First a Girl

Coming between EVERGREEN (considered to be Jessie Matthews' best film) and IT'S LOVE AGAIN (my own favourite) and made by the same team, I thought this might be fantastic but it was just 'good' rather than 'very good.'

It is still a lovely, happy picture with some really spectacular dance numbers. It's stylishly directed as usual by the maestro, Victor Saville and as a big, flashy musical it's much more impressive than what Hollywood was doing at the time (with the obvious exception of what Zanuck had overseen a few years earlier at Warners.)

Although it adds to the film's overall silliness, what is completely and utterly impossible for your mind to process is that just by cutting her hair, anyone could possibly believe that Jessie Matthews was a man. She was unquestionably the prettiest woman in movies back then (if not, the prettiest woman in the world?) The proposition is beyond sheer madness especially since she doesn't even change her voice, her makeup or her characteristic sensuous style of dancing.

What also seems impossible is that in real life this stunningly beautiful actress was married to Sonny Hale (her co star). Being kind, the nicest comment about his appearance could be be that he didn't have film star looks! However you can start to see what she saw in him. He does have an unusually engaging and warm personality which comes across really strongly in this picture. You might not think so at first but the more you watch him, the funnier he gets.

This is a great uplifting slice of joyful escapism. It's an absolute, absolute must for any fans of spectacular 1930s musicals and silly old-fashioned farces. For those of you unfamiliar with the goddess known as Jessie Matthews however, this one isn't as likely to make you fall in love with her as much as some of her other pictures.