Come Live with Me (1941)

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I was a little bored with the first half hour of this film, but a well-written turn of events sends this movie in the right direction. It mixes a few classic themes (marry vs. deportation, country comes to town, wealth vs poverty, town goes to country, etc...) that could have made this movie completely formulaic. However, formula goes out the door with Jimmy Stewart's charm and Hedy Lamarr's stunning beauty. Once both characters spend screen time together, consistently, the energy of this slightly screwball romantic comedy picks up quickly. The grandmother is all wisdom, wit, and heart. Her common sense needlework samplers are artfully placed and still hold true today. The grandmother's calm voice, the sound of crickets chirping, and the other country nuances slow down the pace to a level that seems so foreign to an actress like Hedy Lamarr. She seems so out of place, but that is what makes her so enjoyable to watch. She melts slowly from the WWII city girl ice queen fugitive until she's relaxed and calm as if she can go home again, but this time to a slice of Americana rather than Austria and with a moral upstanding young man if that's the choice she's willing to make. This has just been made available for purchase on DVD. It's now on my "to buy" list and certainly worth a watch on TCM if you enjoy this genre and these wonderfully magnetic actors.

To paraphrase: "When you wed, you don't have to know that much about your partner, but when you're getting a divorce, you should learn about them." This is basically what this film is about and it is as foolish as my first sentence.The plot sounds good. A woman who escapes Nazi controlled Austria must marry an American or face deportation. This is the problem facing Hedy Lamarr but she can't make the most of it due to the inept writing. They certainly could have made her romance James Stewart more during the week she had before facing being removed. Instead, she merely weds Stewart quickly. After they're wed, her lover then decides to divorce his wife so that he can be free to marry her. Why in heaven's name didn't he do this before her marriage to Stewart.Going up to grandma's house at the end of this film does nothing either. Grandma's house is full of proverbs. One of them should have read "Much Ado About Nothing!"

This film started off rather poorly, as you learn that Hedy Lamarr is the mistress of Ian Hunter--a married man who has a "modern marriage". This plot element was difficult to reconcile with a romantic film--after all, what's romantic about this relationship? Plus, I found it hard to care about such selfish characters. Fortunately, I kept watching the film and it turned out to be a dandy old fashioned film.Hedy was in the US illegally--having fled Nazi-controlled Austria. So even though she had overstayed her visa, it was really hard to blame her for wanting to stay. In an odd bit of casting, the immigration agent (Barton MacLane) liked Hedy and suggested that she could get married to an American and thereby stay in the country. But she couldn't marry Hunter, as he was already married. So, a bit later, when she meets down-and-out Jimmy Stewart, she suggests they get married in name only. Unfortunately, over time, Jimmy finds himself falling for Hedy--though they hardly know each other.I could talk more about the plot, but don't want to ruin it. The bottom line is that the writing was excellent, the acting superb and the mood wonderful. This is exactly the sort of romance that MGM did best and it's well worth a look--just don't get turned off by Ian Hunter's character--it does get better.

This is a wonderful Jimmy Stewart and Hedy Lamarr movie. Very romantic and sentimental. Jimmy Stewart's grandma in the movie is priceless. A must for your collection - not available to buy; however, sometimes comes on American Movie Classics. I have had a recording of it for years. It's one of my favorites.