After making herself look drop-dead gorgeous for the after-life, beautifully distraught Hedy Lamarr (as Georgi Gragore) attempts suicide at sea. Also on the cruise ship bound for New York City, kindly doctor Spencer Tracy (as Karl Decker) prevents Ms. Lamarr from tossing herself overboard. Depressed, but never looking less than glamorous, Lamarr longs for handsome Kent Taylor (as Phil Mayberry). Still, she is attracted to Mr. Tracy. They decide to hook up, but idealistic Tracy has trouble mixing with Lamarr snooty friends...
The co-starring couple can't act their way in or out of this story. Tracy is uninterested and Lamarr is unrehearsed. Their styles, he acting and she posing, do not mix. There is some fun in listening to Verree Teasdale (as Cesca Marcesca) spit out her lines. When the action moves to Tracy's clinic, the offensive character played by Willie Best appears. Racist to the extreme, "Sambo" is a most appropriate name for Mr. Best's character. Like an obedient pet, "Sambo" shows incredible restraint while waiting for a piece of wedding cake.
** I Take This Woman (2/2/40) W.S. Van Dyke ~ Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, Verree Teasdale, Kent Taylor
The co-starring couple can't act their way in or out of this story. Tracy is uninterested and Lamarr is unrehearsed. Their styles, he acting and she posing, do not mix. There is some fun in listening to Verree Teasdale (as Cesca Marcesca) spit out her lines. When the action moves to Tracy's clinic, the offensive character played by Willie Best appears. Racist to the extreme, "Sambo" is a most appropriate name for Mr. Best's character. Like an obedient pet, "Sambo" shows incredible restraint while waiting for a piece of wedding cake.
** I Take This Woman (2/2/40) W.S. Van Dyke ~ Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, Verree Teasdale, Kent Taylor