A Disappointing Continuation

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Kay Francis is Ralph Forbes' ex-wife, because Genevieve Tobin stole him away from her. But, when Kay meets Ralph after two years apart and sees his wife with another man, she gets it in her mind to trap her and force the wife out of the marriage, so Kay can get Ralph back. But the other man just so happens to be George Brent, who sees Kay at a fancy party and appears to like what he sees. She, too, but maybe just to be playing with him. The plan is to get him and the wife at her country place, where she asked her ex to show up for lunch, thereby putting them all in an awkward situation. But, what she doesn't count on is John Eldridge and Claire Dodd, a married couple who are jewel thieves and who must make a quick getaway. Because they stole Genevieve's car, they are brought to Kay's place. (Watch it to understand.) When they're all together, things happen. The film's quick one-liners and the chemistry of Kay and George make this feel like a guilty pleasure, especially since Kay is great at being enticing. How can such a funny and fulfilling picture be so unknown? If you've never heard of The Goose and the Gander, then you need to discover Ms. Kay Francis at her sizzling best.

I happened across this film as it aired on TCM, and I found myself unable to stop watching. I've never been a great fan of Kay Francis, but this is delightfully entertaining. It fits in with those zany, intricate plots of 1930s comedies with mistaken identities, multiple couples, and all a "to-do" with the wealthy upper classes...fitting right in with the usual Depression Era escapist fare - which I admit I usually enjoy!Others' reviews give one enough of an idea of the plot and the context behind the making of the film. All I want to add is that for those that may want to acquire this film, TCM is now providing it from their TCM Vaults (Warners Archive). Visit WWW.TCM.COM for more...

Starting in 1934, when the new Production Code was enacted, 'inappropriate' adult themes were generally forbidden in films. That's because in the fast and loose 20s and especially early 30s, all sorts of very adult themes crept into films. Cursing, talks of abortions, extreme violence, adultery and even nudity were in films for general consumption---including in a Tarzan film (which appealed mostly to kids). So, a backlash took place and most of these topics were out or else if a sanitized version were allowed, by the end of the film the wrong-doers had to be punished.THE GOOSE AND THE GANDER is about as racy as they come in the Post-Code era. My assumption is that because the movie came out in 1935, it had been designed as a Pre-Code style film but had been re-written for the new sensibilities. So, on one hand, the film has themes of adultery BUT because it's Post-Code, the people never actually get a chance to consummate their illicit affairs. And, by the end of the film, people had learned their lesson and went back to their spouses or, in the case of the criminals, were arrested.The film begins with married Genevieve Tobin trying to arrange a tryst with George Brent. But, this tryst is interrupted by Kay Francis and her friends. It seems that some time back, Tobin had stolen HER husband and now using a rather intricate plot, she diverts Tobin and Brent to her home--planning on keeping them there while secretly contacting Tobin's husband so he could come there and find his wife with another man. However, when two thieves get caught up in the plot, the entire plan falls apart and where this all leads is anyone's guess.Overall, this film is very entertaining and funny--with typically good acting from Brent and Francis. Despite the Code, the film makers managed to work around it and make a nice little movie. The only negative, and I was able to look past it, was that the ending seemed a bit hard to believe.

The best thing about this romantic comedy is how good it looks thanks to cinematographer Sidney Hickok. This 1935 but the interior scenes look like they were shot in the 1950's. Hickok was a brilliant cinematographer whose career began in the silents and he would go on to shoot such films as The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, To Have and Have Not, A slight Case of Murder, Gentleman Jim and the sci-fi classic Them. Charles Kenyon wrote the story and the screenplay about a woman who overhears the woman who stole away her husband planning a weekend affair with another man so she hatches an elaborate plan to embarrass the woman and her ex by diverting the cheating couple to her home and getting her ex to come over to catch them. Another couple who are jewel thieves are inadvertently lured into her trap and things start getting complicated. It's a good story and a good cast with Kay Francis, George Bret, Genevieve Tobin, John Eldredge, Claire Dodd, Ralph Forbes, William Austin and Helen Lowell. With the rampant infidelity theme this story was probably written with pre-code Hollywood in mind but with the code going into effect the year before it's release it was filmed as a little less salacious. Alfred E. Green who would make such films as The Jolson Story and The Jackie Robinson Story directs. it's a fun little film and I would give it a 7.0 out of 10.