Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Slander House (1938)

A nicely light bit of romance dealing with the heavy business of weight loss. Helen(e) (Adrienne Ames) runs a beauty salon, dedicated to helping overweight rich ladies lose pounds (and also plenty of dollars). She is being wooed by Dr Stallings (George Meeker), who is nice but a bit dull. He is her ticket to high society though.

Then she meets Pat (Craig Reynolds), a bit of a wise guy perhaps but with something more about him. A more interesting love match but of course things do not go very smoothly, with various obstacles in the way including jealous love rivals and dangerous gossip in her salon...

An amusing little film which sends up the beauty industry (which often is rather absurd after all) with various stunts including a lady knocking herself out while exercising and a few mishaps involving loose animals in the salon. An enjoyable film for sure with decent performances, and plenty of humour, though not a lot of depth. Unlike the salon's clients, it could have done with a few more layers.