The title for my review comes directly from this movie, as voiced by Freddy Bartholomew. Talk about your intrusive product placement! Listen Darling is a film that seems slapped together, giving us 75 minutes of romantic mayhem that feels like they deleted every other five minutes. Mary Astor(as the mother of Pinkie) tries to hold his production together. In the midst of incomprehensible character actions, she struggles to maintain some integrity, but this B film takes her under with the rest of the cast. The two main characters are Pinkie (Judy Garland) and Buzz (Freddy). They try to derail Pinkie's mother's decision to marry a nice guy who offers little more than financial security. Yes, Mary is willing to settle for that settled feeling and the kids will have none of it. So they kidnap her. Yes, you read that right. They load her into a rickety old travel trailer and light out for the open road with her screaming protests ringing in their ears.
Along the way, Pinkie gets to sing some songs. Freddy gets to exude bucketloads of earnestness (This seemed more adorable in Captain's Courageous or in any film made by Shirley Temple). The script feels hijacked, too, though it ends predictably. Fortunately, Judy rebounds quite nicely the very next year in her journey to Oz.
I have difficulty figuring out how this film was green-lighted. But I have a theory. Here is one side of a phone conversation that might have taken place mid-1937:
"Ed Marin, here. Oh hi, Sam. How's my favorite agent? I'm not going to like what? C'mon just spit it out. They took Gable?! You've got to be kidding me! He's what holds the entire story together! And without him I've got no chance to break out of second features! Tell me what happened.
Yeah, yeah...Fleming? Of course he wants him. Gable is box office boffo; who wouldn't want him. Yeah, I know. Fleming is Sam's fair-haired boy right now. What's the name of their film? 'Test Pilot'? Never heard of it. Does Gable want to do it? Yeah, well who's in the cast? Loy...Tracy...Barrymore...Main. Okay, I can see the attraction. So who does that leave us with? Sam said that, huh? Okay, who does he have for us? Freddy Bartholomew?! Is he kidding? He's supposed to romance Mary Astor? Well I should hope not! The kid's only 13. Oh yeah? Instead of Gable kidnapping Mary to win her heart, Bartholomew kidnaps her to get her away from the banker boyfriend? But Freddy's British; they realize the film takes place in the good ole U.S., don't they? The scriptwriters are going to have their hands full. Okay, then who is supposed to be the new boyfriend if Gable is out? Walter Pidgeon! But he's British too! I'm trying to stay calm!
You realize Judy is 15 now...? Oh, he's shot up like a weed, huh? But he's still only 13! Can he drive? Okay, but what about that scene where the police stop him? The audiences will buy it? I don't know about that.
What? There's more? They can't take 'Listen, Darling' too! Without that song, the title of the film won't make any sense. Sure, sure...audiences will accept anything. I get it.
Maybe if I talk to Gable? Oh really? I don't know why that should make him sore...just because they used his picture in that Dear Mr. Gable bit...oh, he didn't get paid for that? Okay, then I can see how he might be sensitive about sharing a bill with Judy.
Okay, I guess we'll just have to figure out a way to get Mary and the kids out in the countryside within the first couple of minutes. And a way to resolve the ending quickly, too, so we an bring it in under 75 minutes. Then we can move on to the next film. Do you think we can get Tracy?"
It could have happened. For another review that points out some shortcomings of this film, see the review by charlytully.
Along the way, Pinkie gets to sing some songs. Freddy gets to exude bucketloads of earnestness (This seemed more adorable in Captain's Courageous or in any film made by Shirley Temple). The script feels hijacked, too, though it ends predictably. Fortunately, Judy rebounds quite nicely the very next year in her journey to Oz.
I have difficulty figuring out how this film was green-lighted. But I have a theory. Here is one side of a phone conversation that might have taken place mid-1937:
"Ed Marin, here. Oh hi, Sam. How's my favorite agent? I'm not going to like what? C'mon just spit it out. They took Gable?! You've got to be kidding me! He's what holds the entire story together! And without him I've got no chance to break out of second features! Tell me what happened.
Yeah, yeah...Fleming? Of course he wants him. Gable is box office boffo; who wouldn't want him. Yeah, I know. Fleming is Sam's fair-haired boy right now. What's the name of their film? 'Test Pilot'? Never heard of it. Does Gable want to do it? Yeah, well who's in the cast? Loy...Tracy...Barrymore...Main. Okay, I can see the attraction. So who does that leave us with? Sam said that, huh? Okay, who does he have for us? Freddy Bartholomew?! Is he kidding? He's supposed to romance Mary Astor? Well I should hope not! The kid's only 13. Oh yeah? Instead of Gable kidnapping Mary to win her heart, Bartholomew kidnaps her to get her away from the banker boyfriend? But Freddy's British; they realize the film takes place in the good ole U.S., don't they? The scriptwriters are going to have their hands full. Okay, then who is supposed to be the new boyfriend if Gable is out? Walter Pidgeon! But he's British too! I'm trying to stay calm!
You realize Judy is 15 now...? Oh, he's shot up like a weed, huh? But he's still only 13! Can he drive? Okay, but what about that scene where the police stop him? The audiences will buy it? I don't know about that.
What? There's more? They can't take 'Listen, Darling' too! Without that song, the title of the film won't make any sense. Sure, sure...audiences will accept anything. I get it.
Maybe if I talk to Gable? Oh really? I don't know why that should make him sore...just because they used his picture in that Dear Mr. Gable bit...oh, he didn't get paid for that? Okay, then I can see how he might be sensitive about sharing a bill with Judy.
Okay, I guess we'll just have to figure out a way to get Mary and the kids out in the countryside within the first couple of minutes. And a way to resolve the ending quickly, too, so we an bring it in under 75 minutes. Then we can move on to the next film. Do you think we can get Tracy?"
It could have happened. For another review that points out some shortcomings of this film, see the review by charlytully.