Cross-Country Romance

Wendy Barrie plays Diane North, a wealthy heiress who is set to marry a dull man. Diane's mother has arranged the marriage because the stiff her daughter is to marry has even more money than they do. Diane decides to rebel and secretly hides in a trailer, driven by Dr. Smith (Gene Raymond). Dr. Smith is driving the trailer cross country to San Francisco. Dr. Smith is shocked to find her on the trailer, but Diane manages to convince him to let her stay for the ride. Of course, a romance slowly blooms.

Barrie's character is nutty, but likeable. Think of Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy, but wealthy as well. Gene Raymond's character is a serious, somber fellow, who puts work before personal relationships. Diane continually tries to "help" Dr. Smith during their journey and continually gets him into some wild trouble.

Future super star, Alan Ladd, has a bit part as the First Mate near the end of the film. Frank Sully and Cliff Clark play not too bright policemen. And Billy Gilbert, billed forth, has a small role as a cafe owner. The two stars do most of the work here and perform a splendid job as one would expect.

I often shake my head on the rating scores here on IMDB. Every film made in the last 10 years seems to have an 8.2 rating. While older films seem harshly rated. This breezy little comedy is currently rated 5.7! I have been a film buff all my life. I enjoy silent films, foreign films, everything. The high watermark for me is the 1930's and 1940's. And if this solid little B' film only rates a 5.7, well give me a 1940's 5.7 all day long.