Why so much hype?

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

A very wonderful film showcasing the talent of Edward Arnold. The latter was usually a supporting player but this film belonged to him all the way.He is the 1936 answer to Jean Brodie. This guy still thought 20 some years later that he was still in his prime. I can never forget the vivid scene when he finally realizes that his prime has long since passed him by when he is literally vying for the affection of his late girlfriend's daughter, who has fallen for his dashing son, played to the hilt by Joel McCrea.In the double role of the girlfriend and her daughter, Frances Farmer showed that awesome vulnerability that she had in her brief career. Too bad that her years were marked by mental anguish. She would have been a wonderful star of the screen.Walter Brennan put on an authentic Swedish accent and was rewarded for it with the Academy's first Oscar for best supporting actor. 11 years later, Loretta Young went Swedish as well, and that helped her garner a surprise best actress win for "The Farmer's Daughter."It's basically the old story of marrying into wealth rather than what would make you happy, but the film was done remarkably well.

This is one of the best Hollywood productions of the 1930s and, in my opinion, of the 40s and 50s as well, when so many dramatic films were either overly cynical (40s) or too syrupy (50s).Superb acting by leads who are believable people and not 'pretty boys'. A fine dramatic story that has the right pacing and the right dialog, and a wholly believable ending.It is something I'd have expected from the great filmmakers of France or Italy during this period, such as Renoir, but not from Hollywood.The kind of film that gets better with each viewing and as time passes.Definitely one to look for if you have not yet seen it!

COME AND GET IT has a very strange cast. Having the reliable and talented supporting actor, Edward Arnold, in the lead is strange--especially since this rotund and rather doughy guy is cast as, believe it or not, a lumberjack when the film begins! Seeing him supposedly fight and beat up tough guys seemed pretty funny--especially since Arnold looked as if he'd have had a hard time beating up Frances Farmer--let alone burly lumbermen!! Additionally, having him play a very flawed hero who has a penchant for a very young lady (Frances Farmer) make it an unusual film.The film begins with Arnold being made the foreman of a logging company. However, his ambition is huge and he immediately has his sights set on running the entire company. So, to do so he agrees to marry the boss' daughter even though he could care less about her. Additionally, he'd just fallen in love with a spunky saloon singer (Frances Farmer--in a dual role). Regardless, his ambition is primary and he dumps farmer on his pal, played by Walter Brennan (who received an Oscar for his performance as a nice Swedish guy).Years pass. You see that Arnold's wife is a bit of a cold fish, though they did have some kids and they now own the company. Arnold just happens to visit his old pal Brennan and finds that through the magic of Hollywood clichés, Brennan's daughter (played by Farmer again) is the spitting image of her deceased mother. Arnold is an old lecher and takes her under his wing--with the intention of recreating the relationship he'd had with her mother. When his oldest son (Joel McCrea) finds out, he goes to confront the lady but falls for her instead. Naturally, this sets the son and hard-driven father against each other.Considering that this is based on an Edna Ferber novel, it isn't surprising that the film is about a man building an empire as well as infidelity--recurring themes I've noticed in several of her other films that were filmed during the era (such as CIMARRON, GIANT, SHOWBOAT and SO BIG). As a result, the film has a big and rather sweeping quality about it but is also a study of a hard-driven man who is deeply flawed.Overall, the movie is exactly what you'd expect from such a film--good acting, big scope and a lot of romantic tension. Nothing extraordinary here, but it's enjoyable and competently made. I can't, however, understand how Brennan got an Oscar, as this was far from one of his best performances. Perhaps it was a slow year.

Old fashioned to be sure, but this film version of the Edna Ferber novel boasts some great film acting by Edward Arnold and Frances Farmer (in a dual role).Story has the ruthless Arnold working his way up in the Wisconsin lumber business, grabbing at everything in sight, including saloon gal Farmer. He seems to care about nothing but getting ahead. When he gets the chance to marry the boss' daughter (Mary Nash), he dumps Farmer and moves on.Twenty year later, he has it all plus two children: Joel McCrea and Andrea Leeds. By chance he runs into old pal (Walter Brennan in his first Oscar win) who married Farmer. She's dead but her daughter (Farmer again) lives with him along with a niece (Mady Christians). The daughter is a dead ringer for the mother, and Arnold decides to move in on her (in a last gasp at youth).But when the daughter meets McCrea, it's all over for Arnold. The father and son have a confrontation and the old man sees the light.This film offers some of the best acting of any 30s film. Edward Arnold is superb, and his final scene is just plain chilling. Farmer is glorious in her dual role, her best chance at film stardom (that never happened). Also solid are McCrea, Brennan, Leeds, and Nash. Supporting cast offers Cecil Cunningham as the wise-cracking and wise secretary.The film may set a Hollywood record in listing THREE directors. Both Howard Hawks and William Wyler are listed as co-directors while Richard Rosson is credited with the timber scenes (which are great).Worth a look for Frances Farmer and Edward Arnold!