Her Majesty, Love (DVD)

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 souffle is director William Dieterle, whose swirling camera and sense of style make this a royal treat from start to finish.