Maxwell Anderson's very popular 1927 play, with 3 television productions as well as the three movies versions, has some very funny moments. The top-notch cast has Gloria Stuart, of Titanic (1996) fame, and Ross Alexander as the romantic leads in a seesaw romance. The highlight of the movie is the way Stuart gets Alexander to marry her, as coached by big sister Ruth Donnelly, who supplies cues in shorthand, and accurately predicts Alexander's responses to Stuart's actions and statements. I couldn't stop laughing at the entire sequence, even though I had seen the remake, Saturday's Children (1940). Unfortunately, the second half of the movie doesn't sustain the comedy of the first half, and degenerates into more of a drama about the difficulties in marriage. Still, the movie is a winner.
10 Reviews
little Warners comedy
blanche-216 October 2014
"Titanic" actress Gloria Stuart is one of the stars of "Maybe It's Love," a 1935 comedy from Warners based on the Maxwell Anderson play "Saturday's Children" and remade in 1940. Stuart was then 25 years old; big fame would elude her until 62 years later.
Here, she's a secretary, Bobby, in love with Rims (Ross Alexander) who doesn't declare himself. To move things along, she pretends to be interested in another man, Adolph Jr. (Phillip Reed) to make him jealous.
Bobby and Rims marry, but find the going difficult. Bobby's big family (Frank McHugh, Ruth Donnelly, Helen Lowell, and Henry Travers) always seems to be around, and they're having trouble making ends meet. The two separate.
This movie has a lot of warmth and charm, but it's not exactly original. The pretty Stuart was a fresh, amiable actress. Phillip Reed at some angles looks like Tyrone Power - the hair, the hairline, the eyebrows, even the clothes, though he wasn't anywhere near as handsome. Ross Alexander, in the role played on Broadway by Humphrey Bogart, is cute with a real character face. Such a short, sad life, it was almost hard to watch him. Frank McHugh and the rest of the cast were delightful.
The movie is short and was probably cut, due to what looks like an editing problem - the couple goes from being in love to breaking up -- it really seems like something was left out.
See it for the cast.
Here, she's a secretary, Bobby, in love with Rims (Ross Alexander) who doesn't declare himself. To move things along, she pretends to be interested in another man, Adolph Jr. (Phillip Reed) to make him jealous.
Bobby and Rims marry, but find the going difficult. Bobby's big family (Frank McHugh, Ruth Donnelly, Helen Lowell, and Henry Travers) always seems to be around, and they're having trouble making ends meet. The two separate.
This movie has a lot of warmth and charm, but it's not exactly original. The pretty Stuart was a fresh, amiable actress. Phillip Reed at some angles looks like Tyrone Power - the hair, the hairline, the eyebrows, even the clothes, though he wasn't anywhere near as handsome. Ross Alexander, in the role played on Broadway by Humphrey Bogart, is cute with a real character face. Such a short, sad life, it was almost hard to watch him. Frank McHugh and the rest of the cast were delightful.
The movie is short and was probably cut, due to what looks like an editing problem - the couple goes from being in love to breaking up -- it really seems like something was left out.
See it for the cast.
A problem with a seemingly easy solution...and a couple easy to dislike.
planktonrules3 January 2020
"Maybe It's Love" is a strange little Depression-era film...one that was later remade as "Saturday's Children". It's strange because it seems to say that poverty will destroy marriages...but during the Depression nearly everyone was poor and they somehow managed to muddle through and live their lives.
Bobby and Rims (Rims???) have been dating for some time and seem to love each other. But when their boss brings his ne'er do well son into the company, he pays a lot of attention to Bobby (it's s SHE) and Rims gets jealous. In fact, again and again, they argue and they settled all this by getting married. Not the smartest reason to marry, I know. Well, after marrying Rims insists (insanely) that she stay home and not work...which might have made sense if they had any kids...though they didn't. Pressures besiege them and the marriage falls apart.
I felt very lukewarm about this film....mostly because the couple's problems didn't seem that difficult to overcome. Had the wife simply gone back to work (at least until they had kids) so many of their problems wouldn't have existed. And, it also is difficult to love the film when BOTH Bobby and Rim were easy to dislike. Overall, a mildly interesting film that could have easily been better....same with the later remake.
