Product Review

Her Majesty; Love is a film frolic of firsts and lasts. It sadly marks the last movie for Broadway’s vivacious Marilyn Miller (star of the earlier Sally and Sunny; adaptations of her stage musicals available from Warner Archive); who would return to the boards but not the screen. In this reworking of a German comedy; she plays a cabaret barmaid who becomes engaged to the playboy scion (Ben Lyon) of an industrial family. Fellow Ziegfeld luminary W.C. Fields; in his first sound feature; plays her barber father; an ex-vaudevillian who scandalizes her future in-laws by drunkenly displaying his juggling skills at the dinner table. Fans of his silent work now experienced his mellifluous voice and flinty persona alongside his physical comedy gifts; and his career was reborn. The rich relations scuttle the marriage; but true love triumphs in a roundabout way; thanks to a marital detour with randy aristocrat Leon Errol. Whipping this into a splendid soufflé is director William Dieterle; whose swirling camera and sense of style make this a royal treat from start to finish.