jarrodmcdonald-1 Last night I watched HONEYMOON IN BALI, with Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll. Before I sat down to watch it, I violated one of my cardinal rules and read user reviews on the IMDb plus Maltin's comments (usually, I do that after I finish watching something). I expected Maltin in particular to call it fluff, since it was a rom-com from the late 30s made in the way that only Paramount could make them. So as I started watching, the first twenty minutes are rather slow and almost tedious. I thought to myself, why did Maltin give this three stars out of four...why do IMDb users love this film so much? But after another half hour, it became very clear-- the characters suddenly came to life and the romance was believably and beautifully told. It had worked its magic on me, because the actors found something in those characters-- and the script itself had developed the characters so well that you couldn't help but love the film. I plan to watch it again in the very near future.

MartinHafer "Honeymoon in Bali" is a sweet romance that has inexplicably fallen into the public domain. Often, public domain films suck--but this one is far from sucky.The film is about a nice guy who has returned to the States to visit, though Bill (Fred MacMurray) lives in Bali (that's a very large island in Indonesia, if you care). After having a fortune teller inform her she'd meet someone, Gail (Madeline Carroll)--a high-powered career woman. The two kind of hit it off, but Gail isn't convinced that Bill is the man the fortune teller told her about...after all, he is moving back to Bali and she has her career. She also has a boyfriend already, and Eric (Allan Jones) seems like a very nice guy. However, when Gail meets Bill's young ward (Rosie, played by Carolyn Lee), her heart is captured. But how can Gail have Bill and Rosie in her life? After all, they're returning to Bali and she has her career...as well as Eric.The scenes between MacMurray and Carroll were very nice and they worked well together. However, the scenes between Carroll and young Lee were magical. Lee was perfect--adorable, but not too much and seemed very natural. I do wonder why she only had a few screen credits. Regardless, due to a nice story, very good dialog and some nice characters (Eric is exceptionally sweet), the film is just fun and a decent date film. Well worth seeing and available on YouTube and most likely also from archive.org since it's a public domain film.

SimonJack From early on, Hollywood has made movies about the wealthy and powerful missing out on life and love. Most such films have been about men who have climbed to the top in the business world only to fail in love and family life. So, it's most unusual to find such an early film with a woman as the object. There were occasional early films about women becoming independent or striking out on their own to achieve success. "Honeymoon in Bali" is a pleasant comedy-romance with a message. It's light on the comedy and more about love and finding real meaning in life. Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll have wonderful chemistry as Bill Burnett and Gail Allen. The film has a nice supporting cast as well. Allan Jones plays a Metropolitan Opera singer, Eric Sinclair. We have a couple of nice samples of his singing in the film. Helen Broderick plays a very good cousin of Allen, "Smitty," who passed up her chance for marital bliss. Akim Tamiroff has an interesting little part as Tony, an interloper window washer. And, five-year-old Carolyn Copp captures our hearts as Rosie. She had quite a number of lines for such a young actress. This is one of a few films that MacMurray and Carroll made together. Carroll is little known today, but she was a leading actress in the 1930s and 40s. The English-born actress became a U.S. citizen in 1943. She lost a sister who was killed during the WWII bombing of London. She became very active in the war efforts, especially helping orphaned children. Her charity work increased as her movie career waned. Carroll was in 40 plus films, two dozen of which are very well regarded. She was good in drama, comedy and mystery-action films. When "Honeymoon in Bali," premiered Sept. 29, 1939, World War II was underway. Britain and France had declared war on Germany after it invaded Poland on Sept 1. It would be two years before the U.S. went to war, but the signs and soundings of world war had been apparent in the news around the world since the mid-1930s. Films like this may have helped provide some relief from the tension and worry that many people no doubt felt. This interesting movie is suitable for the whole family. Here are some lines from the movie, humorous and serious, to whet one's appetite. Smitty, "He sounds interesting." Gail, "Not particularly. He's lazy, he's not very good looking, he makes $50 a week, and he ruins my disposition. I'm as cross as a bear when I'm around him." Smitty, "Then, why are you around him?" Gail, "Well, I said I didn't know, didn't I?"French priest on Bali, "Who was it? Amiel. (Henri Frederic Amiel) He said, "In every union there is a mystery – a certain invisible bond which must not be disturbed.""Mama don't want no peas, no rice, no coconut oil …" – in three-part harmony at the end. Watch the movie for many smiles.

Patricia Hammond What an enjoyable piece of fluff. Though I'd say it was a bit more than a piece of fluff, really, as there is subtlety galore, and philosophy, and irreverence and some macabre/screwball humour when the love rival for Fred MacMurray says in an offhand way that she'd attempted suicide but then got married, but then found it hard to be sad when her husband was killed playing polo... That kind of humour would raise eyebrows even today! Alan Jones sings his manly heart out while wearing a pencil moustache, and Madeleine Carroll says some very clever and deep things about the nature of female independence. You can tell that the actress really thought these lines were quite wise and put a lot of feeling into them, even though the film is at pains to prove the opposite view. Likewise subtle is the fact that MacMurray is a bit of a cad, not a straightforward hero. I actually hated him for a good few minutes. The small roles are played with great skill and elan, particularly the fortune teller with her blithe, witty delivery and of course Window-cleaner philosopher Akim Tamiroff, whom I ended up applauding out loud for his sheer verve, and the comedy and character he packs into each gesture. The fly in the ointment, to this cow-poke anyway, is the truly cringeworthy little girl. Ugh! You can just see her pushy mother urging her on to become the next Shirley Temple. Sorry dear, that requires talent, not just a shrill voice and a pudgy face.