''She's My Weakness'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by Melville W. Brown (assisted by

Dewey Starkey Dewey Starkey (May 9, 1898 – September 3, 1974) was an American assistant director. He worked on 41 films between 1930 and 1944. He won an Academy Award in 1933 for Best Assistant Director. He was born in Ohio and died in Orange County, ...

) and starring

Sue Carol Sue Carol (born Evelyn Jean Lederer, October 30, 1906 – February 4, 1982) was an American actress and talent agent. Carol's film career lasted from the late 1920s into the 1930s; when it ended, she became a talent agent. The last of her f ...

and Arthur Lake. The screenplay was written by J. Walter Ruben, based on the Broadway play ''Tommy'' by Howard Lindsay and Bertrand Robinson.

Plot

Tommy Mills wants to marry his girlfriend, Marie Thurber, but cannot afford it. When he inherits a piece of property, he plans on selling it in order to facilitate the marriage. However, Marie is also being pursued by Bernard Norton, who is not as seemingly dull as Tommy. Marie's parents would prefer their daughter to marry Tommy, but things get complicated when Marie's father, Warren, needs to sell a piece of property he owns in order to get himself out of financial difficulty. The town is interested in both pieces, but will only purchase one of them. To further complicate matters, Tommy's uncle, David Tuttle is attempting to broker the deal for the purchase of the land. In the confusion which ensues, both land parcels are sold without the permission of their owners. The resulting chaos gives the appearance of misdeeds by Tommy, which pushes Marie towards the arms of her other suitor. However, the truth comes out in the end, both Tommy and Mr. Thurber sell their properties and alleviate their financial needs, and Tommy and Marie get married.

Cast

* Arthur Lake as Tommy Mills *

as Marie Thurber *

Lucien Littlefield Lucien Littlefield (August 16, 1895 – June 4, 1960) was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men befor ...

as Warren Thurber * William Collier Sr. as David Tuttle * Helen Ware as Mrs. Thurber * Alan Bunce as Bernard Norton * Emily Fitzroy as Mrs. Oberlander (cast list as per AFI database)

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', in its review of the film, gave it mostly lukewarm and negative reviews. The critic commented negatively on the performances of the two leads, going so far to characterize Lake's performance by stating his "... adolescent appearance makes him ideal for the part but whose apparent ignorance of what is good acting is appalling." while calling the acting of some of the supporting cast adequate, and was also less than thrilled with the direction of the piece

Notes

The Broadway play on which this film was based, ''Tommy'', was directed by the playwrights, and ran from January through August 1927 at the Gaiety Theatre. It was revived for a short run in August 1933 at the Forrest Theatre, which is now known as the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. The tagline for the film was "Youth whoops it up in the rumble seat!"

References

External links

* * *{{allmovie, 109833, Synopsis American romantic comedy films 1930 romantic comedy films American films based on plays American black-and-white films RKO Pictures films Films directed by Melville W. Brown 1930 films 1930s American films