The Battle of Paris

Gertrude Lawrence was about 30 and at the height of her stage career with Noel Coward when this vehicle, her first film, joined the crowd of musicals in the first talkie wave. A mostly fluffy meet-cute with the War as a distraction that derails the romance for a bit; though nothing will stop her jazz-operetta gaiety (nor Ruggles's atrocious French accent). Even a couple new Porter numbers. This being the pre-Code days, her romantic rival proves a far nastier piece of work than one might suspect.

This is so early talkies that character actors hadn't found their persona yet, so here we got Charles Ruggles singing a lot, all French-like. This is mostly flirting and drunkenness, with some darker moments thrown in. A piece of its time.