WILLIAM HAINES was Hollywood's early "out of the closet" gay star who became a well-known decorator after he "retired" from his budding film career, thanks to the help of his friend Joan Crawford who had him design her home and led to his successful designer career.
He's at the center of this amusing comedy about a polo player who can't resist grandstanding all the time and showing his high opinion of himself, much to the annoyance of the girl of his dreams (ALICE DAY) and her boyfriend JACK HOLT.
The bulk of the story is energetically played and there's lot of physical comedy as he pursues the girl (mostly in an auto chase that is delightfully filmed) and at a swanky dinner affair where he pulls all sorts of stunts to attract her attention, always with the effect of alienating her affections.
But the last twenty minutes devoted to polo sequences gets a little stale and you begin to miss the comedy aspects that distinguished the first part of the film. The story turns serious with the game about to be lost unless our hero can get in there and play, and there's a stable fire that almost takes the life of his favorite horse during which he becomes the man who leads the horse from the stable.
All in all, a very diverting piece of entertainment, thanks to the presence and charm of WILLIAM HAINES. He does a lot of mugging and isn't afraid to show his gayness by way of gestures and movements that are quite obvious and even daring by today's standards for a leading man. But he radiates cheerfulness and charm in huge doses throughout.
Well worth watching, even if there's too much of the polo game on display toward the end.
5 out of 9 found this helpful