Hands Across The Table (1935)

A gold digging manicurist (Carole Lombard) and a penniless playboy (Fred MacMurray) hook up with the understanding that they're both looking to marry for wealth, not love. But as Cupid works his magic, they have a hard time sticking to the agenda. Directed by Mitchell Leisen (HOLD BACK THE DAWN), this amiable comedy is boosted by the presence of Lombard and MacMurray who make for a great romantic team. If one is only familiar with the Disneyfied MacMurray of the 1960s, it can come as surprise to see how much charm he had and yes, sex appeal. And Lombard is lovely without that shrillness that mars her performances in her more acclaimed films like MY MAN GODFREY and TWENTIETH CENTURY. It's a piffle of a movie really but so effortless that one doesn't have to work very hard to enjoy it. Ralph Bellamy is again the third wheel but it's a relief to see him not played as a doofus and the butt of jokes as he was in THE AWFUL TRUTH and HIS GIRL FRIDAY. With William Demarest, Ruth Donnelly and Astrid Allwyn.