Review: Breakfast for Two


Barbara Stanwyck plays a wealthy heiress to Herbert Marshall’s frequently drunk playboy heir to a shipping company. The former tries to straighten the latter out, which apparently involves them both donning boxing gloves at one point. Oh, and she also plans on marrying him, which is news to him and his declared fiancĂ© (Glenda Farrell). Eric Blore plays the faithful manservant to Marshall, whilst Donald Meek briefly appears as a JP.


Two very fine stars and a scene stealing comic supporting performance can’t save this tone-deaf, very weak 1937 comedy from director Alfred Santell (“The Hairy Ape” with Susan Hayward). Beware a film from the late 30s you haven’t heard of, starring two big names. It’s rarely a good sign. The very professional Barbara Stanwyck (the same year she appeared to great acclaim in the much better “Stella Dallas”) does her absolute best to keep you awake, and Eric Blore is a constant scene-stealer.

 
However, as fine an actor as Marshall is, he’s not a natural comedian. His performance is a tad too glum for the rest of it. There’s only 60-70 minutes to work with, and Marshall spends too much of that being in a foul mood. Given it’s essentially a screwball romantic comedy, that throws everything askew, though his character itself isn’t terribly likeable either. The film would still struggle to work, though, even if Marshall were replaced by someone like Robert Donat or Cary Grant. You’ve still got a too short and choppy story, a butler inexplicably named Butch, Marshall and Stanwyck engaging in some light pugilism (!), and a supposedly comical Great Dane named Pee-Wee involved in not only physical comedy but a lame bit of ventriloquism too. Veteran character actor Donald Meek turns up late in a cute part as a JP who tries his best to get the words out at a wedding full of interruptions. But outside of him and Blore, there’s negative humour to be found.


A very, very minor film, it’s easy to see why this one’s not talked about today despite its star power. It’s pretty embarrassing, though Barbara Stanwyck gives 110% as always. At less than 80 minutes, this is barely even a movie at all. The screenplay is by Charles Kaufman (“Freud”), Paul Yawitz (co-writer of the “Boston Blackie” series) and Viola Brothers Shore (“Smartest Girl in Town”, in which Eric Blore also appeared).

 

Rating: D+

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