Breakfast For Two (1937)

An heiress (Barbara Stanwyck) sets her sights on a ne'er-do-well playboy (Herbert Marshall). His irresponsibility has caused the family fortune to dissipate and the shipping line they own go into receivership. She buys up the company in a plot to make him stand on his own. Based on the novel A LOVE LIKE THAT by David Garth and directed by Alfred Santell (THE HAIRY APE). Is there anything sadder than a screwball comedy that falls flat on its face? Stanwyck, Marshall, Glenda Farrell (as a showgirl) and Eric Blore (as a butler) have proven themselves in comedies before and after but evverything fizzles! I'm not sure if it's the script or Santell's lackluster direction or maybe a combination of both but even at a brief running time of one hour and 7 minutes, it outwears its welcome very quickly. There's an extended wedding scene with window washers that's meant to be hilarious but its painfully unfunny. With Donald Meek and Etienne Girardot.