AUGUST'S FEATURE
Her Cardboard Lover
August's Feature: Her Cardboard Lover
Critic's Verdict:
(Opinion#1)
"If this is Miss Shearer's movie swan song, as has been intimated, she leaves us with a very fine performance to remember her by. True, at times Miss Shearer spreads on the histronics a bit too thick, but the role is difficult and why shouldn't a love-frustrated woman be a bit hysterical at times? Anyway, we like her and think you will too ."
Staff writer in " PHOTOPLAY" August, 1942.
(Opinion#2)
"This undertaking in the zone of sophisticated comedy ranges from boudoir frivolity, such as used to be called continental to knockabout brawling, such as has always been called slapstick. It excels in neither department and serves chiefly as a means of presenting Norma Shearer, Robert Tayor and George Sanders to their fans."
Staff writer in "MOTION PICTURE HERALD", May 30, 1942.
My two cents! By D'Arcy D. August, 1999.
"'Her Cardboard Lover' was Norma's swan song, being her last star appearance, ending close to two decades at MGM. This film was not well received, as evidence from the above reviews. Fans were beginning to find greater interest in war films over and against the traditional glaomourized showcase-film perfected at MGM by this time.
In Norma's personal life, she was more interested in spending time with her new husband Martin Arrouge and children rather than fussing on the set. Thus she made her film vehicle choices based on the practical considerations of speed and familiarity. However, if one takes a closer look at the role of Consuelo, its not as easy as it might seem, being subtle and demanding in its hysteria. Some modern revierwers attempt to read a supposed seminal mania into her performance but forget that she was a true professional and displays the best of years of practise and work. If her hystronics raise above a startling crescendo it is because she knew the part, not because she lived it.
'Her Cardboard Lover' is one of my favorite Norma performances, though it continues to be very under-rated. Miss Shearer is at the peak of her beauty and skill, making this film less a disappointment due to its story-line but more so because it was the last we would see of Hollywood's Greatest Star."
To see photos of Norma and Robert Taylor click
here