One Hour With You

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Audience Member This is about the rocky road down towards inevitable infidelity. The music is pretty good. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review steve d Not a lot here, but the actors are fun. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Infidelity and betrayal played off as a cute, lighthearted romp, punctuated by chauvinism, backstabbing bffs, and truly awful singing of uninspired songs. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member The famed "Lubitsch touch" is often referred to when noting a director's lack of ability in drawing the charm out of silly, sweet plots that are deceptively simple. His most notable films include Ninotchka (1939) and The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and Heaven Can Wait (1943) but this film serves as an entertaining forerunner to those romantic comedies that doubles as a musical. Where the film becomes more interesting than say Babes in Arms (1939) is in the fact that it is a pre-Code film and features surprisingly explicit references to sex and full blown infidelity. This doesn't mean that the film is a dark drama like The Public Enemy (1931) because it seems incredibly tame by today's standards but it's nice to see a film from this era push boundaries even if only slightly. Happy Parisian couple Dr. Andre Bertier, Maurice Chevalier, and Colette Bertier, Jeannette MacDonald, are extremely affectionate with one another much to the chagrin of those around them. Bertier is tempted by his patients who find him physically attractive and charming but he seldom glances at them and is oblivious to their flirtations. Colette is chased by Adolph, Charles Ruggles, a friend of her husband who woos her excessively and offers her love as she feels her husband slipping away from her. The reason for her husband's negligent treatment of her is his new attraction to her promiscuous friend Mitzi Olivier, Genevieve Tobin, who temps him with her feminine wiles. The two must decide whether they want to remain together when they each confess their infidelity and come to understand that their bond is stronger than their momentary attraction to other people. Modern audiences will have to accept that this is the sort of corny entertainment that was pumped out at this time and all of the characters could be seen as over the top and the performances could appear to be overzealous but they have a unique charm. The wittiness of the screenplay and the genuine spirit of the performers keeps you invested even as MacDonald fails to carry some of her dramatic scenes as her fake crying could use some work. I will say that the song and dance numbers have aged well as while they don't feature the full on choreography of a 1960s or 1970s production MacDonald and Chevalier mince around delightfully and prove to be adept singers. "We Will Always Be Sweethearts" and "Oh That Mitzi" stand out as some of the best songs featured in the film as they allow for MacDonald's sweetness and the eagerness of Chevalier to shine through. Other than the musical elements of the film the central drama of the film is surprisingly engaging as we find ourselves engaged in the romance between these dopey leads even as they have dalliances. Adolph and Mitzi are fun foils for the main characters as they are bumbling enough that we never truly dislike them and diverting enough for us to know that they pose no true romantic threat. That is the sort of film this is, we are certain of what the outcome will be, yet it is pleasant seeing familiar faces go through the ups and downs of everyday life and reassuring to have them end up together in the end. By 1934 having married characters who are portrayed positively represented lusting after characters outside of their marriage would have been unthinkable and it was nice to see a more realistic, considering the falsity of the films from this time, portrayal of married life. Screenwriter Samson Raphaelson, also responsible for The Smiling Lieutenant (1931), deserves credit for the warmth and excitement of the various scenes in the film and he is smart to balance all of the hokey humor with a few deeper, dramatic moments. Fans of 1930s comedies will also note the cinematography of Victor Milner who employs many of the same techniques he used in The Love Parade (1929) to highlight the comic appearances of the two leads. As usual Chevalier is presented as a warm, lovable man worthy of consideration by women in the audience, he was quite a heartthrob in her day. Although it could be said that there is more here as Milner proves himself willing to show his leading man as small and defeated in his moments of weakness and as a more layered character than he is in other films. The film as a whole is a real treat and while it may be frustrating for those who look for more depth in their films so many have tried and failed to conjure up the lightness of a Lubitsch film. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member I hate movies like this, where literally the entire plot revolves around cheating spouses. One Hour With You made it slightly more annoying by trying to make that a light and funny thing. We're supposed to like Maurice Chevalier because he smiles at us and has some reluctance before cheating on his wife, but I just can't do that. He's being an idiot, he's willingly putting himself in situations that will tempt him, and never saying a thing to his wife about why it's a bad idea. Here's the basic plot of One Hour With You: Andre and Colette are "happily" married, but Colette's good friend Mitzi is a slut and wants Andre (Colette seems completely oblivious about this.) When Colette finally gets wise that Andre is cheating she decides to cheat herself with Mitzi's husband. Since everybody has their cheating fun all can be forgiven. Mixed in there are a handful of really odd songs. The musical aspect seems extremely forced, and the songs are certainly not memorable. I didn't really like anything about this movie, but clearly my opinions have been colored by my total disgust for all the main characters and their actions. It's strange, but I didn't feel this angry right after watching the film. Typing out my thoughts has made it clear to me why I disliked the viewing experience so much. Even for someone who wouldn't mind this plot or these characters, I don't really see anything of notable quality in One Hour With You, so I'd say it's one you could skip. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Sparkling Lubitsch musical comedy ('assisted by George Cukor') with Chevalier and MacDonald in fine form. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews

One Hour With You

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