Feature number two of the evening was MISBEHAVING LADIES! A pre-Code comedy film directed by William Beaudine. Lila Lee plays Ellen, a young American girl that also happens to be a widowed European Princess! She left her little small town when she was little but has fond memories of her Uncle Joe (Lucien Littlefield) and Aunt Kate (Louise Fazenda), but in particular of Phil Hunter (Ben Lyon), her childhood crush. Receiving an invite letter from Aunt Kate, she decides its time to return back to the States. The town makes this enormous deal out of the fact that a Princess is going to visit their traditional little American community! So much so that when she first arrives, in plain cloths, no one recognizes her! She's mistaken by her Aunt as a seamstress that's supposed to come to help them with their dresses specifically for the Princess's party. Rather than confess right away, Ellen decides to have a little fun and not tell anyone her true identity. Although her Uncle Joe and Phil immediately recognize her, but play along with her prank. (Honestly, it goes on a lot longer than it should! But I still liked it.) It should be called MISUNDERSTANDING LADIES, because the nosy, gossipy women of the town think that this dressmaker is... errr, I guess the term of the time would've been a floozy? With Uncle Joe! With Phil, going into the backroom of his shop! Gasp! In all builds towards a ridiculous over-the-top town hall party they throw for the "Princess" and Ellen just goes along with it. Lila Lee is great and mischievous as Ellen. And Ben Lyon as Phil is incredibly charming and endearing. You can feel the great chemistry between the two. Louise Fazenda, who plays Aunt Kate, was like the Lily Taylor of the 30s! And there's lots of quirky humor in here. One long sequence of Uncle Joe trying to paint the front porch without anyone stepping on it, and a little dog that keeps causing distractions at the finale party. For a 75 minute feature, it felt like it dragged a tiny bit, especially with the prank of Ellen pretending to be the dressmaker, but I still had a hell of a good time! Four William Beaudine films in one week! And every one of them was a pristine, beautiful looking black & white 35mm print! Bless the New Beverly!
