Rent The Jessie Matthews Revue: Vol.2 (1936)

on both films... - The Jessie Matthews Revue: Vol.2 review by Steve

IT'S LOVE AGAIN.

Classy screwball musical from Gaumont which is bathed in the lustre of Jessie Matthews' stellar performance. She (yet again) plays a singer/dancer struggling to break into showbiz. Co-star Robert Young is a gossip columnist who fills space with made-up stories about a madcap socialite called Mrs Smythe-Smythe.

Jessie steps into the role of the fake celebrity and becomes famous for being famous. She performs a few excellent song and dance numbers in cute '30s fashions. The costume and set design is by veterans of German cinema and some of the crew would later get Oscar recognition. This brims with quality.

The actors squeeze all the laughs out of a witty screwball script. Jessie is superb at the comedy and matched by a decent leading man. There's the obvious influence of Hollywood musicals. It was released in the US, but these scanty costumes must have challenged the censorship.

Matthews' elocution lessons left her with an old fashioned faux-posh speaking voice and her high vocal range was already dated in the age of jazz. But she has charisma to burn; and one of cinema's most adorable overbites! It's the pick of '30s British musicals, and compares with the best of Hollywood too.

WALTZES FROM VIENNA.

This is a real oddity, a musical from the Master of Suspense. Alfred Hitchcock described it as the lowest point in his career, and yet it was released earlier the same year his long gestation as director finally matured with The Man Who Knew too Much. At the time it was more of a vehicle for British musical star, Jessie Matthews.

Only Hitch cut her songs- save one- and she has no dance routines. They hated each other, which is a shame because she would have been ideal in his '30s screwball-thrillers. What this is, most of all, is one of many classical biopics made in Britain in the early ‘30s.

There's a fictional account of Johann Strauss jr’s composition of the Blue Danube in 19th century Vienna, and a comic love triangle with Matthews as a precocious baker’s daughter and Fay Compton as an aristocrat looking to sponsor male talent… Edmond Knight lacks charm as the king of the waltz. Edmond Gwenn barely registers as Strauss sr.

Only Jessie catches the eye with her gift for comedy, and she looks lovely in the romantic gowns. There are a couple of visual flourishes from Hitch. The sets and costumes are lavish and this is decent compared with other period musicals made in Britain in the ‘30s. But it is the best work of no one involved. Maybe an ok time-killer for fans of the music.

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