Idiot's Delight

This is one of those films that start off on a high note and then begin to dip, and ultimately just get worse and worse, and more talky and talky as the play progresses. The first quarter-hour is marvelously entertaining. Presumably, this was written for the movie, not for the stage. The play employs only the one set. All the action is laid in the lobby/lounge area of a Swiss Hotel, futuristically on the eve of World War II. The play opened on Broadway on 24 March 1936. As I say, it's intriguingly futuristic, as the movie was also meant to be, but by the time "Idiot's Delight" went into general release, WW2 had already broken out. This takes the point off much of the plot and dialogue. Director Clarence Brown and photographer William Daniels do their best to brighten the "message", but my advice is to switch the movie off after Gable sings "By the Light of the Silvery Moon".

I'm a fan of Clark Gable and Norma Shearer who was disappointed with their performances in "Idiot's Delight." Their scenes together toward the beginning of the movie were cute, but once Shearer became the Russian countess, I lost interest in watching it. However, I did stick it out until the end hoping that it would get better and also because the story progressively got more bizarre. Oddly enough, the ending kind of reminded me of "Fight Club" since both films have the main characters in a high-rise building in the midst of chaos and destruction. Speaking of the ending, I preferred the international one because it made a tiny bit more sense than the domestic version. If you want to see a great Gable - Shearer pairing, watch "A Free Soul." It's a far better film than "Idiot's Delight."

Norma Shearer and Clark Gable are cast in the roles that Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontaine made famous on the Broadway stage. It is also MGM's last anti-war film before the outbreak of WWII in Europe. A blonde Norma Shearer does a brilliant comic turn as a Russian Countess, and she is matched by Clark Gable, who performs a rendition of "Puttin' on the Ritz."

This is perhaps the weirdest Clark Gable film. First, it is an odd anti-war film that came out just BEFORE all the anti-fascist films of the early 40's and it's an amazing contrast to them. Second, it features Gable as a song and dance man!! Why they worked so hard to have him dance, I wouldn't know--the studio could have always rented the services of either Jimmy Cagney or George Raft or anyone of a number of other actors who already knew how to dance. Third, the over the top and bizarre role played by Norma Shearer--it's rather silly and reminiscent of Garbo. So, overall is it a good film? Well, it's decent but not great. Some may find it a little silly, but for those who love the Golden Age of Hollywood, this is a must-see.

"Idiot's Delight" is a good version of the play. Clark Gable and Norma Shearer do their roles with justice. This is their best and last movie together. Today, the movie may seem dated, but it wasn't in 1939. Hollywood made several movies about fascism. Behind the story of a song and dance man (Clark Gable) with his troupe of blond beauties traveling throughout Europe, lies a story of countries fighting over fascism. Like to make a CORRECTION: On my critique of "Escape", I said there were two endings to the movie, I was wrong. I was thinking of this movie. On "Idiot's Delight", they made two endings: one for America and one for the international market (they were already fighting in the pre-WWII war). The international ending makes more sense. You can see the movie with both endings on Turner Classic Movies.