If you get the chance to see Lucille Ball in a flick before she became Lucy, you should take advantage of it. You'll see an actress who was actually quite beautiful, dare I say, even gorgeous when you get right down to it. This 'Annabel' picture showcases Miss Ball admirably in the looks department, but unfortunately, the story falls flat the rest of the way. Most everything about it seems a bit off kilter - the attempt at screwball comedy doesn't click much of the time, and the romance between Annabel and the Viscount (Ralph Forbes) doesn't deliver even the hint of romance. Jack Oakie provides some of the enthusiasm the picture needed, but he can't pull it off all by himself. On top of it all, the scenes just didn't seem to connect with one another as the story unfolded. Hard to put a finger on it, but something was missing.
What you do get a preview of is Lucy auditioning some of the schtick she would become famous for as that dizzy redhead with the Cuban husband. Falling off a horse and performing various other pratfalls seems more in line with the character we all came to know very well in the Fifties. The problem here is that she was supposed to be a glamorous actress, but her character was written haphazardly and with no clear sense of direction. Early in the picture she seems to be carrying on a romance with her agent Lanny Morgan (Oakie), and then suddenly does a one eighty when Ronald River-Clyde comes on the scene. Even his character is muddled, starting out as a sophisticated aristocrat and then revealed as a louse with a wife and two kids. The lack of continuity with these characters was just disappointing.
But if you were to make a wager that Lucy never got involved in a cat-fight on screen, you'd lose that bet in a hurry. I have to say, it was a little strange to see her rolling around the floor like that. But Annabel did have one good observation worth mentioning. She described Chicago as a city full of strange things, and that was way back in 1939. Can you imagine what she'd have to say if Blago was around back then.
What you do get a preview of is Lucy auditioning some of the schtick she would become famous for as that dizzy redhead with the Cuban husband. Falling off a horse and performing various other pratfalls seems more in line with the character we all came to know very well in the Fifties. The problem here is that she was supposed to be a glamorous actress, but her character was written haphazardly and with no clear sense of direction. Early in the picture she seems to be carrying on a romance with her agent Lanny Morgan (Oakie), and then suddenly does a one eighty when Ronald River-Clyde comes on the scene. Even his character is muddled, starting out as a sophisticated aristocrat and then revealed as a louse with a wife and two kids. The lack of continuity with these characters was just disappointing.
But if you were to make a wager that Lucy never got involved in a cat-fight on screen, you'd lose that bet in a hurry. I have to say, it was a little strange to see her rolling around the floor like that. But Annabel did have one good observation worth mentioning. She described Chicago as a city full of strange things, and that was way back in 1939. Can you imagine what she'd have to say if Blago was around back then.