Un novio para tres novias

Wow! I picked this up today from the $4.99 DVD bin at K-Mart. What a pleasant surprise. It's your typical romantic story of boy meets girl, boy looses girl, ect., but there are some very fine moments.

The film opens with Madeline Carroll having her fortune told. It's an outrageous fortune, but as the story unfolds we see it coming true to life.

Fred MacMurray is great in this film. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't compare to his role in 'The Apartment,' but I was shocked when I realized that this film was made in 1939.

The open and candid talk of one of the characters attempted suicides (done in a VERY light-hearted way), makes me wonder if this film was passed by the Production Code.

Since I watched her in the Hitchcock film, "The 39 Steps (1935), I have admired Madeleine for her cool blond, sophisticated skill as an actress. "Honeymoon in Bali" was a very enjoyable film which did not telegraph its ending until the final scene, a tribute to the intelligent screenplay and writer.In some ways the plot is modern despite it being over 70 years old.There are still many career girls working in New York who are bright, but are emotionally lonely and always on the lookout for "Mr Right", I worked for an American Bank and met quite a few bright American girls in our London office (and was even propositioned by one).Madeleine Carroll is her own boss and has a highly successful well paid career and is loath to surrender it all up for a mere man!She has the sophisticated NYK accent off pat and plays her bright, intelligent and attractive self.

Love comes knocking in the shape of Fred MacMurray whom she meets in an expensive boat showroom in the heart of Manhattan.Madeleine has a best friend (Helen Broderick) who incautiously reminds her that her opera singing boyfriend (Allan Jones) has not put enough candles on the cake.The singing telegram scene is flat and without emotion despite Allan Jones giving an operatic version of "Happy Birthday".You sense Madeleine needs emotional fulfillment at this point.As to the candle discrepancy, in a bit of repartee worthy of Oscar Wilde, Madeleine retorts,"I always think one shouldn't have people around you know for too long".

Fred is the legal guardian of a little girl and asks whether Madeleine would temporarily look after her, but Madeleine must put her career first.Fred has worked in Bali and has a platonic relationship with a foreign girl who is already contemplating marriage to him.A window cleaner played by Akim Tamiroff cleans Madeleine's office windows and appears something of a philosopher who rates Fred but not Allan Jones.Gradually Madeleine becomes emotionally attached to Fred's little girl and even treks to his home in Bali when she realises she really loves him.

Although we cannot have a sad ending, in a denouement worthy of the great Jane Austen herself, the film ends leaving us with a feel-good factor, (although we are kept guessing right up to its end).A triumph for the great Madeleine Carroll sufficient to make Robert Donat really jealous!!

I also found this movie at a $1.00 bin. What a beautiful surprise! The movie was quick,romantic,funny,with an intelligent plot. The characters were all individually unique, from the window washer,fortune teller, to the singing telegram boy. I love little Rosie so much in this movie I tried looking up her biography.

The emotion conveyed in this movie lead me to watch it over and over again. Each scene can stand alone. The intrigue with the fortune teller's predictions, Allan Jones' voice was marvelous. Fred MacMurray's acting continues to amaze me. His character has such sex appeal and magnetism. It makes me wonder how many of these movies are out there that haven't been seen.

What an enjoyable piece of fluff. Though I'd say it was a bit more than a piece of fluff, really, as there is subtlety galore, and philosophy, and irreverence and some macabre/screwball humour when the love rival for Fred MacMurray says in an offhand way that she'd attempted suicide but then got married, but then found it hard to be sad when her husband was killed playing polo... That kind of humour would raise eyebrows even today! Alan Jones sings his manly heart out while wearing a pencil moustache, and Madeleine Carroll says some very clever and deep things about the nature of female independence. You can tell that the actress really thought these lines were quite wise and put a lot of feeling into them, even though the film is at pains to prove the opposite view. Likewise subtle is the fact that MacMurray is a bit of a cad, not a straightforward hero. I actually hated him for a good few minutes. The small roles are played with great skill and elan, particularly the fortune teller with her blithe, witty delivery and of course Window-cleaner philosopher Akim Tamiroff, whom I ended up applauding out loud for his sheer verve, and the comedy and character he packs into each gesture. The fly in the ointment, to this cow-poke anyway, is the truly cringeworthy little girl. Ugh! You can just see her pushy mother urging her on to become the next Shirley Temple. Sorry dear, that requires talent, not just a shrill voice and a pudgy face.

"Honeymoon in Bali" is a sweet romance that has inexplicably fallen into the public domain. Often, public domain films suck--but this one is far from sucky.

The film is about a nice guy who has returned to the States to visit, though Bill (Fred MacMurray) lives in Bali (that's a very large island in Indonesia, if you care). After having a fortune teller inform her she'd meet someone, Gail (Madeline Carroll)--a high-powered career woman. The two kind of hit it off, but Gail isn't convinced that Bill is the man the fortune teller told her about...after all, he is moving back to Bali and she has her career. She also has a boyfriend already, and Eric (Allan Jones) seems like a very nice guy. However, when Gail meets Bill's young ward (Rosie, played by Carolyn Lee), her heart is captured. But how can Gail have Bill and Rosie in her life? After all, they're returning to Bali and she has her career...as well as Eric.

The scenes between MacMurray and Carroll were very nice and they worked well together. However, the scenes between Carroll and young Lee were magical. Lee was perfect--adorable, but not too much and seemed very natural. I do wonder why she only had a few screen credits. Regardless, due to a nice story, very good dialog and some nice characters (Eric is exceptionally sweet), the film is just fun and a decent date film. Well worth seeing and available on YouTube and most likely also from archive.org since it's a public domain film.