Bobby and Rims (Rims???) have been dating for some time and seem to love each other. But when their boss brings his ne'er do well son into the company, he pays a lot of attention to Bobby (it's s SHE) and Rims gets jealous. In fact, again and again, they argue and they settled all this by getting married. Not the smartest reason to marry, I know. Well, after marrying Rims insists (insanely) that she stay home and not work...which might have made sense if they had any kids...though they didn't. Pressures besiege them and the marriage falls apart.
I felt very lukewarm about this film....mostly because the couple's problems didn't seem that difficult to overcome. Had the wife simply gone back to work (at least until they had kids) so many of their problems wouldn't have existed. And, it also is difficult to love the film when BOTH Bobby and Rim were easy to dislike. Overall, a mildly interesting film that could have easily been better....same with the later remake.
Charming Slice of 1930's life from early Maxwell Anderson Play
eschetic-25 August 2016
MAYBE IT'S LOVE, a 1935 programmer, was taken from Maxwell Anderson's early success SATURDAY'S CHILDREN which starred Ruth Gordon and (late in the run) Humphrey Bogart at the Booth and Forrest Theatres for 326 performances from 26Jan1927 to April1928. The resemblance of the film's "Rims," Ross Alexander, to the very young Bogart is a delightful plus to a film possibly best remembered today as a vehicle for the young Gloria Stuart - of TITANIC fame late in life as Alexander's love interest.
Given the play's success - establishing Maxwell Anderson's reputation on Broadway - it is remarkable that it took this many years into the sound era for Warner Brothers to get around to using it as grist for their mill (changing the title and the character names along the way as if to disguise the origins). For a plot (up and coming boy and boss's handsome son wrangle over the affections of boss's secretary set against the background of the secretary's parents and meddling sister) which remains mild even after the ministrations of the usual crew of three Hollywood screenwriters, there are a bountiful hour (and three minute)'s charm, banter and surprises.
Don't expect a 21st Century comedy, but as a fairly honest portrait of a bygone era when Saturday wasn't a day off but a standard half day, with classic performances from the Warner Brothers' stock company (comedians like Frank McHugh and Henry Travers) and the ghost of a pre-Hollywood Bogart performance, MAYBE IT'S LOVE is hard to beat.
Given the play's success - establishing Maxwell Anderson's reputation on Broadway - it is remarkable that it took this many years into the sound era for Warner Brothers to get around to using it as grist for their mill (changing the title and the character names along the way as if to disguise the origins). For a plot (up and coming boy and boss's handsome son wrangle over the affections of boss's secretary set against the background of the secretary's parents and meddling sister) which remains mild even after the ministrations of the usual crew of three Hollywood screenwriters, there are a bountiful hour (and three minute)'s charm, banter and surprises.
Don't expect a 21st Century comedy, but as a fairly honest portrait of a bygone era when Saturday wasn't a day off but a standard half day, with classic performances from the Warner Brothers' stock company (comedians like Frank McHugh and Henry Travers) and the ghost of a pre-Hollywood Bogart performance, MAYBE IT'S LOVE is hard to beat.
Great Cast
Michael_Elliott1 April 2008
Maybe It's Love (1935)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Predictable but amusing romantic comedy from Warner has Gloria Stuart (The Invisible Man) playing a secretary who is waiting for the man she loves (Ross Alexander) to marry her but she must use another man to make him jealous. After they're finally married, both realize that the married life is harder than they thought. The story here certainly isn't anything new but the glowing charm of Stuart really makes this film a lot better than the script deserved. There's also some great character actors who add wonderful support and they include Cagney's buddy Frank McHugh as the brother-in-law, Henry Travers as the father and Ruth Donnelly as the sister. All three add some nice laughs to the film with McHugh stealing the film as the dimwitted sap. There are a couple problems with the film and one of them is Alexander who just isn't charming enough for the role. Another problem is that the film runs 63-minutes, which is too short because it leads to a major plot gap towards the end of the film. One scene the couple is happily married and then out of no where they are fighting and breaking up. This film certainly isn't a classic but if you're a fan of any of the actors then it's worth viewing once.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Predictable but amusing romantic comedy from Warner has Gloria Stuart (The Invisible Man) playing a secretary who is waiting for the man she loves (Ross Alexander) to marry her but she must use another man to make him jealous. After they're finally married, both realize that the married life is harder than they thought. The story here certainly isn't anything new but the glowing charm of Stuart really makes this film a lot better than the script deserved. There's also some great character actors who add wonderful support and they include Cagney's buddy Frank McHugh as the brother-in-law, Henry Travers as the father and Ruth Donnelly as the sister. All three add some nice laughs to the film with McHugh stealing the film as the dimwitted sap. There are a couple problems with the film and one of them is Alexander who just isn't charming enough for the role. Another problem is that the film runs 63-minutes, which is too short because it leads to a major plot gap towards the end of the film. One scene the couple is happily married and then out of no where they are fighting and breaking up. This film certainly isn't a classic but if you're a fan of any of the actors then it's worth viewing once.
