Brides Are Like That

I have a number of problems with this picture. There is a certain weary sameness in the way everyone speaks their lines; it's not just the high-speed Warner-B style of declamation. Almost every line is spoken with anger or dislike. Even Gene and Kathleen Lockhart are annoyingly strident. Only Joseph Cawthorn, doing his usual double talk is at all amusing.

The real obstacle is Ross Alexander in the lead, who only seems to have one register: simultaneously bluff and arrogant, always on in big and small scenes.

That said, there is some good writing here, some amusing lines and some well-constructed speeches, but director William McGann doesn't seem to do much with them. The camera-work and editing are, as usual, topnotch. The net effect is passable, but in the hands of better players -- or perhaps simply a better director -- it could have been so much more.