Even though I don't like Joan Crawford, I do like Franchot Tone and Robert Young, so there was a two-thirds chance I'd enjoy watching The Bride Wore Red, especially since I was anxious to see a movie filmed while Joan and Franchot were married to see if they had sparkling chemistry. This disappointment only had a couple of good scenes, and the lack of chemistry between the two newlyweds was shocking. They seemed like they couldn't stand each other!
The premise of the movie is good; the wealthy George Zucco slums it at a nightclub and makes a bet with his pal Robert Young that given the right clothes, any riffraff could go incognito among the rich. Bob disagrees and thinks there's a fundamental difference between the social classes, and he leaves the nightclub before he sees his friend carry out his bet. George approaches lowlife singer Joan Crawford and gives her pocket money enough to buy a beautiful wardrobe then pays her hotel bill for two weeks at an exclusive resort, telling her to have fun during an all-expenses paid vacation. She starts off having a blast acting the part of a lady, especially when she can confide in one of the hotel maids, her old friend Mary Philips. Before long, she runs into a problem: the supposedly charming and irresistible, yet poor, local postman Franchot Tone. I adore Franchot Tone but he's decidedly un-charming and very resistible in this movie. If this was the first movie I'd ever seen him in, I'd probably cringe every time someone mentioned his name.
What are the good parts of this movie, since it's obviously not Franchot Tone, his romance with Joan, or Joan herself? Mary is given a good couple of scenes, and her character seems to be the only smart one in the film, and there's once scene towards the last portion of the movie in which Bob shows how he feels about the difference in social classes and it's a very good dramatic scene. Besides that, this movie isn't worth watching unless you're absolutely in love with Joan Crawford. For Robert Young in a cute romance set in a foreign country, try Paradise for Three, and for Mr. and Mrs. Tone in a much better drama, try The Gorgeous Hussy.
The premise of the movie is good; the wealthy George Zucco slums it at a nightclub and makes a bet with his pal Robert Young that given the right clothes, any riffraff could go incognito among the rich. Bob disagrees and thinks there's a fundamental difference between the social classes, and he leaves the nightclub before he sees his friend carry out his bet. George approaches lowlife singer Joan Crawford and gives her pocket money enough to buy a beautiful wardrobe then pays her hotel bill for two weeks at an exclusive resort, telling her to have fun during an all-expenses paid vacation. She starts off having a blast acting the part of a lady, especially when she can confide in one of the hotel maids, her old friend Mary Philips. Before long, she runs into a problem: the supposedly charming and irresistible, yet poor, local postman Franchot Tone. I adore Franchot Tone but he's decidedly un-charming and very resistible in this movie. If this was the first movie I'd ever seen him in, I'd probably cringe every time someone mentioned his name.
What are the good parts of this movie, since it's obviously not Franchot Tone, his romance with Joan, or Joan herself? Mary is given a good couple of scenes, and her character seems to be the only smart one in the film, and there's once scene towards the last portion of the movie in which Bob shows how he feels about the difference in social classes and it's a very good dramatic scene. Besides that, this movie isn't worth watching unless you're absolutely in love with Joan Crawford. For Robert Young in a cute romance set in a foreign country, try Paradise for Three, and for Mr. and Mrs. Tone in a much better drama, try The Gorgeous Hussy.