Perfect Understanding (1933)
1h 20m | PG-13
A young couple decide to marry under the condition that they agree never to disagree. That agreement is soon put to the test when the husband finds himself attracted to a beautiful young woman.
Director: Cyril Gardner
Studio: Gloria Swanson British Productions
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Video: 720p
Cast
Gloria Swanson
as Judy Rogers
Laurence Olivier
as Nicholas Randall
John Halliday
as Ivan Ronnson
Nigel Playfair
as Lord Portleigh
Michael Farmer
as George Drayton
Genevieve Tobin
as Kitty Drayton
Reviews
I can't help thinking that Cyril Gardner may have done better with this had it been a silent film. There are some stunning photographic scenes and at times, it verges on the travelogue as Gloria Swanson ("Judy") and a very dashing Laurence Olivier ("Nick") meet, fall in love and engage in an early thirties version of a "open marriage". They travel the length and breadth of Europe before he ends up in Cannes visiting a friend whilst she decants home to prepare their flat in London. In Cannes, "Nick" gets a bit sozzled and hooks up with old flame Nora Swinburne ("Lady Fitzmaurice") after getting injured in a high speed (and quite entertaining) power boat race... Riddled with guilt, he goes home and tells his wife. Ostensibly she forgives him, but does she? Does she, really - or is the green eyed monster about to rear it's ugly head? It's got it's fair share of schemers and plenty of rather childish tit-for-tat antics to keep the plot moving - sometimes quite amusingly, and there is definitely a chemistry between the two stars, but the dialogue just clutters things up and the whole thing is just a bit lightweight. Nothing wrong in that, I suppose, but I really wanted more from this pairing...