I always think that Robert Williams had an unusual relaxed style that may have been copied by Bing Crosby. That comparison may put people off, but he is excellent in this film and might have had an interesting career had he lived. Don't kill me, Harlow fans, but working with Capra in Platinum Blonde, it seems to be the only movie where I can see that she was a genuinely pretty girl with a natural sensuality and humor that was erased after the MGM glam machine was done "streamlining" her. I like her in Bombshell, Redheaded Woman, and Dinner at Eight too, but she never seems remotely human in those, even though she is often funny. Loretta's role in Platinum Blonde was interesting since she was clearly supposed to be seen as a plain Jane (were all these reporters too juiced to see her clearly?), but an individual with a mind as well.CineMaven wrote:Robert Williams is amazing. I would say he's a precursor to Lee Tracy, but that might make some folks wretch. ( I like the loud bombastic irascible Lee! )
Re: Taxi!...Loretta + Cagney should have been a team that appeared again! If only...The Truth About Youth was awful except when Myrna Loy showed up as Kara the Firefly (bad girl!). David Manners was only interesting one time I've seen him, in Crooner (1932) as a Rudy Vallee type, and it sure didn't help that his loved ones in "Truth About..." kept calling him "The Imp." Was there ever anyone less impish? Conway Tearle, who had a long theatrical career, along with his equally starchy brother Godfrey, was so stodgy I hoped that Loretta would meet someone other than the foolish boy and this doddering stiff.