JohnHowardReid This delightful romantic comedy/drama was directed with both style and polish by Wesley Ruggles. It also has sharp, zippy film editing, plus a script that observes its characters with a wry sophistication and a puckish sense of observational humor. Gable is perfectly cast. In fact, it is astonishing that even at this early date, we find his forthright acting style and his charming, easy-going movie manner in full flower. Miss Lombard, dressed and undressed to the nines, partners him perfectly. It's interesting that she actually married Gable seven years later (and as we all well know, he never ever, ever recovered from her death in a commercial plane crash on January 16, 1942, whilst returning from a Victory Bond tour for the U.S. government). To get back to this movie, Carole is actually run pretty close here by Dorothy MacKail. Grant Mitchell has a sizable role which he plays deftly. Other roles are also very competently played. The film also has the usual lavish Paramount production values, but these include slick, glossy, lustrously black photography which is most unusual for a Paramount movie. The studio usually favored soft focus and low contrast. Tover's style here was much in favor at 20th Century Fox in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Finally, but not least, I'd draw attention to the sparkling music score which was actually compiled from stock contributed by no less than four composers.

mark.waltz Long before they were an off-screen couple, Carole Lombard and Clark Gable were paired on screen. Once, it turns out, and that pairing (which should have lead to others) is one of the greatest in film history. Gable plays a gambler who gets rid of a mistress (Dorothy Mackaill) and takes a trip out of New York to put some distance between them. Staying in a small town, Gable meets pretty librarian Carole Lombard, romances her and on a whim, marries her. He's already told Mackaill he's not the marrying kind, so when the newlywed couple get back to New York, there is lots of confusion among Gable's crowd who are shocked by his impetuous decision. Gable's involved in crooked gambling schemes, and the pressures of his new life force Gable to decide to take drastic measures to change. Mackaill pops back up to offer her replacement a piece of advice and spill some beans of her own.Before Clark Gable put on his mustache, he was quite a dashing looking young man, and in this film, he is even better than he was in many of his MGM films. It is ironic that away from his home studio, he lightened up a bit, the other time being his Oscar Winning performance in Columbia's "It Happened One Night". The truly likable Carole Lombard is beautiful without being a threat, a young lady filled with humor, charm and spunk, truly natural in her acting style and a heroine you genuinely route for. Many young actresses over the decades have tried to emulate her without success.Gable and Lombard show playful spunk in a scene in the small town library where Lombard works. Elizabeth Patterson is delightful as Lombard's imperious mother, with Grant Mitchell in fine support as Gable's associate. Mackail, once a pre-code star of shady lady dramas, gives her all to the seemingly hard character who can't help but be won over when she sees the truth about who Lombard really is. Real life couples don't often work together well on-screen (most of Taylor & Burton's films) but that is not the case here. Maybe that's the charm that couldn't be repeated in further pairings, so we're lucky we have the one.

Matthew Dickson Good little film. Clark Gable once again plays the likable scoundrel role he does so well. This time he is Babe Stewart, a card shark who meets a small town girl (Carole Lombard), marries her on the flip of a coin, then realizes he'll have to change his ways if he wants to keep her. The script is well written, avoiding the melodramatic speeches and sappy dialogue that could have so easily been thrown into this kind of film. It also helps that the actors were able to play the characters naturally without hamming it up. Emotion is so much more believable when it's realistic. The supporting cast gives good performance as well, adding a bit of flavor to the film. A good script, good cast, and interesting enough storyline make this one worth watching.

lora64 This is a pleasant kind of tale, easygoing and amusing. Clark Gable as the gambler Babe Stewart, meets quiet (i.e. repressed) librarian Connie Randall, played by Carole Lombard. At the library, when he corners her amongst the bookshelves, she asks, "Do you like Shakespeare?" and I like Gable's reply, "Oh Shakespeare's alright but sometimes you just don't feel like Shakespeare" says he gazing deep into her eyes. Just an amusing moment.After a hesitant start they inevitably fall in love and impulsively decide to wed, and thereafter the plot unfolds. Gable resumes his dishonest card sniping activities (i.e. racket), however this clashes with the wifey on the domestic front. In time he plans to reform his ways, "Things gotta be different from now on," he tells the police, but there are complications ahead.It's very interesting to see a younger Clark Gable who even at this stage was well established in his screen presence. And Carole Lombard couldn't be more beautiful! Great viewing for the fans of Gable and Lombard.