Love on a Bet (1936)
7/10
Fun characters in entertaining cross country adventure
22 January 2020
Fast talker Gene Raymond wants to produce a play. His rich uncle refuses to back the play because its plot is ridiculous: A man leaves New York in his underwear and arrives 10 days later in Los Angeles with a new suit, $100 in his pocket, and a beautiful fiancée.

It's not ridiculous, Raymond argues. He says that he could do it himself--and bets his uncle that he will. If Raymond wins the bet, his uncle finances the play. If Raymond fails, he takes a job in the uncle's meat packing plant.

Meanwhile, Wendy Barrie and her aunt Helen Broderick discuss whether Barrie should marry wealthy Addison Randall. She would rather not but they're broke so, "All right, dear," she says, "I'll marry him." Barrie and Broderick set out on a cross country drive to Los Angeles to catch up with Randall; not at all surprisingly, on the way out of town, Raymond jumps on board as a travel partner and the unlikely trio set off together.

Their adventures along the way include a lesson from Raymond on roasting marshmallows ("Just keep your head down, your eye on the marshmallow, follow through"), a cider drinking contest with a surprise winner, and an encounter with a couple of wanted criminals.

Gene Raymond is brash and funny; Wendy Barrie is a good match, feisty and energetic. The plot is nothing too original, and for the most part this picture is a pretty standard entry in the cross country romance genre. However, the characters are well drawn and the stars are fun to watch. Overall this is a fun picture.
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