Tonight's Movie: In Person (1935) - A Warner Archive DVD Review

Ginger Rogers stars with George Brent in IN PERSON (1935), available on DVD from the Warner Archive.

IN PERSON was a 2019 DVD release from the Archive, but since the films are manufactured on demand, most Warner Archive Collection titles remain readily available indefinitely.

I've recently been trying to watch Ginger Rogers films I either have never seen or haven't seen for years, including the recently reviewed Warner Archive release of LUCKY PARTNERS (1940), in which she starred with Ronald Colman.

I saw IN PERSON on TCM back in 2008 and found it mildly entertaining. I was curious to return to it to see whether my opinion would change after over a dozen years, given how much I like Rogers and Brent.

Rogers plays Carol Corliss, a movie star who's developed a phobia about dealing with throngs of adoring fans.

Psychiatrist Dr. Sylvester (Samuel S. Hinds) prescribes complete rest for Carol and sends her off to a mountain cabin with Emory Muir (Brent), who agrees to accompany Carol as a favor.

Carol initially wears an unattractive disguise but Emory eventually realizes who she is and she stops trying to hide her true identity. Emory isn't impressed by Carol's celebrity -- indeed, he seems to go out of his way to boss her around and prove her stardom doesn't matter -- and Carol learns to come down to earth a little while doing unfamiliar chores like cooking and cleaning.

When fellow movie star Jay Holmes (Alan Mowbray) arrives in the mountains wanting to marry Carol, she realizes she's much more interested in Emory...

I felt about the same regarding this movie as I did on the previous viewing. Once Ginger sheds Carol's disguise, it's a pleasant enough romantic comedy. It's not especially funny or romantic, but there are certainly worse ways to pass the time than watching lovely Ginger and handsome George in a cabin in Big Bear. There's even a bit of attractive location shooting.

In the end, it's not one of Ginger's better films, but I would watch it again sometime, and those who share my love for Ginger, in particular, might want to check it out.

The supporting cast includes Grant Mitchell, Joan Breslau, Louis Mason, and Spencer Charters. Theresa Harris shows up extremely briefly as Carol's maid; I'm not certain she even spoke.

Dennis O'Keefe is listed as a chorus boy by IMDb, but if that's referring to Ginger's big final dance number, I watched it closely and didn't spot him.

This RKO film runs 87 minutes. It was directed by William A. Seiter and filmed by Edward Cronjager. The screenplay by Alan Scott was based on a novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams. Ginger's gowns were by Bernard Newman.

The Warner Archive DVD print is good but not great; it's a bit soft and has some imperfections, but it's quite watchable, with no skips or jumps and a solid soundtrack. There are no extras.

At a future date I'll also be reviewing the Warner Archive DVD of ONCE UPON A HONEYMOON (1942), in which Ginger costars with Cary Grant.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this DVD. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from the Warner Archive Collection Amazon Store or from any online retailers where Blu-rays are sold.

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