"Business during business hours."
morrison-dylan-fan7 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Hearing about her in connection to auteur James Whale's work,I was intrigued to find that a DVD seller had recently tracked down a rare Rom-Com with Gloria Stuart.With the flick running for just over an hour,I decided to find out if it is love.
The plot:
Being in love with Rims O'Neil, Bobby Halevy is disappointed to find O'Neil is playing hard to get.Deciding to take matters into her own hands,Halevy pretends to be interested in Adolph Jr.,which leads to O'Neil revealing his true feelings and them getting married! As married life sinks in,O'Neil and Halevy begin to experience financial hardships.
View on the film:
Rolling out Maxwell Anderson's 1927 play,the screenplay by Jerry Wald/Harry Sauber & Lawrence Hazard is interestingly caught between being of the time and also being surprisingly modern,as Mr. Halevy listens to the wireless on "the Europe problem",which leads to him being mocked for being interested in an event taking place so far away. Vastly changing Anderson's play (from character name changes,to "updating" the setting) the writers give Bobby Halevy a terrific modern edge, highlighted in Halevy cleverly using her own income,and rather uniquely being the women who is after the man.
Tragically killing himself after having to keep secret that he was gay and the suicide of his wife Aleta Freel, Ross Alexander gives a dashing performance as Rims O'Neil,whose speedy exchanges with Bobby are delivered by Alexander with a charismatic slickness. Shimmering in the playful back and fourths with Alexander,the elegant Gloria Stuart gives a delightful performance as Bobby,whose light Comedy dialogue Stuart catches with the perfect touch,which is joined by a joyful sass from Stuart displaying Bobby's independent side,as Booby and Rims start to wonder if maybe it's love.
The plot:
Being in love with Rims O'Neil, Bobby Halevy is disappointed to find O'Neil is playing hard to get.Deciding to take matters into her own hands,Halevy pretends to be interested in Adolph Jr.,which leads to O'Neil revealing his true feelings and them getting married! As married life sinks in,O'Neil and Halevy begin to experience financial hardships.
View on the film:
Rolling out Maxwell Anderson's 1927 play,the screenplay by Jerry Wald/Harry Sauber & Lawrence Hazard is interestingly caught between being of the time and also being surprisingly modern,as Mr. Halevy listens to the wireless on "the Europe problem",which leads to him being mocked for being interested in an event taking place so far away. Vastly changing Anderson's play (from character name changes,to "updating" the setting) the writers give Bobby Halevy a terrific modern edge, highlighted in Halevy cleverly using her own income,and rather uniquely being the women who is after the man.
Tragically killing himself after having to keep secret that he was gay and the suicide of his wife Aleta Freel, Ross Alexander gives a dashing performance as Rims O'Neil,whose speedy exchanges with Bobby are delivered by Alexander with a charismatic slickness. Shimmering in the playful back and fourths with Alexander,the elegant Gloria Stuart gives a delightful performance as Bobby,whose light Comedy dialogue Stuart catches with the perfect touch,which is joined by a joyful sass from Stuart displaying Bobby's independent side,as Booby and Rims start to wonder if maybe it's love.
