Snowed Under

George Brent has writer's block. While he is very talented, his recent plays have bombed and the old formula is gone. So, his agent arranges for his first wife (Genevieve Tobin) to meet him at his vacation retreat, as she had been his writing partner during his glory days. However, this plan is in serious jeopardy since the second ex-wife (Glenda Farrell) shows up--and she is THRILLED with the idea of messing up anything that he was trying to complete. Add to that his secretary (Patricia Ellis)--a woman who wants to become wife #3 but who is also a major distraction.

"Snowed Under" is a kooky comedy--much of the mold of films like "Palm Beach Story", "My Favorite Wife" and "The Man Who Came to Dinner". However, the quality of the film is a couple steps below these excellent films and this is for a variety of reasons. First, occasionally the acting and writing are a bit too broad and the film tried too hard to make you laugh. While I love Glenda Farrell in most films, here she was just too shrill. Also, a few of the scenes were very, very awkward and poorly constructed--such as the fainting scene near the end of the film. The film simply is too goofy and cleaning up the script a bit would have made a better film. It didn't help that the fake snow never melted and looked really, really fake. Overall, watchable and even occasionally enjoyable...but also lacking the polish and fun you might expect in such a film.