And thus we have a prime example of what you could call the dawn of the modern romantic comedy......a collision of opposites.....Wyman's perky ingenue humanizing Niven's impossibly inhibited fussbudget.....and the plot device that would survive decades.....in which a straight-laced, by-the-book character somehow inherits or collects a gang of lovable eccentrics who ultimately teach him (or her) valuable life lessons and change him ( or her) for the better......not to mention foster a romance with one of the eccentrics among them....
In this one, Niven's business managers have beefed up his investment portfolio with an apartment building managed by a gently mumbling little elf played by Victor Moore. (Moore, the most sly scene stealer in classic Hollywood history never looks like he's doing much in a scene....until you realize you haven't taken your eyes off him). Niven promptly bumps up against the building's primary tenants (for the purposes of this movie, anyway).....a brawling, hot-tempered lout (Broderick Crawford) and the too-spunky-for-words Wyman....
Under Delmer Daves direction, only sporadic hilarity ensues.....Daves excelled in melodrama, but you can tell comedy eluded him.......he knew the melody to play but not the right notes to hit. Niven using his piano playing to drive the obnoxious Crawford out of the building becomes a laborious, endlessly unfunny sequence. Every little slapstick moment gets held one or two beats too long......
But every so often, there's stuff to enjoy here......mostly Jane Wyman. In these l940's and 50's romcoms, Wyman was the Sally Field of her era.......cute as a button but possessing some serious acting chops when given the chance. She landed in this piece of fluff one year after breaking everyone's hearts (and collecting an Academy Award) for her wrenching portrayal of the abused mute in "Johnny Belinda". So it must have been quite a change of pace.....as Niven appreciatively ogles her as she parades in front of him in shorts and heels.
Not quite top of the line in studio produced comedies......but you can see in it all the characters and situations that screenwriters solidified in decades of future romcoms. For David Niven's always welcome sputtering bluster and Jane Wyman's huggable girl-in-the-apartment-next door, we'll scrape up 2 & 1/2 stars. (** 1/2) And maybe someone should write a real song called "Roll Me Up In Breadcrumbs, Daddy, Cause I Wanna Get Fried"......we can't wait to hear Adele cover it......
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