What a waste of my time!!!

Please don't spend money on this.

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

There are obvious similarities between this and America's "It Happened One Night". Preparing to marry a pompous businessman she can't stand to cinch a deal for her father, Jessie Matthews looks at the picture of her fiancée, sticks her tongue out, and bolts. The groom is humiliated, the father is devastated, and she is robbed while hiding out on a train far away. Believing that the sleeping man (Owen Nares)opposite her has her purse (it's actually his briefcase), she tries to retrieve it, and he accuses her of robbing him. Holding her for the police, he can't keep her in his grasp (she slips away from him in a most clever way), yet ends up finding her in his car anyway. He is forced to take her back to his pad, has lots of explaining to do when his fiancée (Carol Goodner) shows up, and even more when his society pals arrive and think Matthews is the girl he's engaged to.Quick moving comedy with a few snappy songs, this is a rare glimpse into what American audiences were missing in areas that did not get these British imports. Matthews would later gain some exposure with classics like "Evergreen", "First a Girl" and "It's Love Again", but outside of New York City, pretty much nobody in the United States even knew who she was. She has a sparkling personality, yet unlike other British actresses who made it big here, never had an interest in crossing over to Hollywood. Fortunately, we're getting to discover her now, and it is obvious that she is worth discovering. Some of the men may seem a bit pompous, or their levels of humor like something from outer space, but with a renewed interest in British culture (thanks to the Merchant Ivory films of the 1980's and 1990's and the BBC series "Downton Abbey"), us Yanks are taking pleasure in seeing sides of British society we hadn't been interested in before. Oh, and by the way, I think this is much more entertaining than the somewhat overlong "It Happened One Night", even with the manly Gable and the leg-exposing Colbert.

This British film begins with a father practically selling his daughter to a man in order to make a big business deal take place. Not too surprisingly, the bride soon runs away—after all, there appears to be no romance whatsoever—just a sleazy business deal.Shortly after this interesting start, the film falls apart for me. That's because the runaway bride is now on a train and it sure looks as if she's trying to rob a man. So what does the man do when he awakens? Does he call the police? Well, considering she refuses to account for what she was doing or who she was, his actual course of action in the film makes absolutely no sense—none. Instead of turning her in, he takes her with him and gives her 24 hours to tell him who she is! When she does tell him the truth, she inexplicably gets him to agree not only NOT to turn her in but hide her for 24 hours—at which point, he new husband will be on his way to South America. Who thought this was a viable plot for a movie?! Certainly not any sane person and the film completely lost me at this point. A radical rewrite was needed, as the plot simply made no sense at all and the film was a waste of time.

"There goes the Bride" is essentially and simply a farce (albeit one set -- for no very clear reason -- in France). As such, the plot makes about as much sense as in any other of the many films in which the heroine proves herself irresistible by making the leading man's life a complete misery; and it contrives to be considerably less irritating than most of them.As the pert and wilful Annette, Jessie Matthews is all big eyes and eloquent reaction; it is interesting to note that she has already established the character without any real dialogue to speak of until after the first few scenes. In fact, for an early sound film this shows a notable willingness to tell its story through visuals in addition to the laughs obtained by an often genuinely funny script; there were moments when the audience were literally shouting with laughter.It has to be said that Miss Matthews, in her first leading screen role, sometimes overacts. If she were not already in possession of top billing one might assume that she is doing her best here to steal the show! However, it is hard to say where the actress's cinematic inexperience begins and the impudent Annette's 'putting on an act' ends; certainly her charm is more than enough to excuse any exaggeration. Conversely, Owen Nares has been criticised for lack of charisma, although I couldn't see it -- I did notice one or two flat line readings on his part that sounded as if they should have gone for a retake.All in all I found this surprisingly good entertainment: undemanding fluff in a polished production that manages to be witty without being annoying, ridiculous without stupidity, and sneaks in a good deal of conscious naughtiness into the bargain. I'm frankly amazed that this apparently rated a 'U' rather than an 'A' ('Adult') certificate on release, as I'd have thought parts of it were quite risqué!

This is Jessie Matthews second sound film.Whilst she exhibits much gusto and enthusiasm she rather overacts at time and her technique is lacking.I was fortunate enough to see her give a lecture with Michael Balcon at the NFT some 40 years ago.She explained that it was Victor Saville who had helped to give her the confidence to appear in front of the cameras.Anyway having said that she is rather oddly matched with a rather stuffy Owen Nares who was 17 years her senior at the time.Nares was a popular leading man of the 20s and 30s and who was by this time heading into the twilight of his screen career.There are some enjoyable,if unmemorable musical numbers.There is only one brief dance from Jessie.This film was issued as part of the "British Classics Collection" some years ago,and is still to be purchased second hand.If you are a fan of Jessie Matthews or of 30s films it is worth seeing,if only to observe a talent in embryo