Series: Feature Director: Norman Z. McLeod Producer: Milton H. Bren Executive producer: Hal Roach Screenplay: Eddie Moran, Jack Jevne Photography: Norbert Brodine Editor: William H. Terhune Sound: Warren B. Delaplain, William Randall Stars: Fredric March, Virginia Bruce, Patsy Kelly, Alan Mowbray, Nancy Carroll, Eugene Pallette, Claude Gillingwater, Arthur Lake, Etienne Girardot, Robert Armstrong Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Released: 06 October 1938 Length: 9 reels Production No.: F-21 Filming dates: 1938 Rating: 5/10

There Goes My Heart

On board a luxury boat, an elderly grandfather (Claude Gillingwater) tells his rich heiress grandaughter Joan (Virginia Bruce) that she is "spoiled and ungrateful" and that she is to stay aboard the boat until he returns from a business trip to London.  No sooner is his back turned, she gives the order for her boat to sail to New York despite the captain's reluctance. When the grandfather finds out about his grandaughter's reckless behaviour he enquires about having her arrested for stealing the boat (even though she owns it!) A newspaper publisher (Eugene Pallette)  picks up the story and sends his best writer Bill Spencer (Fredric March) to write the story.  Bill, along with is attitude, takes his photographer and boards Joan's boat the next morning.  Armed only with a photograph of Joan as a child, the reporters mistaken her for the maid as Joan makes her exit on a speedboat. Both men end up overboard when they get tangled up in an argument with a sailor on board. Back in the office there is some explaining to do with the boss, who isn't happy. In New York, Joan has arrived at a diner and immediately gets into an argument with a waiter when excitable customer Peggy O'Brien (Patsy Kelly) loses her beef stew.

Peggy screams her way through the meal whilst engaging in chit-chat with new friend Joan. Peggy is surprised that the rich girl with the fur coat has to struggle to pay for her food. "Honey the nearest I can get to a coat like that is petting my cat!", Peggy jokingly remarks before inviting Joan back to her apartment. It's typical witty, fast-talking, wise-cracking Patsy Kelly in tremendous form for the next couple of minutes before her real flat-mate Dorothy (Nancy Carroll) comes home and isn't best pleased with the extra guest before storming off out again. Peggy gets friendly with Joan and tells her she will ask her boss if there is a job going spare at Butterfields. The next day as Peggy is comically demonstrating some merchandise, Joan has to deal with a tricky customer who has come in to buy a fireless cooker, but Joan loses the sale when she gets greedy by pushing the lady into buying more than she came in for. After the boss (Irving Bacon) employs Joan, the reporter appears in the store and begins questioning Peggy for his piece he is writing. Bill sees his subject (Joan) in the store and asks a camera clerk to casually take some photos of the girl behind the counter. Bill cheekily buys the roll of film from the clerk then takes it back to the office before meeting up with Peggy for a date.

After an uncomfortable cab ride back to the girls' apartment the reporter is booted out when he cannot pay the fare. Another disagreement and another cab ride later and Joan agrees to have dinner with Bill at Peggy's apartment. Whilst they are preparing the dinner the electricity meter runs out and improvisation is required. The girls plug their lamp into a dentists' neon flashing sign outside of the window, and then a delicatessen sign at the front of the building. Bill arrives to complete chaos and instead opts to take Joan out to an ice-skating rink. A games of musical chairs on ice takes place with everybody falling over themselves in an attempt to win. In a well-choreographed conclusion to the game, it is Joan who is declared the winner. She is presented with a goldfish bowl (with fish) and has to skate off the ice rink whilst holding it. She takes Bill back to the apartment where they walk up onto the roof of the building to admire the night view. A sudden flash of lightning is all it takes for Joan to leap into Bill's arms for comfort. In an increasingly mushy, over-acted scene, Bill does the same when a second flash of lightning lights up the sky. When Bill gets back to the office to write up the story, he begins to have a conscience about writing about the girl he is now seemingly falling in love with.

The next day at the store Joan accidentally leaves her watch in the ladies washroom and it is discovered by Dorothy, who confirms her suspcions of Joan's real identity to the manager. Dorothy takes the watch to Joan's anxious grandfather and tells him that Joan is working in his store in New York. Peggy confornts Joan in the store and Joan tells her this is the first time in her life she has found freedom before Bill arrives to whisk Joan away to a desert island. Whilst there she makes him dinner and they talk through the night until next morning when she goes to wake him up and finds him gone. Bill shows up at his office to find his boss less than happy with his reliability. Bill tells his he is not running the story on Joan because he doesn't want to hurt her feelings and rips up the report, but the editor pieces it back together again and prints the story. When Joan reads it she ends the relationship with Bill. Bill returns to the office where he drowns his sorrows with his photographer and the editor. Word reaches Peggy and she decides to send telegrams to Joan and Bill pretending that each of them has written to the other in an attempt to reconcile their friendships. Bill and Joan meet at the island where they receive a surprise visit from a minister (Harry Langdon), who, after some stiffness from the couple, marries them.

