I hope the quality of corned beef is better now than it was then - I love that stuff. That's important because this is set against the backdrop of the history of corned beef. I guarantee that there'll be more people interested in that than in the film.
The corned beef stuff is actually quite interesting but the film isn't. It's so bad that at times it's actually unintentionally funny. Forty year old EGR with make-up to look (nothing) like an art student sets the tone for this silliness. Even though EGR probably felt quite at home discussing high-brow art, having found the dressing-up box, he is utterly unbelievable in this role. He then meets gorgeous Genevieve Tobin (surely she's Joan Blondell's posh sister?) after which they decide to put the world to rights. This story of improving the lives of the workers (and the quality of the corned beef) alone if expanded could have made a pretty good picture itself but after five minutes that's all over and the whole thing changes.
EGR then meets sultry Kay Francis' ambitious singer. Miss Francis herself had quite a reputation at the time and it's on that which would have explained EGR's sudden infatuation with her because it certainly couldn't have been her character. She wasn't a bad actress but in this she's absolutely atrocious employing her trademark one face for all emotions trick. The voice they used for her operatic singing couldn't sound less like a voice Kay Francis herself could ever possibly have. It sounds and looks hilarious.
Suddenly it's a different film again. EGR's character has been completely changed as a result of his infatuation with Kay Francis which again could make a film itself but how this 180-degree evolution happens is not really explored. At the same time Genevieve Tobin seems to be playing a different role - again, that could have been a film itself but it's all rushed over. It's the same with Kay Francis. Her character who literally sleeps her way to success would also provide enough material for a whole film but we just get snippets of her life.
Further corned beef related stuff happens but the whole thing feels like the producers have found a twenty chapter book and just filmed chapters 1, 5, 10 and 20 in isolation. Because it's all so shallow, you can't engage with anyone and the jarring changes in pace and theme makes it impossible for it to retain your attention.
An hour and a half is just not enough to do justice to a story about the conflict between altruism and ambition, love and lust, sexual and business rivalry.... and Corned Beef.
The corned beef stuff is actually quite interesting but the film isn't. It's so bad that at times it's actually unintentionally funny. Forty year old EGR with make-up to look (nothing) like an art student sets the tone for this silliness. Even though EGR probably felt quite at home discussing high-brow art, having found the dressing-up box, he is utterly unbelievable in this role. He then meets gorgeous Genevieve Tobin (surely she's Joan Blondell's posh sister?) after which they decide to put the world to rights. This story of improving the lives of the workers (and the quality of the corned beef) alone if expanded could have made a pretty good picture itself but after five minutes that's all over and the whole thing changes.
EGR then meets sultry Kay Francis' ambitious singer. Miss Francis herself had quite a reputation at the time and it's on that which would have explained EGR's sudden infatuation with her because it certainly couldn't have been her character. She wasn't a bad actress but in this she's absolutely atrocious employing her trademark one face for all emotions trick. The voice they used for her operatic singing couldn't sound less like a voice Kay Francis herself could ever possibly have. It sounds and looks hilarious.
Suddenly it's a different film again. EGR's character has been completely changed as a result of his infatuation with Kay Francis which again could make a film itself but how this 180-degree evolution happens is not really explored. At the same time Genevieve Tobin seems to be playing a different role - again, that could have been a film itself but it's all rushed over. It's the same with Kay Francis. Her character who literally sleeps her way to success would also provide enough material for a whole film but we just get snippets of her life.
Further corned beef related stuff happens but the whole thing feels like the producers have found a twenty chapter book and just filmed chapters 1, 5, 10 and 20 in isolation. Because it's all so shallow, you can't engage with anyone and the jarring changes in pace and theme makes it impossible for it to retain your attention.
An hour and a half is just not enough to do justice to a story about the conflict between altruism and ambition, love and lust, sexual and business rivalry.... and Corned Beef.