It's Love Again

1936 "THE DANCING SENSATION OF A NATION! JOYOUS JESSIE IN A JOYOUS DANCE ROMANCE Jessie MATHEWS The Dancing Divinity"
6.3| 1h23m| en
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Elaine Bradford is a young singer and dancer, looking for her big break. Peter Carlton is a gossip columnist facing a deadline and a blank page. So, Peter invents "Mrs. Smythe-Smythe", a mysterious Englishwoman who spends her days hunting tigers in India, jumping out of airplanes, and generally driving men mad with her beauty. Since no one in London has ever seen Mrs. Smythe-Smythe, Elaine decides to impersonate the lady, in hopes that the publicity will land her the big break she's been looking for.

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Gaumont-British Picture Corporation

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Reviews

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
UnowPriceless hyped garbage
Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
bkoganbing Gaumont-British brought over Robert Young from MGM across the pond to star with their great musical star Jessie Matthews. From where Young was situated he must have thought that Louis B. Mayer had cast him opposite Eleanor Powell.Over in the United Kingdom Eleanor Powell would be closest equivalent to Jessie Matthews. She could sing and dance equally or better than Powell and had a winning personality that the British public took to their hearts. And she was a trouper, her career withstood a nasty divorce scandal where Sonnie Hale who was another of her co-stars in It's Love Again.Young and Hale are a gossip writing columnist pair who are constantly being scooped. What to do but create their own celebrity whom they write is conveniently back in India, constantly on safari. She is a woman who is a combination of Annie Oakley and Pearl White who is free living aristocrat. Matthews plays a young stage hopeful who steps into the part because after all the newspaper reports she's back in India. Afterward Matthews, Young, and Hale all find they have developed mutual need for each other.It's Love Again has given me another opportunity to see and appreciate Jessie Matthews at the height of her fame as a star. She refused many offers to come to the states to do films, including an opportunity to co-star with Fred Astaire. Up to now I had only seen her in a supporting role in Tom Thumb.Matthews sings and dances beautifully to a score written by Harry Woods. It's unfortunate she's not better known in the USA. Try to see this one as a great example of her appeal.
kidboots There was no female dancer who could compare to Jessie Matthews. She had a sparkling personality and her dancing was out of this world - she was not called the dancing divinity for nothing!!! She did not make many films and many of them were not wonderful but "Evergreen" (1934),"First a Girl" (1935) and "It's Love Again" (1936) are among the top musicals ever made. "It's Love Again" was the first British film to have it's premiere in New York at the Roxy, before the British opening. She was always being courted by Hollywood and the time would have been ideal after the American premiere of "It's Love Again". She was having marriage problems then and in hind sight going to the States could have given her a whole new career but at the time she was praised for her loyalty in staying in Britain. Definitely "It's Love Again" is, in my opinion, her best film. No expense was spared either in the musical numbers or in the importation of American leading man Robert Young.Mr. Raymond (Ernest Milton) is desperate for a leading lady for his new show and Elaine Bradford (Jessie Matthews) a down on her luck chorus girl is eager to audition for him. For her first attempt she sings and dances to the lilting "It's Love Again" - she also makes the acquaintance of Peter Carlton (Robert Young) a reporter - they dance a soft shoe together. In the middle of her audition, an old flame of Raymond's arrives and between reminiscences of West End, he engages her for the shows leading lady - Elaine goes home determined to make a name for herself as she thinks that is the only way to succeed.Carlton, along with his sidekick Freddie (Sonnie Hale, Jessie's husband at the time) is a reporter without a scoop!!! Freddie suggests they invent a fascinating, adventurous lady that only they can write about - Mrs. Smythe- Smythe!!! Elaine, still unemployed, decides to impersonate Mrs. Smythe-Smythe to get some publicity. She arrives at the Imperial Palace with Cyril Wells (Matthews occasional dancing partner). Together they dance "We Have Met Before" - Jessie looks splendid in a barely there silvery evening gown. She meets up with Peter and begs him to let her go on with her impersonation (they do a lovely "footsie" dance to "It's Love Again").She is invited to an Eastern Bazaar ball where she has to improvise a Hindu dance - and she does!!! in an amazingly risqué costume made of glittering jewels and not much else, plus an elaborate head-dress!!! She dances to Roy Fox Band's "Tony's in Town" - she's wonderful!!! The evening ends with a shooting match between Elaine and a crusty old colonel. On the way home she sees Raymond and executes an impromptu dance to impress him - "Gotta Dance, Gotta Sing" is a light hearted, bouncy song that Jessie performs in a park. At the song's end all the passers by join in the chorus, including a couple of baritone bobbies!!! Raymond is impressed and promises to put her name up in lights - "Mrs Smythe- Smythe"!!! (Elaine had wanted to make it on her own). She is starred in a spectacular musical "Safari" and the show stopping finale "I Nearly Let Love Go Slipping Through My Fingers" features that silver spangled cat suit - the outfit that shocked Michael Balcon and is always mentioned in articles about Jessie. The dance itself is amazing, as Elaine first sings the song, then dances with a chorus line, then does a dazzling dance with her partner Cyril. She is then exposed by a rival reporter as a fake but is determined to come back as Elaine Bradford. She is then seen in a montage of dances she has performed throughout the film and Raymond realises he had the right girl from the start.Robb Wilton has an excellent role as Boys, the butler.Highly, Highly Recommended.
spj-4 I've seen a few Jessie Matthews' musicals on late-night TV & they are all enjoyable. I regard her as an underrated talent from her era as I hadn't heard of her until the last few years. She has an effervescence & innocence about her that is ideally suited to such light & breezy productions & her almost accidental forays into fame & fortune."It's Love Again" is my personal favourite as the songs in it are mostly very appealing. It also gains from having a youthful Robert Young as a leading man & the settings for the musical numbers are impressive. This is much better than a typical time-filler of a late-night movie!
Kalaman "It's Love Again" is my second Jessie Matthews musical. After watching her previous merriment, "First a Girl"(1935), I wanted to see more of her work. And "It's Love Again" is every bit as spirited, frolicsome, and enthralling as that one. It is characterized by grand production values, lovely gracefully directed dancing numbers, and some agreeably enchanting songs - especially the title song, which for some reason I can't seem to forget, even though I've seen the film only once. Ms. Matthews herself – a radiant, willowy, longed-legged radio soap star turned singer/dancer - is a joy to watch. The effortless way she dances, moves, or sings is quite astonishing, makes you wonder why she is little known. As in "First a Girl", "It's Love Again" features Matthews impersonating another persona, only to discover later her true self. Here, she is dancer, Elaine Bradford, who impersonates a mysterious, alluring British celebrity named Mrs. Smythe-Smythe who spends most her of time in India hunting tigers. Elaine jumps into the role in order to gain fame and impress the show biz manager Archie Raymond (Ernest Milton) of her true talents. The celebrity is concocted by Peter Carlton (Robert Young), a slack but fearless gossip columnist looking for a big break and falls in love with Elaine. Their romantic moments are marvelously sweet and endearing amidst the chaos of dancing and singing. Victor Saville's direction has its occasionally polished slickness, with its penchant for large-scale, Busby Berkeley-like production numbers. The plot can get a bit tiresome as it proceeds - the constant obsession with Peter's invention Mrs. Smythe-Smythe is really trite and overdone. However, it doesn't get in the way of the glorious numbers and the charming rapport of Ms. Matthews and Mr. Young. Though it scarcely turns up in some circles as far as I know - "It's Love Again" is worth seeking out if you haven't seen it already. Like so many of the best 30s musicals, you will ultimately be left with a feeling of utmost joy and ecstasy.