User Reviews

This charming and light-hearted Ruritanian-set romantic comedy is a remake of the 1931 movies 'Ihre Hoheit befiehlt' and 'Princesse, a vos ordres!'. This version from Fox Film Corporation stars Janet Gaynor and Henri Garat, who reprises his role from the French original. It is helmed by the German director William Dieterle, who exhibits considerable artistic understanding with his stylish and refined direction. With polished gems such as 'Jewel Robbery' and 'Six Hours to Live' already decorating his resume and timeless classics such as 'All That Money Can Buy' and 'Portrait of Jennie' still to be realised, it is truly fascinating to view this movie and observe a developing master at play.

Plot-wise, Gaynor and Garat star as Princess Marie Christine and Lieutenant Conradi, respectively. Attending a commoner ball incognito, they meet and become enchanted by one another over the course of a merry evening. The Princess says that she works in a hair salon and the Lieutenant describes himself as a green-grocer. When the Princess flits away into the enveloping night leaving only a note with her place of work for the smitten Conradi, the wheels of romantic misunderstanding are most definitely set in motion.

On the acting side of things, both principals work well in their roles. They are ably supported by one of cinema's greatest character actors, C. Aubrey Smith, who contributes yet another anchoring performance as the Prime Minister, Von Heynitz. Gaynor is cute and characteristically enchanting. Her Princess is engaging and not without a rebellious streak! Garat, making his first appearance in a Hollywood production, is amusing and likable in a somewhat aloof kind of a way. His Lieutenant appears suitably bewildered at stages and Garat's facial expressions had me chuckling. He occasionally resembled a toy soldier or puppet being played with by those at the Palace. To see more of Garat, I would recommend the somewhat similarly-themed comedy 'Un Mauvais Garcon' from 1936.

Eighty years after its premiere at Radio City Music Hall in New York, 'Adorable' still stands up as a delectable cinematic offering. The sets and the cinematic playfulness that allows the Princess's shoes to dance daintily and her bed sway gently with the music are the elements that really endeared this movie to me. View it if you possibly can and allow its gentle magic touch your heart and bring forth many smiles of enjoyment.

This remake of a 1931 movie of the same title, re-cast Henri Garat as the reluctant suitor. He does fine work, although he is a little hampered by the fact that Janet Gaynor is far too old for the role of an impetuous but likable teenage princess. And that makes Henri seem at least a shade too old for his role too! With this caveat, however, Adorable is just that. Brilliantly directed by William Dieterle and most engagingly photographed by John Seitz (his camera hardly ever stops moving as it roams through Gordon Wiles' vast sets), this is a movie to enjoy again and again. The movie moves so fast through its 88 minutes that I thought that C. Aubrey Smith was playing the princess's dad. He certainly acts like her dad, but I see in the credits that some child named Douglas Scott is playing the role of the king. So if Smith is playing neither dad nor the king, who is Smith? Ah! He's the prime minister! That goes to show just how fast the movie moves – and usually in vast tracking shots too! And the sets are absolutely magnificent! Adorable has been unavailable for years, but fortunately, it has now been issued on a quite watchable Loving the Classics DVD.

The presence of Henri Garat is perhaps the one low element of this otherwise charming piece of musical strudel, very close to what Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier (or other male singers) were doing over at Paramount from 1929 to 1933. Janet Gaynor is a princess of a European country, back from being educated in Paris, and quite a handful for King Douglas Scott and prime minister C. Aubrey Smith.

Gaynor hides her identity from commoner Garat whom she has fallen in love with, romantic music and he is promoted to an officer's rank and hired by Smith to distract Gaynor from her unknown lover. He's stunned to find out her real identity, and tries to keep it formal, but a lovelorn princess like Gaynor is not about to be cast aside.

The only thing this is missing is that American ambassador played by Ethel Merman because it truly goes down "Call Me Madam" territory but with operetta tropes. It's also very similar to "Love Me Tonight" in that sense and in the way that it utilizes props and rhythms in its songs for visual treats. Each prop seems to be a character all its own, and Fox definitely utilized new technical achievements to advance the story that got the camera really moving.

We also have Sterling Holloway as Garat's valet, Blanche Fredrici as a countess and Herbert Mundin as a private investigator. Esther Muir is once again a femme fatale. Unfortunately, Gaynor and Garat seem very uncomfortable in their singing assignments even though Gaynor had sung before on screen.

Still, this is a surprisingly fresh musical, saved by the effects and Gaynor's charm, as well as that great cast of supporting characters especially Smith who steals every moment as a lovable old letch who seems to be enjoying watching the romance even though he knows it can't proceed under normal conditions.