Movie Review: Hard to Get (1938)
Synopsis: A spoiled and snobbish heiress, Maggie Richards, gets into an argument with her parents and storms out of the house. While driving, she discovers the car is almost out of gas and fills it up at a service station. When she is unable to pay and tries to drive away, the manager, Bill Davis, forces her to work off the money she owed. Angry and embarrassed, Maggie vows to get back at Davis and when she learns of a business venture Davis is working on, tricks him into seeing her father, Ben Richards, for the money, knowing her dad will give him the runaround. However, her desire for revenge fades when she starts to fall in love with Davis. There's just one problem, telling him the truth might make him hate her.
Who's in it? The movie stars Olivia de Havilland, Dick Powell, Charles Winninger, Allen Jenkins and Bonita Granville.
Review: I added Hard to Get to my movie library mostly because I have enjoyed most (maybe all) of the Olivia de Havilland movies I've seen and figured this had a good chance of joining that group. I watched it this morning, while everyone was still in bed, and while I thought it was an OK movie, I did have a bit of a mixed opinion about it.
As always, de Havilland was amazing. I thought she played Maggie exactly as she should have been played, beautiful but also spoiled to the point it would make any guy think twice. The chemistry Maggie had with Davis (Powell) was also believable, something that's not always the case with romantic comedies.
The overall plot was also entertaining. At first, I was confused about Maggie's revenge plan because it seemed like all she was doing was dating Davis and helping him pursue his dream. When that plan started to make sense, it was both unique and diabolical. Honestly, I kind of even disliked her a bit as a result of it.
Another thing I liked about this was how the movie slipped in comedic scenes that didn't necessarily have anything to do with the main story but still added to it. One that made me chuckle, for example, was the poor guy who kept having glasses, plates, etc. shoved in his direction as Davis attempted to explain his business plan to Maggie. Subtle jokes like that can make a movie a whole lot more memorable.
My biggest complaint about the movie is it focused so much on that revenge plan; Maggie almost became a minor character. If anything, her father (Winninger) probably had a lot more screen time, though his scenes, involving him trying and failing to best his valet (Jenkins) in various activities were admittedly funny. This in itself probably wouldn't have been a big deal but it did make the inevitable romance between Maggie and Davis seem a bit disjointed. One moment she's taking joy in his suffering, the next they are on a romantic boat ride and she's ready to marry him.
Also, as a word of caution, the movie has a somewhat lengthy blackface scene in it that is both dated and horribly uncomfortable to watch. In fact, I wound up fast-forwarding through it (it has almost no impact on the overall plot other than Davis using the disguise to sneak into a party). While I'm normally not a fan of editing classic movies, that scene admittedly might be an exception to that, even if it were just cut down to the bare minimum.
Final Opinion: It's not my favorite de Havilland film but it does have a decent plot, some incredible acting and made me laugh. So, other than the blackface scene I mentioned, I'd still say it is worth watching.
My Grade: B
Here are some reviews of other Bonita Granville films:
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