Under Your Spell

This film is a pretty routine affair, with none of the participants going out of their way to do anything special. It is Otto Preminger's first English language film, and contains a scene toward the end in a courtroom, one of Preminger's favorite settings. Here, the scene is played for laughs and is easily the film's best.

Lawrence Tibbett was a star of the Metropolitan Opera who tried to bridge the gap between popular and classical music. He was also actually a film star in the early days of talking pictures, being nominated for an Academy award for best actor for 1930's The Rogue Song. Making this B-picture was an indication of how far he sunk, and how low his previous picture was received at the box office, 1935's Metropolitan. How he could have ever been a star at all is a bit of a mystery, as he does lack a bit of charisma, not to mention looks.

Wendy Barrie fairs much better in this movie. In fact, a long close-up of her as she reclines and listens to one of Tibbett's songs on record, is the most beautiful shot in the movie. She was a gorgeous woman and it's a shame she wasn't in more vehicles, be they A or B films. She's great here.

Gregory Ratoff and Arthur Treacher, each with their respective schtick, provide adequate support, which very nearly borders on the annoying.