The Affairs of Annabel (1938)

(On Cable TV, October 2021) I’m always a good sport for Hollywood-insider movies, especially from the 1930s. But The Affairs of Annabel tested my patience. I didn’t hate the film—I just found that it failed to work. I can see the jokes, I can appreciate a young Lucille Ball looking good and playing for laughs, I appreciate the film’s admirably short 68-minute running time and I’m appreciative as always at the time-capsule funhouse look at Hollywood of past decades. But it just doesn’t work. I’m left unmoved by the shenanigans of the young star protagonist and her publicist as they stage elaborate stunts. The Hollywood satire seems toothless, and the character’s mugging for the camera (specifically Jack Oakie) is more annoying than successful. I’ll allow for some mood-related variance here—maybe it would be funnier if I was in a better mood. But as it stands, it’s going to take a while before I revisit The Affairs of Annabel.