Rebound

Ina Claire had big eyes, an upturned nose, a precision of inflection to rival Judy Holliday's, and a way of dominating a room the moment she entered it. Not conventionally pretty, and too old for this sort of of dewy-young-thing part (she was about 40), she's nevertheless a joy to watch. The movie, from a mildly successful Donald Ogden Stewart play, is one of those drawing-room comedies that pretends the Depression never happened and spends most of its time arranging and rearranging couples. It's fluff, and with, shall we say, a last-minute happy ending one doesn't believe. But Claire is so watchable, with more intelligence than a woman could profitably employ in those days, and Myrna Loy is a delectable rival. There's also Robert Williams, a fine light comedian (check out Capra's "Platinum Blonde") who died tragically young. Good time capsule, and one of the few 1931 movies you can show your contemporary friends without blushing.