GRAND SLAM (1933)

I know absolutely nothing about the game of bridge, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this light romantic comedy, a forerunner of the later screwball genre. Paul Lukas is Peter Stanislavsky, a waiter at a Russian restaurant where all the help are also musical performers. He winds up as a fourth in a bridge game with pretentious bridge expert Ferdinand Gottschalk; Lukas thinks that bridge is a silly game and decides to use his own system which he claims will stop couples from squabbling while playing the game. The system seems to work and Lukas gets Frank McHugh (who ghostwrote Gottschalk's book) to ghostwrite his own; the book is a wild success and Lukas and his wife (Loretta Young) become known as the nation's "Bridge Sweethearts" until things fall apart when the system starts to fail and McHugh's role as ghostwriter becomes known. The movie climaxes at a bridge showdown between Lukas and Gottschalk which is broadcast nationally over the radio. Knowledge of bridge rules isn't needed here, though I do wonder if we're supposed to think that Lukas really does have a good system, or if he (and Gottschalk, for that matter) is just pulling a fast one on the American public. Glenda Farrell is McHugh's scatterbrained girlfriend--I usually like her, but she's rather shrill here and not an important part of the movie. Roscoe Karns is the radioman who does commentary on the final bridge game. Cat-eyed Helen Vinson is perfect as the scheming woman who almost breaks up Lukas' marriage--in this pre-Code movie, they could get away with having Lukas actually be unfaithful but still be worthy of getting back together with Young. At 67 minutes, it ends at just the right point. [TCM]