Keep the wife, but divorce the boss, his son and the in-laws.
mark.waltz16 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Broadway hits of the 1920s and 30s didn't often have much luck when being made and remade by Hollywood. In the case of Maxwell Anderson's "Saturday's Children", it had two A versions under its original name and this B version in the middle that cuts out a good hour. What remains is amusing but typical, rather formulaic marital comedy/drama that starts off with couple Gloria Stuart and Ross Alexander ironing out their pre-marital problems, then dealing with the interference of family and work as they try to have a serious relationship. storage sensibly tries to remain within "the budget", always referring to it as if it is some sort of law, while he makes demands over the constant interruptions of her family. He was turned down for a prestigious transfer overseas when he decided to get married, and that leaves him in the clutches of her well meaning but often irksome family.
Stealing many of the scenes is Ruth Donnelly as Stuart's wise but somewhat grasping older sister, married to the flighty Frank McHugh who unintentionally creates a good majority of the problems. Helen Lowell is their clinging mother, not mean-spirited but someone whose advice comes at the most inopportune times. The more sensible Henry Travers is the father who'd rather just get through his newspaper and find about the situation in Europe. In fact, it seems to be one of the few non-political dramas of the time to mention conflicts going on overseas.
At just 63 minutes long, this programmer doesn't outlast its welcome (unlike the family), but as a film version of a hit play, it is not a good representation of its source. The best scene is the family listening in on an argument between Stuart and Alexander and wisely deciding to leave after the to make up, with Stuart agreeing within earshot of them that won't allow the family to interfere anymore. The fact that they don't get offended and storm in is a nice little twist. Joseph Cawthorn, as the befuddled boss, Phillip Reed as the boss's son and Maude Eburne as the landlady, are fine in smaller roles.
Stealing many of the scenes is Ruth Donnelly as Stuart's wise but somewhat grasping older sister, married to the flighty Frank McHugh who unintentionally creates a good majority of the problems. Helen Lowell is their clinging mother, not mean-spirited but someone whose advice comes at the most inopportune times. The more sensible Henry Travers is the father who'd rather just get through his newspaper and find about the situation in Europe. In fact, it seems to be one of the few non-political dramas of the time to mention conflicts going on overseas.
At just 63 minutes long, this programmer doesn't outlast its welcome (unlike the family), but as a film version of a hit play, it is not a good representation of its source. The best scene is the family listening in on an argument between Stuart and Alexander and wisely deciding to leave after the to make up, with Stuart agreeing within earshot of them that won't allow the family to interfere anymore. The fact that they don't get offended and storm in is a nice little twist. Joseph Cawthorn, as the befuddled boss, Phillip Reed as the boss's son and Maude Eburne as the landlady, are fine in smaller roles.
Unremarkable
richard-178715 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Even at 63 minutes, this movie was too long for me.
Ross Alexander might have been good as a goofy college guy, but he didn't work for me as a romantic lead, much less as one who should, in certain parts of the movie, be feeling real heartache. Imagine a less attractive James Stewart who can't really act. Sort of an Arthur Lake, but not as funny.
Gloria Stuart may have been charming in her few moments in Titanic, but she is pleasantly undistinguished here. She doesn't have the personality to carry off a lead role.
Frank McHugh and Dorothy Donnelly both have a lot more personality in their roles, but it's not pleasant.
And then there's the "moral" of this movie: the couple decide they would have been happier as lovers out of wedlock than as a married couple with all the responsibilities of a household. That comes out of nowhere in the last few minutes, with no preparation, after we have just heard Henry Travers tell Alexander how comfortable marriage is. It's as if someone had grafted the end of a Noël Coward play like *Design for Living* onto a Thorton Wilder play like *Our Town*, without the wit of Coward or the poetry of Wilder.
This is based on a play by Maxwell Anderson, one of the great American playwrights of the first half of the 20th century. There must have been more to the play than there is to this script. As it stands, there's really nothing here to make it watching for even 63 minutes.
Ross Alexander might have been good as a goofy college guy, but he didn't work for me as a romantic lead, much less as one who should, in certain parts of the movie, be feeling real heartache. Imagine a less attractive James Stewart who can't really act. Sort of an Arthur Lake, but not as funny.
Gloria Stuart may have been charming in her few moments in Titanic, but she is pleasantly undistinguished here. She doesn't have the personality to carry off a lead role.
