one brief dance from Jessie.This film was issued as part of the "British Classics Collection" some years ago,and is still to be purchased second hand.If you are a fan of Jessie Matthews or of 30s films it is worth seeing,if only to observe a talent in embryo