Customer Reviews

To Please a Lady [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The title has nothing to do with the excellent auto racing inthis movie. Actual scenes of auto racing...not Hollywoodshots. Poor acting gets 2 thumbs down but is worth it for the footage.

Barbara Stanwyck stars as a hard-as-nails newspaper/radio columnist who will ruin the career of anyone she deems worthy of it. Her latest victim is Clark Gable, a race car driver she perceives as having no conscience since he has been involved in several accidents. Not surprisingly, once she meets him she falls in love, but can't get past his ruthless nature. Their relationship is not very believable, and the scene where Gable slaps Stanwyck is a real howler. When the film concentrates on the racing, it has some good energy. But the love story is badly done. Fans of the stars would be better off checking out some of their other films.

It was a great idea to re-cast Stanwyck and Gable again after nineteen years (they appeared in NIGHT NURSE together in 1931 - in that one, Gable socks Barbara!), but the script was totally wrong. Even the fine director Clarence Brown couldn't make it work. Although the dialogue has a certain bite to it, TO PLEASE A LADY basically wasted the talents of its two great stars and did poorly at the box-office in 1950. A mediocre film, the fault of which lies mainly in the rather offbeat casting: Stanwyck and Gable oddly lack chemistry as Regina and Mike: they're too tough for each other. The script is not up to par and the most memorable moments of the film take place on the racetrack (a 12-minute segment was actually filmed at the Indianapolis Speedway). An electric moment DOES occur when Mike, now attracted at last to Regina, slaps her face and she stays put which proves her love for Mike and her ability to take what he dishes out! To re-coup their losses on this film, MGM re-released it as RED HOT WHEELS! (it didn't help).