THE GOLDEN ARROW

US, 1936, 68 minutes, Black and white.
Bette Davis, George Brent, Eugene Pallette, Dick Foran, Carol Hughes.
Directed by Alfred E.Green.

The Golden Arrow is the slightest of romantic comedies, a surprise for fans of Bette Davis who had been making films about five years, in a range of roles, both serious and comic. This one is entirely comic, the type of part that could have been taken by any starlet of the period. And her leading man, as in quite a number of films including Dark Victory, is a rather stolid George Brent. Eugene Pallette has a familiar bumbling role; Dick Foran appears only momentarily and Carol Hughes is an ambitious rich girl.

The film focuses on American society, frivolous and wealthy American society, and self-made families who have succeeded with oil and with commercial products.

Bette Davis seems to be the heiress of the Appleby fortune, put out in high society in the US and on the Riviera, isolated with a supervisor and shunning the media. Carol Hughes is an heiress enjoying society with Eugene Pallette as her father.

George Brent is a journalist who is writing a book, gets a chance to interview Bette Davis and they click. Almost impulsively, they get married, the marriage of convenience rather than love – though it is clear that they are going to fall in love. In the meantime, she protests against being the face of Appleby advertising, and it emerges that she is a cashier who was taken on by the company for promotion purposes. They then decide that the journalist should also get a false identity and be a playboy. She seems to be happy on her own. He gets entangled with Carol Hughes.

There are some amusing moments, especially when she gets a black eyed by being hit with a tennis ball and he engineers a black eye and spreads the story that she caused it.

The heiress reveals the truth about Bette Davis, the journalist being excited – and, of course, marrying and happy ever after.