Director: Mitchell Leisen
Screenplay: James Edward Grant, Albert McCleery
Starring: Marlene Dietrich, Fred MacMurray, Aline MacMahon, Stanley Ridges, Arline Judge, Roger Clark, Marietta Canty
Country: USA
Running Time: 91 min
Year: 1942
BBFC Certificate: U
Marlene Dietrich, once a Hollywood icon, was struggling to regain her star power in the latter half of the 1930s. Following a series of box office failures and a severed contract with Paramount, she found herself at Columbia Pictures, which was previously considered a ‘poverty row’ studio and was only just starting to get a name for itself. Prior to the move, she’d found success in 1939 with a turn to comedy, with Destry Rides Again. Her first film for Columbia, The Lady Is Willing (1942) was to be another comedy but it marked an even more surprising departure from the sultry, glamorous roles she had once played.
Always keen to give new life to films that veer from the norm, Indicator are releasing The Lady Is Willing on Blu-ray. I got my hands on a copy and my thoughts follow.
In the film, Dietrich stars as Liza Madden, a Broadway actress who is hit by a sudden motherly urge when she comes across an abandoned baby. She impulsively takes it home with her, in the hope of adopting it.
However, you can’t just take a baby and make it yours. At the very least, if nobody claims it, you need a stable income and a husband to ‘prove’ you have the means to look after the child (this was the 1940s – I know things have changed since).
Unfortunately, Liza is somewhat of a philanthropist, readily giving money away to anyone with a sad story who comes asking. She’s also single.
However, after meeting Dr. Corey McBain (Fred MacMurray), a child-hating paediatrician, Liza approaches him with a proposition that will benefit both of them. He becomes her husband and she’ll fund his lifelong wish to study the mating habits of rabbits.
As they navigate their unconventional arrangement, Liza and Corey find themselves falling for each other, but various obstacles continue to get in the way of their happiness.
The Lady is Willing is a cute romp that never rises to classic levels but remains eminently watchable largely due to the chemistry between the leads (ably assisted by Aline MacMahon and Stanley Ridges, who are heaps of fun as Liza’s assistants). Dietrich and MacMurray have some genuinely sweet scenes together as the film goes on and they both have a lovable nature throughout. Whilst the vision of the glamorous Dietrich looking after a baby might be ripe for comedy, the actress was a mother off-screen and had been before moving to Hollywood in the ’30s. This shows in the scenes with the young tot.
Dietrich does a wonderful job of making her character likeable too. Liza is an unusual personality – she seems rather dimwitted to begin with and orders people around with a click of her fingers, yet she often gives money away to help those in need and clearly has a great love of the central child. Her simple-mindedness morphs into innocence, which is not something you’d normally attribute to Dietrich, but she sells it most effectively.
There’s not a very strong narrative arc though, to keep you engaged, making for a slow-paced take on screwball comedy. The fairly simple, albeit high concept, story takes it’s time to develop, throwing in a quirk once or twice but never taking any genuinely surprising or interesting turns. The story and tone changes dramatically in the final act though and this leads to the film ending on an overly melodramatic note. A stage-bound climax is emotionally effective but the rest of the tear-jerking denouement is poorly developed and disappointing.
A musical number in the middle of the film is a bit of a clunker too. Adrian Martin believes this is intentional, which is a possibility, given the sequence is returned to, with an emotional twist, for the finale.
Intentional or not, it’s all part of a film that doesn’t entirely work but is pleasant enough to enjoy. Though the story feels underbaked and the finale a touch out of place, The Lady is Willing is, for the most part, a charming film that’s easy to fall for, even if there’s not much to it.
Film: 
The Lady is Willing is out now on region B Blu-Ray, released by Indicator. The transfer is very good. There’s a little wear and tear visible in places and I found the blacks slightly heavy but it’s a detailed and crisp image. I’ve used screengrabs throughout this review for reference, though these have been compressed. I had no issues with the audio.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
– High Definition remaster
– Original mono audio
– Audio commentary with film historian Adrian Martin (2024)
– Performance of Innocence (2024, 27 mins): the academic and author Richard Dyer discusses The Lady Is Willing and Marlene Dietrich’s work in comedy
– Lux Radio Theatre: ‘The Lady Is Willing’ (1943, 52 mins): radio play adaptation of the film’s screenplay, starring George Brent and Kay Francis
– Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
– New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
– Limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet with a new essay by Iris Veysey, an archival interview with Marlene Dietrich, an archival profile of director Mitchell Leisen, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
– World premiere on Blu-ray
– Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK
Adrian Martin’s commentary is first-rate, as you’d expect from one of the best in the business. He thinks the director Mitchell Leisen is an underrated figure in Golden Age Hollywood. He’s honest about The Lady is Willing not being his best film but points out its qualities throughout and why it’s worth examining. He also talks about how Leisen’s sexuality might have informed aspects of the film.
Richard Dyer talks about the film too, in an interview. He looks at where it sits in Dietrich’s career, particularly among the comedies she made. Dyer talks about how the actress seemed a poor fit for screwball comedy at first glance but goes on to describe how her style can effectively fit the genre. He also discusses the theatricality of The Lady is Willing.
The radio play offers a fun, slightly shortened take on the material, with an alternative cast.
The booklet contains a handy coverall piece on the film, a fun archival article covering Dietrich’s stint in hospital with a broken leg during production, a wonderful piece on Mitchell Leisen and the usual review samples. It makes for good reading and more than justifies the slightly higher limited edition price tag.
So, Indicator have put together a strong package for an enjoyable film. It gets a warm recommendation from me.
Disc/Package:
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