Search - Good Fairy on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1935 DVD Release: 11/05/2002 Format: DVD - Black and White SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 37 mins Studio: Kino Members Wishing: 14 Genres: Comedy Drama, Romance, Romantic Comedy

Margaret Sullavan graduates from a girl's orphanage to an usherette's job at a Budapest movie theatre. Bibulous millionaire Frank Morgan makes a play for Margaret, but she keeps him at arm's length by picking a name from the phone book and insists that that's the name of her husband. The man chosen at random is attorney Herbert Marshall, who can't understand why Morgan has taken a sudden interest in him. Morgan offers Marshall a huge contract in hopes that Margaret will be "exchanged", but the truth comes out to everyone's satisfaction. Adapted from a Ferenc Molnar play by Preston Sturges (who added a hilarious movie-within-a-movie in which the "stars" emote by speaking in one-syllable sentences), Good Fairy was remade as the Deanna Durbin vehicle I'll Be Yours (47). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Margaret Sullavan - Luisa "Lu" Ginglebusher
Herbert Marshall - Dr. Max Sporum
Frank Morgan - Konrad
Reginald Owen - Detlaff
Alan Hale - Schlapkohl

It's significant that the first two non-horror and non-war movies to come out of the 1930's Universal vaults and onto DVD, come to us by way of Kino International -- The Good Fairy and Counsellor At Law have both been released (along with the 1929 hybrid silent/talkie The Love Trap), are part of Kino's William Wyler Collection. The Good Fairy (1935) is Wyler's spirited, excruciatingly funny yet lyrical and saucy film of Preston Sturges's screenplay (adapted from Ferenc Molnar's play), about the romantic adventures of an innocent young woman (Margaret Sullavan), recruited out of an orphanage in Bupadest to work as an usherette at a movie theater. it's a doubly funny movie to watch today, incidentally, because two of its cast members, at least, Frank Morgan and Reginald Owen, tend to be associated more with MGM titles of the period, and, in fact, Morgan plays a kind of genially lecherous antecedent to his Professor Marvel character from The Wizard of Oz. Between the two of them and Eric Blore and Alan Hale, there would be a lot of amusing stuff going on in this picture regardless of one's appreciation of the story; on the other hand, Sullivan is so beguilingly charming in the title-role, that she's a romantic/comedic delight all on her own terms. Coupled with Sturges's wry twists in the dialogue, the movie is an enchanting amalgam of knowing, clever romance and sly comedy all in one. This is one of the best looking DVD releases to come out of the Universal vaults, utilizing a wonderfully sharp, clean print -- not only does it look sensational, but even the movie-within-the-movie in one sequence looks as good as anything ever issued on video. This release is a special treat, as The Good Fairy never made it onto laserdisc, though it has been out on videocassette at various points and, at one time, was a staple of public television presentations. The film has been given a dozen chapter markers, which is adequate, given its structure. The disc opens on a simple menu that incorporated inset clips from the film. One unexpectedly choice bonus is the original trailer, which is built around Margaret Sullavan's screen persona and some surprisingly daring and suggestive clips (in so delightfully innocent a comedy of errors), all assembled very cleverly around some delightfully witty wipes and edits that are fun to watch; the other bonus is an array of photos of Wyler from his family's collection (which includes a shot of the director and his bride, Margaret Sullavan, riding on his Harley Davidson) from across his life and career. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide