Girls Will Be Boys

A surprisingly spirited effort from 1934, directed with verve, in which gamine German star Dolly Haas indulges in a bit of gender bender fun. Despite the film’s age, it has worn well!

The plot, it might be said, is not altogether original and in parts even quite absurd. A ‘Charlie’s Aunt’ reversal, in which a young female entertainer by the name of Pat Caverley (D. Haas) is forced to disguise herself as a man in real life (and not just on stage) in order to come into an inheritance. Her grandfather, the rich Duke of Bridgewater (Cyril Maude), finds out that the aforementioned Pat Caverley is his rightful heir, but has no idea that Pat is in fact a woman. Were aware of this, the misogynist Duke would instantly dismiss Pat! And so it comes that the Duke orders his secretary, Grey (Edward Chapman), to fetch young Pat… and it is in the theatre that Grey comes to learn that Pat is in fact Patricia. Oh dear! Upon revealing to Pat/Patricia that the Duke would never accept a female heir, Pat kicks the secretary out of her changing room. But minutes later our quick thinker has the bright idea to disguise herself as a man (which is precisely what she does for her stage act) and fool the old Duke into thinking that she is the male heir he hoped for.

At the local train station, she manages to fool the waiting Grey into thinking that an extraordinary effeminate looking lad, and with a petite build, has sat next to him on a bench. That said, no one else, least of all the viewers, would be fooled by this rather obvious deception. However, she soon reveals to Grey that Pat is in fact Patricia, and he plays along with ruse. Both return to the Duke’s country mansion, and yes, he is also totally fooled – courtesy of his short-sightedness and the fact that his eager secretary hides Bridgewater’s specs whenever he can! No sooner has the dashing Geoffrey Dawson (Esmond Knight) arrived, than we know romance is in the air. But how is he to find out that this young ‘man’, to whom he is strangely attracted, is in fact a girl? Fortunately, while splashing about naked in a nearby pond, Pat almost drowns and is rescued by Geoffrey, who then realises the obvious.

Things become increasingly absurd when the Duke presents his alleged grandson to his rich friends, but unbeknownst to him Pat decides to present herself as Patricia… while the Duke is furious that his grandson has dressed herself in female apparel… never mind that she looks much more convincing as a girl (actually being one) than she ever did as a boy! Pat is of course a good sort and pretty soon the Duke, a kindly old fellow at heart, warms to her and welcomes her into the family.

Dolly Haas is pleasing in the lead, despite the fact that none of her on-screen partners seem to notice her German accent either, and Cyril Maude makes for a vigorous old Duke.

Girls Will Be Boys is presented here in a brand-new digital transfer.

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