{"id":7158,"date":"2009-06-05T17:25:07","date_gmt":"2009-06-06T00:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=7158"},"modified":"2021-01-28T22:24:35","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T05:24:35","slug":"vivacious-lady-1938","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=7158","title":{"rendered":"Vivacious Lady (1938)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;And dad, I might add that she&#8217;s the finest wife any man could hope to have!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Vivacious-Lady-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Vivacious-Lady-Poster-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-66646\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Vivacious-Lady-Poster-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Vivacious-Lady-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Vivacious-Lady-Poster-180x270.jpg 180w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Vivacious-Lady-Poster.jpg 217w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA young professor (Jimmy Stewart) falls for and marries a nightclub singer (Ginger Rogers), then must get up the nerve to tell his strict father (Charles Coburn) and nervous mother (Beulah Bondi).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Beulah Bondi Films<\/li>\n<li>Charles Coburn Films<\/li>\n<li>Cross-Class Romance<\/li>\n<li>George Stevens Films<\/li>\n<li>Ginger Rogers Films<\/li>\n<li>Jack Carson Films<\/li>\n<li>Jimmy Stewart Films<\/li>\n<li>Newlyweds<\/li>\n<li>Professors<\/li>\n<li>Romantic Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Singers<\/li>\n<li>Star-Crossed Lovers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nTwo years after eliciting a nuanced performance from Ginger Rogers in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5152\"><em>Swing Time<\/em> (1936)<\/a>, George Stevens directed her once again in this frothy romantic comedy about a mismatched couple who fall in love at first sight, marry immediately, and (only in Hollywood) struggle through a series of misunderstandings before finally being able to &#8220;legitimate&#8221; their relationship. Several scenes are genuinely amusing: I get a kick out of Rogers&#8217; all-out catfight with Stewart&#8217;s presumed-fiancee (Frances Mercer), for instance, and Stewart and Rogers&#8217; visual tussle with &#8220;Walter&#8221; the pull-down bed is fun. But many of the broader plot devices &#8212; including Rogers posing &#8220;incognito&#8221; as one of Stewart&#8217;s biology students, and Coburn&#8217;s fear that Stewart&#8217;s marriage to a nightclub singer will irreparably damage the reputation of their college &#8212; simply strain credulity, and ultimately fall flat. Fortunately, the genuine chemistry between Rogers and Stewart (former lovers in real life) bolsters the film; they make a sweet, if unconventional, screen couple. Film fanatics take note: RKO-regular Franklin Pangborn plays an amusing but too-small role as a fastidious hotel clerk determined to keep Stewart away from his new wife. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine chemistry between Rogers and Stewart<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/vivacious-chemistry.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/vivacious-chemistry.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7161\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Franklin Pangborn in a bit role as a hotel clerk<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/vivacious-pangborn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/vivacious-pangborn.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7160\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Robert DeGrasse&#8217;s luminous b&#038;w cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/vivacious-cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/vivacious-cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7162\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Several amusing sequences &#8212; such as Rogers&#8217; catfight with Frances Mercer (hidden here)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/vivacious-catfight.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/vivacious-catfight.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7224\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s certainly recommended for one-time viewing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0030944\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/94891\/vivacious-lady#overview\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/vivacious-lady-1\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;And dad, I might add that she&#8217;s the finest wife any man could hope to have!&#8221; Synopsis: A young professor (Jimmy Stewart) falls for and marries a nightclub singer (Ginger Rogers), then must get up the nerve to tell his strict father (Charles Coburn) and nervous mother (Beulah Bondi). Genres: Beulah Bondi Films Charles Coburn Films Cross-Class Romance George Stevens Films Ginger Rogers Films Jack Carson Films Jimmy Stewart Films Newlyweds Professors Romantic Comedy Singers Star-Crossed Lovers Review: Two years&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=7158\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7158"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66647,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7158\/revisions\/66647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}