A wonderful cast of supporting character actors enlivens a soap opera about how Carole Lombard falls in love with reverse-snob Lyle Talbot and thwarts the plans of her grandfather -- played by the wonderful C. Aubrey Smith -- to marry his family into European royalty. In the meantime her father -- played by Walter Connolly -- is about to see his bank fail.

It seems apparent that the novel on which this book is based is a lot more complex than this movie. The dialogue is competent, but not great, and people tend to play types rather than individuals. But while this is not a great movie, the wonderful players make it far more enjoyable than anyone would expect it to be. Even Lyle Talbot, usually confined to a simple juvenile lead at his home base of Warner Brothers in this period, is excellent, if a tad declamatory.

NO MORE ORCHIDS is just a little programmer movie but it's an incredibly elegant one. Columbia studios in the early 1930's was thought of as something as a poverty row studio yet this film looks as slick and expensive as any potboiler the more uptown MGM or Paramount might have produced.

Carole Lombard stars as a spoiled society girl who is engaged to a prince in a marriage arranged by her controlling grandfather C. Aubrey Smith. On the ocean-liner back to America, she falls in love with white collar worker Lyle Talbot (who in her pampered world qualifies as "penniless") and eventually breaks his cool barrier. Lombard's pal of a dad, Walter Connally, and paternal grandmother Louise Closser Hale are crazy about Talbot but mean old grandpa Smith is not about to let his plans fall through, having seen his own late daughter marry "beneath" her.

Carole Lombard is superb as the frivolous but good-hearted socialite and she surprisingly is matched by Lyle Talbot, one of the era's reliable but usually bland leading men; in this picture, Talbot exhibits a sex appeal seldom tapped in the scores of bread-and-butter pictures he cranked out. Connally is very good in one of his first movie roles as father to a screwball romantic comedy queen (although this picture ventures more toward soap opera "women's picture" despite some nice comedy bits). Talented character player Louise Closser Hale seems a bit miscast, she's a bit too cutesy and lacks the saltiness a May Robson might have brought to the part. Smith essays a rare villainous part in a rather brief but pivotal role. Ruthelma Stevens and the very cute Allen Stevens have the only other somewhat featured parts as two of Lombard's good-time buddies in the society crowd; these small parts are among the larger ones for each of them, as they generally played bits.

Lombard is so strikingly beautiful and assured in her performance here it's hard to believe she was little more than a starlet at the time and not yet a major Hollywood star. She is sensationally photographed, although one scene makes her facial scar from an early car wreck more visible than I've ever seen it in one of her films. NO MORE ORCHIDS is just another Hollywood movie but it moves quickly and smoothly and is well worth your time if you love films from the 1930's.

I liked this film mostly because the cast was at their best and the story exceptional. But when the film began, it looked like a bit of fluff--fortunately I stuck with it.

The film begins with a spoiled young lady (Carole Lombard) demonstrating that she is indeed spoiled--as she makes an entire cruise ship wait until she feels like arriving. After all, she's rich and the family owns the cruise line. She soon meets a young man (Lyle Talbot) who is not at all impressed by her money or looks and this intrigues her. Yet, after trying repeatedly to get his attention, he continues to ignore her. Finally, he admits he's attracted but wants nothing to do with her because of her screwed up values. But, while at first she wants him only because he is unobtainable, eventually they both fall in love and she agrees to settle down to a conventional life with him--no more party-girl.

All looks good--especially since her father (Walter Connolly) and grandmother (Louise Closser Hale) like this man and think he's a good match. However, her rich grandfather (C. Aubry Smith--who controls the family fortune) is NOT impressed, as he picked out a member of some royalty for her--and he could care less if she likes this royal twit or not--she MUST marry this royal twit!! And he informs her that she WILL do as he says or he'll have her father (his son-in-law) jailed for mismanaging the family's bank. The father is a nice guy but clearly doesn't have a head for business--plus it looks like grandpa pulled some strings to insure the bank will fail. The only way out is for Carole to spurn Lyle's love and marry the twit--then her father can avoid the pokey! But Connolly learns about this threat and is determined to see her happy--regardless what happens to him--leading to a dandy finale.

The film really worked well because of the great supporting cast--though of course Talbot and Lombard were excellent. Walter Connolly is wonderful as always--too bad he died so young. And while Louise Closser Hale is not exactly a household name, she was magnificent as the feisty grandma. As for Smith, he was great as the stern grandfather (much like the guy he played in "Little Lord Fauntleroy") but was simply overshadowed by Connolly and Hale--no small feat, as Smith was a dandy actor himself.

I also loved the film because it at first looked rather shallow and vacuous--as Lombard played such an unlikable lady. However, instead of things magically working out, her settling down seemed reasonable and Talbot stuck to his guns--he was not willing to marry someone he could not respect. I liked this, but what I loved was the ending. In some ways, it was expected but the bittersweet tone the writer worked out made the film much deeper and memorable than just having the two leads marry and live happily ever after. Well worth seeing.