ThiefHott Too much of everything

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

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

JohnHowardReid Songs (both Chevalier): "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" by Irving Kahal, Pierre Norman and Sammy Fain; "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight" by Al Lewis and Al Sherman. Sound recording: Ernest F. Zatorsky. Producer: Monta Bell.Copyright 6 May 1930 by Paramount Pictures. 6,984 feet. 77 minutes. New York opening at the Rialto: 17 May 1930. [Available on a 7/10 VintageFilmBuff DVD. Contemporary reviewers drew attention to poor sound in the Venice scenes, do don't blame VFB!COMMENT: A delight! Alas, in the English version, Chevalier has only two songs (there are four in the French version, La Grande Mer) and the charming Colbert does not have much of a role, but Maurice, of course, is a constant joy as he runs riot in a chewing gum factory and befriends a really entrancing little boarding-house slavey, Elaine Koch. Preston Sturges has contributed some witty dialogue, and production values are top-drawer. The movie opens promisingly in Venice with Chevalier as a singing gondolier. When he delivers Claudette back to her home away from home, however, our enjoyment slips as George Barbier rushes all over the set. The camera manages to follow him, but the sound mikes cannot. Fortunately, the directors evidently decided not to repeat this experiment. Once the action moves back to the U.S.A., Barbier stops running and the sound recording settles down.

st-shot Maurice Chevalier charms America and gets the bosses daughter in this early sound rom-com featuring a few of his songs along with his straw boater. Not as polished a film as his other early work with Lubitsch and Mamoulin, Chevalier still conveys his irresistible charm battling primitive early sound while exhibiting his exuberantly lush accent.Chewing gum magnet's daughter Barbara Billings has fallen heavy for her Venice guide Pierre Mirande but the xenophobic old man sees him as a gigolo looking for an angle to get at his empire. Billings is an abusive blow hard but his daughter has him wrapped around his finger so he devises with Barbara's American suitor a plan to take him to America and make life miserable for him. The indefatigable Pierre however wins over all those around him as well as come up with a gum that sends profits through the roof that in addition assists the prohibition campaign.Chevalier carries the picture while Claudette Colbert as Barbara offers up a touch more coquette than standard innocent abroad while old man Billings manically played by George Barbier is a bombastic chauvinistic bore given to shoving his wife. Hobart Henley's direction underwhelms while some comic dialogue ("Don't talk when I'm interrupting you.") is offered up by Preston Sturges but it remains Maurice's picture and his unchained joie di vivre that gives Across the Pond the life it has.

kidboots Originally planned to highlight the talents of another up and coming Paramount player, Charlie Ruggles, it was quickly adapted to Maurice Chevalier's larger than life talent when "The Love Parade" proved such a big hit!! Chevalier proved he was completely at home in both light operetta and contemporary comedy with songs and "The Big Pond" gave him one of his standards - "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" which in 1930 instantly joined "Louise" in his repertoire, the fact that it was played endlessly throughout the film didn't worry anyone.Chevalier played Pierre Mirande, an immigrant determined to make good and trying to cope with a snooty American family - and who did Paramount get to play Barbara, a typical American girl, why Claudette Colbert of course, who was almost as French as Maurice!! Newly hired dialogue director Preston Sturges not only rewrote the dialogue (it was taken from a 1928 Broadway play that lasted 47 performances), he altered the plot and characterizations so it resembled his own Broadway hit "Strictly Dishonourable".Within minutes Pierre has confessed to Barbara Billings that "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me". She is an American heiress caught up in the heady atmosphere of Venice but of course her father and Ronnie, her would be suitor, believe Pierre is a fortune hunter. They hatch a scheme to bring Pierre to America and completely discourage him by working him to a frazzle in the Billings Chewing Gum Factory. Back in New York Barbara assumes that Pierre is being treated with kingly respect but sneaky Ronnie has directed him to a seedy boarding house but is dismayed to see his French charm and good humour make him a real favourite with all the tenants - especially the land lady. His breezy spirits and hard work in the factory gradually thaw the hard hearted father and when Pierre hits upon the idea of creating an alcohol flavoured chewing gum (after a factory accident) the sky's the limit. Barbara is less than impressed as she sees her light hearted lover turn into a workaholic businessman but Pierre hasn't really changed - he is just trying his best to earn the $20,000 a year that Ronnie hinted he needed to win his girl!!This satire on big business was a bit of a come down from the scintillating "The Love Parade". Funniest scenes were those that kidded Chevalier's confusion with American slang, especially at the boarding house dinner which ends with him being considered a regular guy by his fellow workers. At a presentation he launches into a typical "sing to the audience" song with the bubbling "Living in the Sunlight, Loving in the Moonlight" and just before the end he can hardly contain himself as he sings "Lucky Day" (he sings it to Jenny. She is a little girl at the boarding house and there is a really sweet interplay between them). For me, they are the only scenes that the Chevalier exuberance really shines through and I think they are the high point of the movie.Claudette Colbert does nicely as the love interest, she even sings a bit, but she is not over taxed and seems to disappear during the last half of the movie.Recommended.

jraskin-1 I just viewed "The Big Pond" on DVD, having purchased it through a private collector. Although the film is stagy (especially the over-acting of George Barbier), I found it quite enjoyable. Having just seen (for the 20th time) the Marx Brothers "Monkey Business", I wanted to see the Chavalier film that introduced the song, "You Brought A New Kind Of Love To Me" to movie audiences. You get a healthy dose of the song throughout this film, but it's such a great song, I was happy to hear its various reprises, vocal and instrumental. Another excellent Chevalier song from this film, "Living In The Sunlight, Loving In The Moonlight" brought back memories of Tiny Tim's rendition of this song on his "God Bless Tiny Tim" album. I found Chevalier to be at his best in this film, and highly recommend it to anyone that can track down a copy!