Favourite bit Some delightful scenes to choose from: Patsy Kelly is tremendous throughout; the surprise appearance of Harry Langdon in the final scene; but I liked the ice-skating sequence because it looks real, fun and legitimate.

Trivia • Copyrighted October 6, 1938. • Oscar nominated for Best Original Score. • Peggy pays $6 rent. • The device Peggy demonstrates for the customers at the store is the Vibrato. • The advert in the paper says the fireless cookers retail for $4.95. That's approximately 81 dollars in today's money. • The camera salesman says the camera he operates sells for $175. That would be $2,853.61 in 2015 money. • The cab fare for the two girls and the reporter comes to $1.60. • Peggy tells Joan to lean out of the window and plug the lamp into the neon sign, telling her that Joan is "longer than I am". In reality, Virginia Bruce was 5'6" to Patsy Kelly's 5'4" - a difference of only two inches. • A lot of the stuff that takes place on the ice rink looks genuine and unscripted. • Seriously, what kind of common sense does it take to present a goldfish bowl as a prize to the ice skating game and make the winner skate off the rink whilst holding it? • At around 63 minutes into the film when Bill takes Joan to "Sand Island", there is a distinct echo in the dialogue which would indicate the scene was shot on a stage. The acoustics of the actors voices would not have sounded that way in the open air. The same goes for the scene when Bill is being transported by boat to his island with the marriage license later on. • When Joan finds Bill's note under the canoe she reads it aloud. Who does that? • Stuntwomam Loretta Rush doubled Virginia Bruce in at least the very end of the skating sequence (when the chair skids under her). My opinion • Not bad. Some really enjoyable sequences, particularly featuring Patsy Kelly, who is on top form here.

	Fredric March William (Bill) Z. Spencer
	Virginia Bruce Joan Butterfield
	Patsy Kelly Peggy O'Brien
	Alan Mowbray Pennypepper E. Pennypepper
	Nancy Carroll Dorothy Moore
	Eugene Pallette William Stevens, editor
	Claude Gillingwater Cyrus W. Butterfield
	Arthur Lake Flash Fisher
	Etienne Girardot Hinkley, secretary
	Irving Bacon Mr. Dobbs
	J. Farrell MacDonald Officer
	William B. Davidson Skipper
	Hal K. Dawson Camera salesman
	Eddie Dunn Norman, cab driver
	Adia Kuznetzoff Second mate on yacht
	Harry Langdon Minister
	Tommy Mack Café manager
	Marjorie Main Fireless cooker customer
	Billy Wayne First taxicab driver
	Greta Granstedt Thelda (Joan's Swedish maid)
	Jack Hill Man at ice rink
	Robert Armstrong Detective O'Brien
	Irving Pichel Mr. Gorman
	Syd Saylor Robinson
	Ernie Adams Cafe counterman
	Charles Anthony Hughes Announcer
	Ralph Brooks Cafe customer
	Horace G. Brown Ice skater
	George Burton Drayman
	Eddy Chandler Diner
	George Chandler Tailor
	Bill Clark Sailor
	Rosanne Coyle Customer
	Jack Egan Sailor
	Jinx Falkenburg Customer
	June Glory Clerk
	Kirby Grant Customer
	Lloyd Ingraham Silent banker
	Marjorie Kane Secretary
	Pat Lane Sailor at launch
	Harry Lang Newsboy
	Anna Luther Customer
	Philip Morris Small boat captain
	Nat Nealon Sailor
	Moroni Olsen Fisherman
	Norman Phillips Jr. Copy boy
	Joe Ploski Waiter
	Walter Ridge Trick ice skater
	Gwen Seager Clerk
	Elaine Shepard Customer
	Amzie Strickland Customer
	Billy Taft Photographer
	William Worthington Silent banker

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Acknowledgements: Chris Bungo (help and assistance) Jesse Brisson (identification of Jack Hill) Lou Sabini & Zachary Switzer (helpful information) This page was last updated on: 06 October 2023