The Bride Came C.O.D.
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Movie Reviews of The Bride Came C.O.D.
Movie Review: Scrappy Screwball Novelty Showcases Two Normally Intense But Oddly Incompatible Stars
Summary: 3 Stars
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 the redoubtable 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 gesture, 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 Pallette 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.
Movie Review: Bette and Cagney in comedy mode
Summary: 3 Stars
Have you ever wondered what would happen if The Public Enemy and Jezebel got together to make a movie? The outcome would be something like THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D., an uneasy comedy featuring the unlikely combo of two of Warner's premium stars of the period, Bette Davis and James Cagney.
The two had previously co-starred in JIMMY THE GENT in the 1930s. It wasn't an instant love-fest. Davis was quoted as saying during the shoot that Cagney's haircut was "cut too close to the scalp and gives me the creeps". There was no love lost between them when THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D. came along in 1941. To Davis' chagrin, the film would be made on location; and adding insult to injury was Cagney's brother William who produced the film. Davis suspected that Cagney used his influence to change things in the script. "I'm sorry I never thought to fix it so my sister could produce pictures...perhaps if I did I could change scripts too..."
When oil heiress Joan Winfield's (Bette Davis) engagement to publicity-hungry bandleader Allen Brice (Jack Carson) is announced over the radio, her furious father (Eugene Pallette) makes a deal with cash-strapped pilot Steve Collins (James Cagney), whose been assigned to transport the happy couple to the justice of peace: ditch the groom and he'll pay Steve the going freight charges to take Joan back home instead! So begins the battle of wills and wits as Steve and Joan are forced to crash-land in the desert and fend for themselves...
Scripted by frequent Bette Davis story scribes Julius and Philip Epstein, THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D. must have come during a period when studio head Jack Warner wanted to "punish" Davis in some way (possiby because of having to loan her out to Goldwyn for THE LITTLE FOXES); there's no other way of imagining how she could have ever consented to be a part of it. This was also the year that Davis appeared in THE GREAT LIE, and she was just getting ready to play Maggie in THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER.
She's a lovely presence any way, and her professionalism shines through whatever misgivings she personally harboured. Her chemistry with Cagney is fine; and it's a first-rate screwball comedy when all is said and done.
Warners have done their usual stellar job with the DVD release, furnishing the film with a Warner Night at the Movies programme (including the stunning Technicolor short "Carnival of Rhythm" featuring the Katherine Dunham dance company), plus other year-specific trailers, shorts and cartoons; allowing you to spin the movie out into an entire evening of entertainment. An essential title for Bette Davis fans.
Movie Review: Bette Davis does "light and frothy" just as well as she does "serious and riveting"
Summary: 3 Stars
Nonsense, but perfectly watchable nonsense. Probably the most notable thing about this featherweight souffle is watching how effortlessly Bette Davis moved from her usual heavier, nuanced dramatic performances to an effective light, comic role, complete with recurring sight gag where she repeatedly falls down into a cactus and gets needles stuck in her behind. Similarly, it's also fun to see James Cagney do light and goofy just as well as he does steely and dangerous, his usual forte at the time.
Don't expect too much out of "The Bride Came C.O.D." and you'll likely enjoy it well enough. The DVD features a crisp, sharp picture and a nice selection of extra features.
Movie Review: Nothing yet
Summary: 1 Stars
Dear sirs,
I haven't received the DVD yet.
Yours,
Vítor França
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