Strangers in Love (1932)
Credits...
Director:
Lothar Mendes
Writers:
Grover Jones; William J. Locke
Produced by:
Robert Harris .... producer (uncredited)
Cinematography by:
Henry Sharp
Film Editing by:
(unknown)
Art Direction by:
(unknown)
Costume Design by:
(unknown)
Music Department:
Rudolph G. Kopp; John Leipold; Stephan Pasternacki (all uncredited)
Cast...
Fredric March ... Buddy Drake / Arthur Drake
Kay Francis ... Diana Merrow
Stuart Erwin ... Stan Kenney
Juliette Compton ... Muriel Preston
George Barbier ... Mr. Merrow
Sidney Toler ... McPhail
Earle Foxe ... J.C. Clark
Lucien Littlefield ... Professor Clark
Leslie Palmer ... Bronson
Gertrude Howard ... Snowball, Servant
Ben Taggart ... Crenshaw
John M. Sullivan ... Dr. Selous
External Links...
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Reviews... In this story of a young vagabond who masquerades as his well-to-do but conscienceless twin brother, Fredric March assumes both roles. Through clever photography Mr. March is thus beheld and heard taking to himself, and this actor gives his usual excellent performance… Lothar Mendes, the director, has incorporated into the picture several so called “process-shots” which are very poor. Some of the direction in other respects is fair. Kay Francis is charming is charming and alert as Diana. Mr. Erwin is good in his rough-and-ready fashion. A romance with numerous laughs, ably done by its cast, adaptor and director… March turns in one of his best performances to date… It has a flavor of sophistication, yet is played and written down to the masses. In the capable hands of Fredric March and Kay Francis an old bewhiskered theme becomes an entertaining and amusing movie. You could write the plot blindfolded –twin brothers, one a crook with heart trouble, the other a supposed prodigal but actually a stellar character. But how that boy March shades the characters of the two Drake brothers! Stuart Erwin gets over some good laughs. Good Stuff.
Review By: Michael O'Hanlon (February 24, 2008) I really liked Strangers in Love (1932) –Fredric March’s follow-up to his Oscar winning performance in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931). The plot doesn’t have any originality, but the romantic flare of March and Kay Francis makes this essential. March plays a dual role as bad twin with money and good twin without a cent, Kay Francis plays the love interest, Juliette Compton plays a conniving little tramp, and Stuart Erwin plays Stan Keeney, the wise-cracking best friend of the good twin. The film starts off with lovely Kay Francis as Diane Merrow, the stenographer, assisting Fredric March, as Arthur Drake, in completing his book on discoveries in Egypt. Diane is icy towards him, and she has a good reason for her bad attitude; she’s working for the man who screwed her father out of all of his money, leaving them without a cent. While other movies of the time were giving escapism from the realities of The Great Depression, in Strangers in Love The Depression is a major factor of every character’s life. The story might have not had much reality to it, but the setting certainly did. We’re introduced to Robert Drake, Fredric March as the good twin, standing outside of a restaurant joking with his friend, “What’s butter? What’s bread?” First I thought his character had gone delirious or something because I didn’t know March played a dual role and remembered him, in the previous scene, bragging to Kay Francis about how much money he has. But the whole concept set in. Robert, persuaded by Stan, decides to go ask his brother for financial help and Arthur accepts the deal, but gives Robert $1,000 to “get out of my life for good.” Now I thought there was going to be the cheesy over-the-shoulder shots of March facing the camera and an extra in shadow, but to my surprise, two Fredric Marches appear onscreen. I was taken back, and wondered, watching a 76-year-old film and living in a digital age, how the hell did the director pull that off? But analyzing the shot, it was clear the director, Lothar Mendes, had filmed March acting out both characters in separate takes, then played them back on a screen while March followed along with the performance of the brother. It took only one of the best actors the film has known to pull that off. Anyway, while giving his brother enough money to get out of his life for good, Arthur, who has been sick with heart troubles since he was born, dies of a heart attack. Robert then decides to take on the role of Arthur, and legally faked his own death. He has trouble adjusting himself into the situations of a life he has had no part of for twelve years (since they last spoke) and falls in love with Kay Francis, although she hates him with a passion, thinking he’s really Arthur, not Robert. Robert comes to realize that his brother cheated him out of their wealthy father’s estate, and he also learns that his brother has been involved with some shady characters, most notably Juliette Compton. Now I was impressed with Compton’s performance as Muriel. She had played the annoying religious ingénue to a tee in The Sign of the Cross (1932) that I was surprised she could pull off being a trampy swindler. But it says a lot about her talent. The police catch on to Arthur and arrive to arrest him, but by then, he has revealed his true identity to the woman he loves, Kay Francis and her father, and they attempt to help him by escaping. Police catch them, but Robert realizes that they were to arrest Arthur for cheating him out of their father’s million-dollar estate. He’s freed of all charges, and he plans to take care of Kay and her elderly father, ensuring they will never be in poverty ever again. It’s a good Valentine’s Day flick for the Classic Movie buffs, and it’s one of the small treasures of Classic Hollywood. The movie, considering it’s a Paramount picture, now owned by Universal, is never shown on TCM and certainly isn’t on DVD. It’s a rare film I was fortunate enough to find a copy of online. I’d suggest it to anyone wanting to watch more of the talented Kay Francis or Fredric March.
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