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They All Kissed the Bride (1942)

*** (out of 4)

Writer Michael Holmes (Melvyn Douglas) sets out to write a book on evil bosses and the poor workers who have to suffer under them. Michael sets his eyes on business woman Margaret Drew (Joan Crawford) who runs several companies surrounding truck drivers. As Michael begins to crack her business practices, the woman finds herself having feelings unlike ever before. THEY ALL KISSED THE BRIDE has sadly been forgotten over the years since it's been rather hard to see but the movie is certainly worth being re-discovered for a number of reasons. It's worth noting that this movie was originally meant for Carole Lombard but that star was killed shortly before the film went into production so Crawford asked to take over the role in respect. MGM let her go to rival Columbia for this picture and legend has it that the actress gave her salary to the Red Cross. Back to the film, it's certainly a very entertaining little gem that is pretty silly but at the same time the cast just makes it so much fun. Crawford was extremely good in the type of role that clearly wasn't written for her. I thought she did a good job with the "tough" boss role but also during the comedy bits when they'd come along. There's a running gag dealing with her getting weak at the knees and she makes this very funny. Douglas is also extremely good in his part and there's no question that the two stars do a fine job playing off one another. Allen Jenkins adds some good comedy as a truck driver and we also get nice turns by Billie Burke and Roland Young. The film actually has quite a few funny scenes but the most memorable is one where Jenkins is drunk and just grabs Crawford and throws her onto the dance floor. The high speed that they're dancing is quite impressive but more so is the fact that Crawford keeps a straight face throughout the whole thing.