Alfred E. Green directed The Golden Arrow, a minor, fluffy comedy starring Bette Davis and George Brent.
Charles Kenyon’s script is based on a story of the same title by Michael Arlen, published in the September 14, 1935 issue of Liberty.
Brent plays Johnny Jones, a penniless newspaper reporter assigned to interview Daisy Appleby (Davis), the popular heiress to the Appleby Facial Creams fortune.
What they don’t know is that she is really a cafeteria cashier hired by public relations team to impersonate the socialite.
She proposes a marriage of convenience that will free her from the cads pursuing her so that she can find an ideal man and also allow Johnny time to finish his novel.
After they wed, the company’s board of directors try to place him under their control, as well. Johnny rebels and begins dating oil heiress Hortense Burke-Meyers (Carol Hughes) in retaliation.
Daisy, realizing that she loves him, tries to win him back by having her brother-in-law Alfred Parker impersonate an old beau to make Johnny jealous.
Warner Bros. rushed this mediocre film into release to capitalize on Bette Davis’ recent win of the 1935 Best Actress Oscar for Dangerous.
Davis does her best to elevate the material with a saucy performance, showing that she can be adequate at being light and nonchalant.
Cast
Bette Davis as Daisy Appleby
George Brent as Johnny Jones
Eugene Pallette as Mr. Meyers
Dick Foran as Tommy Blake
Craig Reynolds as Jorgenson
Carol Hughes as Hortense Burke-Meyers
Hobart Cavanaugh as DeWolfe
Earle Foxe as Alfred Parker