Claudette is on the Run

Private detective Guy Johnson (James Stewart) is hired by millionaire Willie Heyward (Ernest Truex) to protect him from himself - he's a notorious lush and womanizer. After Heyward's marriage to Vivian Tarbell (Frances Drake), Heyward goes (drunk) to bawl out a former flame - who's murdered while he is there. Guy tries to protect Heyward, but is arrested with him and sentenced to a year in prison, while Heyward gets the death penalty. On his way to prison, Guy sees a personal ad that leads him to believe he can catch the real murderer; he escapes from the train. And promptly kidnaps Edwina Corday (Claudette Colbert), a renowned poet. Our film this week is  It's a Wonderful World (1939).

It's always a pleasure to see Claudette Colbert, and she's delightful in this film. Edwina is smart and resourceful, but there is a problem - we could not understand why she would go out of her way to help Guy Johnson.  He's horrible to her from the start,  and he just really isn't that attractive a man that she should fall in love with him.  Personally, we thought she should have run the minute she saw him.  Both Myrna Loy and Frances Drake were considered for the part of Edwina - Ms. Loy was not available, and Ms. Drake was instead cast as Vivian.  So, Ms. Colbert agreed to appear in the part. She was taken aback by director W.S. Van Dyke, II's fast style of direction, and not satisfied with the film in the end. (TCM article).

Where one rather likes Edwina, the same cannot be said for James Stewart's Guy. He's mean, nasty, and violent. He hits Edwina, he almost drowns a police officer, and his motivation for trying to save the man who is about to die for a murder he did not commit is money, and nothing more.  Mr. Stewart and Ms. Colbert never really gel as a couple. It's hard to imagine the pair living a life together at the close of the film. Mr. Stewart does have some good comic moments, especially when he is trying to hide behind thick eyeglasses, but it's not enough to make the audience really like him.

The film is blessed with some excellent supporting players - Guy Kibbee (Cap Streeter) as Guy's surprisingly supportive partner has some good moment.  Nat Pendleton (Sergeant Koretz) AND Edgar Kennedy (Lieutenant Miller) provide humor as two bumbling police officers; sadly, they are even dumber than Guy. Sidney Blackmer (Al Mallon) is menacing as the villain - Vivian's lover and enforcer. And Frances Drake does a good job as the malicious wife out for her husband's fortune.

The New York Times review by Frank S. Nugent was not positive; they were especially critical of the script by Ben Hecht.  In the long run, the story is too similar to It Happened One Night (1936), and not nearly as funny.  It's entertaining in places, but frankly, it is far from a perfect film.
If you are a James Stewart or Claudette Colbert completest, you'll want to catch this for the good moments. Otherwise, you might just want to see them in some of their better films.  Here's a trailer from the film: