The Golden Arrow (1936)

Slight screwball comedy has that old chestnut of a plot, a newspaper reporter (George Brent) and a wealthy heiress (Bette Davis) get married despite the disparity in their incomes and lifestyle. Based on a short story by Michael Arlen and directed by Alfred E. Green (THE JOLSON STORY). There’s a neat plot twist about 30 minutes into the film but for the most part, it’s standard fare. As usual, Brent’s low key acting style is a perfect match for Davis’s intensity. The material is rather lethargic however (Cary Grant and Irene Dunne couldn't have saved it) but it’s a mercifully brief one hour and eight minute running time assures that it won’t wear out its welcome. This was Davis’s first released film after winning her Oscar for DANGEROUS and the film’s advertising played on it but who wants to see Davis in inferior romantic fluff? With Eugene Pallette (who the film could have used more of) and Dick Foran.