Climbing High (1938)

Wealthy young man (Redgrave) pretends to be poor to be close to a model (Matthews) though he nearly engaged to an aristocrat (Vyner)

Director: Carol Reed
Cast: Jessie Matthews, Michael Redgrave, Noel Madison, Alastair Sim, Margaret Vyner, Mary Clare, Francis L. Sullivan, Enid Stamp-Taylor, Torin Thatcher, Tucker McGuire, Basil Radford, Athole Stewart, Kathleen Byron, Leo de Pokorny, Fred Groves, Philip Leaver, Gordon McLeod, Percy Parsons, Charles Paton, Leslie Phillips, Frederick Piper, Terry-Thomas, Jack Vyvian, Elsie Wagstaff
Writing credits: Marion Dix, Sonnie Hale, Lesser Samuels

Romantic comedy tells the story of Nicky Brooke (Michael Redgrave) a wealthy young man who despite his engagement to the aristocratic (and broke) Lady Constance Westaker (Margaret Vyner), falls for hard-up model Diana Castles (Jessie Matthews) after nearly running her over with his car. In an effort to distance himself from 'tabloid' created tales of his playboy lifestyle, he changes his name and attempts to woo Diana by pretending to be poor. Alastair Sim has an amusing role, portraying a communist forced to take a job as the loincloth-clad "before" picture in a muscle-building ad.




IMDb

Carol Reed was only three years into his career and, based on the evidence here, was already was one of the top comedy directors in England, working so deftly that one scarcely notices the absence of the musical numbers that were planned for the film but never used or shot. In that regard, Reed succeeds where Michael Powell, working in a similar situation a little more than a decade later on The Elusive Pimpernel, from which intended musical numbers had also been removed, failed. The verbal acrobatics and the breezy pacing combine to make this one of the more entertaining British comedies of the period, with some piercing topical humor (especially about the advertising business, and political activism) that still holds today. And Jessie Matthews is a treat to watch, even in a straight (albeit comedic) acting role, supported more than ably by Tucker McGuire as her gal pal, and Michael Redgrave in a romantic part with Basil Radford providing the comic grace notes to his scenes.
~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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