In the '20s and '30s, Frederick Lonsdale was second only to Noel Coward as a purveyor of high-class comedy and noble sentiments. His plays The Last of Mrs. Cheyney and On Approval were among the biggest international hits of their day. So it was only natural that when he decided to try peddling some scripts to Hollywood, MGM, which had already had a hit with the former play in 1929, would snap him up. This was only his second original screenplay, and some scenes play as if they were intended for the stage. But Lonsdale also drew on his own middle-class background as the son of a tobacconist to craft the role of Willie (Robert Montgomery), an enterprising young man who resists his father's suggestion that he go into the postal service. Instead, he takes a series of odd jobs that carry him around the world in search of material about which to write, eventually finding the perfect subject when admiral's daughter Madge Evans walks into his tobacco shop in South Africa, Their meeting sets the stage for a romance that shatters social norms and class boundaries. Montgomery and Evans were close friends off-screen, which contributed to their tremendous rapport as the young lovers.

By Frank Miller