Cheap Lucky Partners (Video) (Lewis Milestone) Price

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Customer Reviews of Lucky Partners

"Lucky Partners" starts off rather well. It's a story about Jean Newton who comes into contact with David Grant (Ronald Coleman). One day Grant, for no reason at all, offers Jean some good luck. As soon as that happens Jean seems to feel that some good luck has finally come her way. She then gets an idea that if Grant and her would go in halves on a sweepstakes ticket there's a good chance they'll win.

The overall problem I have with the film is, it loses its focus. It switches gears and goes from a fast paced "screwball comedy"-ish film and deserts the comedy for a love story. A movie doesn't need to do that in order to work. "Bringing Up Baby" or "His Girl Friday" prove this point. There were two films that never lessened the comedic aspects and proved to have romantic as well as funny scenes throughout.

The movies was directed by Lewis Milestone, probably best know for directing the Oscar winner "All Quite On The Western Front" as well as "Of Mice And Men" and "Ocean's Eleven". But, as good a director some may argue Milestone was, he was not known as a comedy filmmaker. I wonder if he truly understood what makes a comedy work. This is not to say the movie doesn't not have any laughs. It's the supporting characters who mostly offer them. Jean's boyfriend Freedie (Jack Carson) and her aunt Lucy (Spring Byington).

If you chose to watch this film mainly because you want to watch Ginger Rogers without Fred Astaire, take my word for it, there are better films to watch. I prefer George Steven's "Vivacious Lady", Howard Hawk's "Monkey Bussiness", and Billy Wilder's "The Major & the Minor".

Bottom-line: Although at times amusing "Lucky Partners" never seems to blend together correctly. Compared with other comedies of its time seems rather bland. The stars do what they can.

Pure Charm
Lucky Partners has long been one of my favorite Ginger Rogers films. Director Lewis Milestone (All Quiet On the Western Front) gave this film a light touch to match the warm and humorous story and the the lilting charms of its two stars, Ronald Colman and Ginger Rogers. They are wonderful together in this film.

When David Grant (Colman) wishes good luck to passerby Jean Newton (Rogers) for no particular reason at all, things immediately start to go her way. So she cooks up a plan to split a racing ticket that's a million-to-one shot with caricature artist Grant, thinking she can win. Grant's one stipulation, however, is that Jean go on a sort of honeymoon with him should they win, even though she has a fiance in Freddie (Jack Carson)!

Jean balks, of course, but Grant charms both she and her fiance into this 'experiment' as he begins to get into Jean's heart and finds himself falling for her as well. You can guess the rest but what isn't evident is the disarming charm of Rogers and Colman and the warmth Milestone ellicits from the story 'Bonnie Chance' by Sacha Guitry the film is based on.

A dark haired Rogers radiades that something special she had no one else did and Colman is witty, suave and warm. There are some truly magic moments such as Colman carrying Rogers over the 'Threshold to Whatever You Want' at the request of an older couple and a courtroom scene in which David and Jean question each other on the witness stand about everything and nothing.

Spring Byington as Ginger's aunt and Harry Davenport as the old judge more than a little smitten and protective of Jean enhance an already delightful film. A nice score from Dimitri Tiomkin creates just the right mood at the right time in this very special film from the 1940's you'll enjoy a lot.

Ginger Rogers & Ronald Colman--what a combination!
I don't want to give away the plot for this wonderful film, so I'll just comment on how good it is! Jack Carson gives great support (as usual) to the stars, Ginger Rogers & Ronald Colman, in this well crafted romantic comedy. Filmed in 1941, it was sort of an in-between film for both Ginger & Ronald (Kitty Foyle, 1940 for Rogers & Random Harvest, 1942 for Colman), but don't think for a minute that the stars didn't give it all they had--they were both at top form. Obviously, I wholeheartedly disagree with Leonard Maltin's somewhat disparaging remarks.