Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . in for $80 million, James Cagney's mercenary bachelor pilot "Steve Collins" decides during THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D. If you study the portion of this movie from 9:54 to 11:46, you'll see that it's clear (at least as crystal as the censors would allow in 1941) that Steve is an experienced gigolo, servicing many society ladies of a certain age under the pretense of providing "flying lessons." (Yes, all this decades before Erica Jong's FEAR OF FLYING novel was in print!) Warner Bros. is so discreet that they don't provide cast names or end credits to the trio of slumming dames pictured in this segment. But there's a clear implication that Steve's got hangars full of satisfied female clients. The contrast between Steve's first-shown "date" and his eventual wife "Joan Winfield" (Bette Davis, playing "age 23" here for at least her tenth year running) is stunning. What does homely Joan have that knock-out Ms. No Name lacks? About $80 million worth of Texas oil field profits, that's what! And Steve is a guy who knows which side of his bread to butter. This flick is the male precursor to PRETTY WOMAN.

mmallon4 Whenever I watch a classic movie with two love interest leads with astounding chemistry I'm often left in suspense wanting to see the two together at the end. The Bride Came C.O.D. is one such film.I find William Keighly to be a director of mediocre films; The Bride Came C.O.D. is a major exception. Past the not entirely electrifying opening, once James Cagney and Bette Davis where alone in the dessert and constantly bickering at each other I knew I was going to enjoy the hell out of this film. I was enjoying the presence of these two so much at one point I found some initial disappointment when a third character showed up despite the two being stuck in the wilderness. It felt like someone crashing at a party so it's a good thing that I did grow to like this character; the movie really does get better and better as it progresses.The movie takes place over a less than 24 hour time period and I'm pretty sure in real life two people couldn't go from hating each other to madly in love within a time period of this length, but The Bride Called C.O.D. is movie fantasy. The film has one pivotal scene which elevated the film from being great to excellent in which Davis tells Cagney in a tearful breakdown of how she has had everything handed to her in life. No longer was the movie just a laugh riot, I now had characters whom I was emotionally invested in. It's a testament to Bette Davis as an actress that she has the ability to tug the heart strings like that in an instant. I'm generally not a huge of Davis, I find her roles in numerous soap opera romantic tragedies off putting, thus it was a pleasant surprise to discover her natural ability for comedy. Perhaps that dame could have been undoubtedly the outstanding screwball of her generation!

Ed Uyeshima Bette Davis and James Cagney were two of the most revered actors and dynamic personalities on the Warners Brothers lot during Hollywood's golden era, so it was inevitable that they team in a movie. This was actually their second pairing after a minor Michael Curtiz comedy, 1934's "Jimmy the Gent", but the mystery of their 1941 reunion directed by William Keighley is why they decided to do such a predictable screwball farce. The novelty value of their casting may be enough to engender interest in the 2007 DVD release, one of five Cagney movies packaged as "James Cagney - The Signature Collection". The slapstick-oriented story is a rehash of Frank Capra's classic "It Happened One Night", this time with Bette Davis playing the headstrong heiress running away from her wealthy father to marry a vainglorious cad.It's intriguing to see Davis play broad comedy since she seems to make little distinction between this and the intense approach she takes with her memorable dramatic roles of the period like "The Letter" and "The Little Foxes". As spoiled Texas oil heiress Joan Winfield, she manages to be funny almost in spite of herself. The silly plot has her father hiring pilot Steve Collins to kidnap Joan in order to bring her back home to Amarillo. The volatile combination of Joan's petulance and Steve's irascibility causes them to crash-land in the middle of the desert on the California-Nevada border. They end up in a ghost town inhabited only by a crotchety prospector, and needless to say, shenanigans ensue when Joan attempts to get back to civilization. Cagney is amusing but surprisingly subdued as Steve, perhaps in a gallant attempt to hand the picture to Davis. It's a nice attempt, but the lack of romantic chemistry between the two stars dilutes what could have been a breezy if still forgettable concoction. They would have been far more palatable as the battling reporters in Howard Hawks' "His Girl Friday".Concerted efforts at slapstick are heavy-handed, especially a running gag with Davis landing her behind in various cactus plants, though one quick bit stands out - when Cagney kisses Davis, she responds with a characteristic slap, and his unexpected counter-response is knocking his forehead against hers like a coconut. The screenplay by the usually reliable Epstein brothers, Julius and Philip ("Casablanca") is snappy but just not funny enough to sustain the threadbare story, this despite a first-rate supporting cast - Eugene Palette in familiar blowhard mode as Joan's father, Jack Carson as her shallow bandleader fiancée, William Frawley ("I Love Lucy") as the smart-mouthed local sheriff, and Harry Davenport as the prospector. There are two quick cartoons and two vintage shorts included in the DVD to approximate a 1941 viewing experience at the neighborhood theater.

krdement This film was a big disappointment.I take the opposite view of the critics. This is not a case of the material not being up to the level of the actors; here the actors (Bette Davis and James Cagney) are simply not up to the level of the material. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert were every bit as big as Davis and Cagney, and look how It Happened One Night turned out - an all-time classic. With a very similar story, Davis proves that she has no talent for comedy (good thing for her that this is just about the only comedy she ever attempted!) Davis' one-note performance oozes petulance, but none of the nuances of Colbert's acting in It Happened One Night. Cagney, who was a great comedy actor, just seems out-of-sync with his costar, Davis. The script provides some decent lines and gags, but the delivery seems better suited to drama than comedy.Part of the problem is the soundtrack, which, like the delivery of Davis and Cagney, seems more suitable to a light drama than a comedy.Jack Carson, who played similar roles throughout his career, has more capably handled very similar material. In a fairly typical supporting role Eugene Palette delivers a respectable performance. In a slightly different role as an old west relic, Harry Davenport, is very good. But in one of his poorest performances, William Frawley is quite irritating. His character's constant references to fictional cops are a poor effort at irony. I really love every one of these performers, and it is a shame that, as an ensemble they achieve no more chemistry and no better result than The Bride Came C.O.D.