Frank McHugh and Dorothy Donnelly both have a lot more personality in their roles, but it's not pleasant.
And then there's the "moral" of this movie: the couple decide they would have been happier as lovers out of wedlock than as a married couple with all the responsibilities of a household. That comes out of nowhere in the last few minutes, with no preparation, after we have just heard Henry Travers tell Alexander how comfortable marriage is. It's as if someone had grafted the end of a Noël Coward play like *Design for Living* onto a Thorton Wilder play like *Our Town*, without the wit of Coward or the poetry of Wilder.
This is based on a play by Maxwell Anderson, one of the great American playwrights of the first half of the 20th century. There must have been more to the play than there is to this script. As it stands, there's really nothing here to make it watching for even 63 minutes.
Mixed results in so-so romantic comedy during Depression era...
Doylenf20 March 2008
One would never suspect that this little domestic comedy comes from the pen of Maxwell Anderson, since it's no more than a typical piece of Depression-era fluff about money and finances being the root of most domestic squabbles.
Lovely GLORIA STUART (so beautiful in her prime) and ungainly ROSS Alexander (he never made it to stardom) are the leads and the supporting cast is a pleasant one filled with Warner contract players. But it's PHILLIP REED, as a rich man's playboy son, who should have had the romantic lead opposite Stuart, looking like a Tyrone Power clone, and not a bad actor at all.
HENRY TRAVERS, RUTH DONNELLY, FRANK McHUGH and others are well used, with McHugh being much less obnoxious than usual in his more subdued comedy role as Donnelly's husband.
It starts out briskly, with a lot of talk about "the situation in Europe" and "how Europe is making out" as part of the breakfast talk, so it seems that it's going to be a better than usual domestic tale that raises some serious issues. But before it's midway through, it gets stuck in a rut as no more than an office romance that ends in marriage but quickly falls into silly lover's spats and quarrels over finances and the inability to "live on a budget".
From that midway point on, it descends into a trivial domestic comedy with pat situations complete with a cornball ending that reunites the lovers under trying circumstances.
Summing up: Not worth the trouble. I note from another comment that this became a remake called "Saturday's Children" in the '40s with John Garfield, Ann Shirley and Claude Rains.
Trivia note: Ross Alexander was an up and coming Warner contract player who appeared the same year in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Captain Blood" and was being considered for bigger roles, but he committed suicide two years later over problems with his marriage and rumors of his homosexuality which the studio tried to suppress.
Lovely GLORIA STUART (so beautiful in her prime) and ungainly ROSS Alexander (he never made it to stardom) are the leads and the supporting cast is a pleasant one filled with Warner contract players. But it's PHILLIP REED, as a rich man's playboy son, who should have had the romantic lead opposite Stuart, looking like a Tyrone Power clone, and not a bad actor at all.
HENRY TRAVERS, RUTH DONNELLY, FRANK McHUGH and others are well used, with McHugh being much less obnoxious than usual in his more subdued comedy role as Donnelly's husband.
It starts out briskly, with a lot of talk about "the situation in Europe" and "how Europe is making out" as part of the breakfast talk, so it seems that it's going to be a better than usual domestic tale that raises some serious issues. But before it's midway through, it gets stuck in a rut as no more than an office romance that ends in marriage but quickly falls into silly lover's spats and quarrels over finances and the inability to "live on a budget".
From that midway point on, it descends into a trivial domestic comedy with pat situations complete with a cornball ending that reunites the lovers under trying circumstances.
Summing up: Not worth the trouble. I note from another comment that this became a remake called "Saturday's Children" in the '40s with John Garfield, Ann Shirley and Claude Rains.
Trivia note: Ross Alexander was an up and coming Warner contract player who appeared the same year in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Captain Blood" and was being considered for bigger roles, but he committed suicide two years later over problems with his marriage and rumors of his homosexuality which the studio tried to suppress.
Love this funny movie ! Must see !
1969VIETNAM13 February 2021
Classic young lover's making the mistakes, young marriage couple's make. I love the car's from the late 20's used in the filming. Fred McHugh, Ruth Donnelly plus Henry Travers the fellow that played the angel in It's a Wonderful Life. Great movie !
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