One of the worst movies I've ever seen

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The one and only opportunity to see German actress Lili Dagover in an American film occurs in this rather old fashioned melodrama The Girl From Monte Carlo. Lili plays a notorious woman of leisure and pleasure who hangs out in the casinos looking for rich men to spend on her.But she yearns for respectability and what's more respectable than a Captain in the French Navy. She marries the formal and stiff Walter Huston who's been at sea too long.But this is not Dagover's only acquaintance with the navy. From out of her past is John Wray a notorious rake and Huston's executive officer. And one of Huston's newer officers Warren William gets Dagover's motor running. Without saying any more about the plot it ends badly for all three of these men.It was obvious that Warner Brothers-First National imported Dagover from Germany to rival the appeal Marlene Dietrich. She certainly gives a worthy go of it. But as well as Dagover puts her own brand of femme fatale on this film, she decided unlike Dietrich to return to Germany. An interesting role here is that of George E. Stone who is Warren William's orderly and most discreet keeper of secrets. He's as loyal to William as he was as Otero in Little Caesar to Edward G. Robinson. I'll say nothing more, make of it viewer what you will.As for Dagover it took more than one man to make her Monte Carlo Lili.

Lil Dagover is a ship captain's wife, half is age, and a reputation to boot. Of course, she wants to be a faithful wife, but her spouse (an excellent Walter Huston) is too busy being called away on naval business. She's the subject of lustful unwanted advances from sleazy naval officer John Wray, but Huston's right hand man (Warren William) rescues her from him on several occasions. Coincidently, World War I is declared on the night of a shipboard party and a drunken Dagover finds a major hangover when she is left behind when the ship sets off for battle. This leads to a melodramatic plot twist where the ship is torpedoed and Huston is put on court martial for claiming the torpedoing ship had sent friendly secret codes. Will wifey and injured best pal William be able to save him from career suicide without ruining her marriage or further besmirching her reputation? Not if the jealous Wray has his way! Fast-moving romantic melodrama has enough sexual innuendo to fill a dozen pre-code films but suffers from the presence of a rather ineffectual leading lady who appears to be slightly mannish. There's a nice party sequence where Huston ends up in the arms of amorous portly socialite Maude Eburne and a twist in court that is downright over-the-top. It also features a bittersweet downer of an ending that leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but the presence of the ultra talented Walter Huston rises this above mediocrity.

Too bad Lil Dagover made only one Hollywood movie, but at least it's not lost, and English- speaking audiences get a chance to savor her without the distraction of subtitles.There is a lot of plot ellipsis in this story about a lady with a past trying to settle into respectability as the wife of a French naval officer (Walter Huston). Unfortunately, the husband is at sea most of the time and when his ship finally comes into port and she arrives on board for a welcoming party World War One suddenly begins, the party is called off and the ship is torpedoed. Romantic rivalry (involving Warren William as an officer subordinate to Huston) and a threatening figure from her past (John Wray) are also mixed up in the mayhem. However, the film is mostly about Lil. Her charm, her poise, her jewels, her costumes, her legs, her profile, her ivory skin, her raven hair, her captivating smile—all on display in generous close-ups. If this all seems reminiscent of Dietrich in the von Sternberg films, this exposure of Dagover was probably intended by the executives at First National who imported her, probably as their version of Dietrich or possibly Garbo, whose manner resembles hers. Her rather thick German accent is difficult to understand at times, and creates problems in some scenes, but she hits all of the required emotional notes, especially when playing the frustration of an abandoned wife.The final fadeout is particularly striking.

Sporting a plot with gaping holes (one of them large enough to accommodate a battleship), The Woman from Monte Carlo (1931) is more than somewhat disappointing. We waited years to catch up this one. Now it's finally available; but although it has some great moments – principally contributed by John Wray and occasionally by Lil Dagover – the preposterous plot and peculiarly lethargic performance by Warren William undermine its appeal. Nonetheless, although occasionally ill-treated by photographer Ernest Haller, Dagover works hard to build up credibility. Alas, her efforts are sabotaged, largely by Warren William but also by Walter Huston. Admittedly, the admiral is supposed to be a dull old stick, but in my book that doesn't mean he has no charisma whatever. (Incidentally, the studio's credits are wrong. Wray is the ship's captain, Huston is an admiral, and William plays an officer called "D'Artelle"). Michael Curtiz's visual flair is also under pressure from the talky script, the predictable plot and its lifeless characters. All in all, The Woman from Monte Carlo rates as a must-see for Lil Dagover (and John Wray) fans, but little more than a melodramatic curiosity for everyone else.