Better Late Then Never

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Copyright 9 July 1936 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 9 July 1936 (ran one week). Australian release (as a "B" feature): 7 October 1936. 75 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Working-class couple separate when wife has a yen for clothes and luxuries that husband cannot afford.COMMENT: The film has its moments, thanks to an agreeable cast, fighting their way through a script that is not nearly as amusing or scintillating as it obviously thinks it is, plus some very attractive photography (e.g. the scene in the lightless apartment) - though Miss Stanwyck is not lit all that flatteringly. Willie Best is prominently featured in the credits, though his part has been removed and is now limited to a two-shot of him entering the marriage bureau and a long shot of him in the background of same! Unfortunately, the cast is also saddled with Ned Sparks, whose monotonous cigar-faced delivery of quite ordinary lines makes them seem even slower and less funny. This character just doesn't belong in what was doubtless conceived as a light comedy of manners. Gene Raymond is more animated than usual and Robert Young is very effective as a pestiferous playboy.

Fashion model Barbara Stanwyck is making $50 a week. Aspiring but as-yet-unsuccessful engineer Gene Raymond is only making $25 but wants her to marry him and quit her job and stay at home. Like a dummy, she lets herself be talked into it. Presumably in 1936 some viewers would have been sympathetic to Raymond's insistence that "No wife of mine is going to work." That's not the problem with this movie. The problem is that Raymond's character is pushy and arrogant and we just don't see any sparks between him and Stanwyck that would make us believe that she could find him tolerable, much less irresistible. Anyway, Stanwyck stays home and keeps house, eventually getting behind on the bills to the point where she secretly goes out and starts modeling again. The bills are getting paid now and she can even afford to hire Hattie McDaniel to come in and cook.... But what will happen if Raymond finds out that she's working? Oh my. Solid supporting actors do their best to cheer things up but they don't have much to work with. Ned Sparks and Helen Broderick play the wisecrack-spouting old married couple who hang out with Stanwyck and Raymond. Robert Young is a rich drunken playboy who hangs around trying to help. Unfortunately, the strong cast and decent production values just can't keep this picture moving...it's one of those that seems longer than its 81 minutes.

Comparing this film to THE PALM BEACH STORY is an exercise in ignorance. It's OK, but lacking in wit and spark. If anything, it's yet another example of how films of this era shot down women who had hopes of making something of their lives. For that, it is perhaps worth seeing. If you're looking for a sparkling, witty comedy, move on. Fans of Stanwyck will find her at her best, as always...but Gene Reynolds, as always, brings things to a crashing halt. Helen Broderick is at her wise-cracking best, but it's not really good enough to save what is basically a formulaic, Depression-era comedy...one with an all-too-familiar ending. Ho-hum, and all that.

This is a very dated story about two people in love, Barbara Stanwyck and Gene Raymond, and their marital problems. Stanwyck plays a model who came from a poor home, and she doesn't want to give up her $50 a week job and live on only Raymond's $35/week salary. He talks her into it anyway, though she screams all the way down the aisle. Soon she finds herself in money trouble and gets involved with a playboy, Robert Young. To ease her financial problems, she works on the sly.The performances are delightful, but it's a slim story and then there's the business of this guy not wanting his wife to work. I normally don't have a problem watching films in the context of their times, but in this case, the husband seemed unreasonable to me. Ned Sparks and Helen Broderick are hilarious. Stanwyck is always fresh and sincere. Gene Raymond is attractive, but I've always failed to see why he was so important to MGM that Mayer forced Jeannette Macdonald to marry him. The film didn't really hold my interest, but Stanwyck is always worth seeing.