Love Begins at 20

A gently eccentric fellow finds his life complicated by a bullying wife, an acidulous boss, a quickie marriage & a bank robbery.

LOVE BEGINS AT TWENTY is a fine example of the comedies which Warner Brothers Studio produced almost endlessly during the 1930's - fast, frugal & fun. Throw in a little crime for dramatic effect and the services of the Studio's array of character actors - the formula rarely failed to produce some good entertainment at the bottom of a double bill. Here, an added attraction for today's audience is knowing that the script was co-written by a young Dalton Trumbo.

A whimsical Hugh Herbert sparks the story as the harried hero. The comic relief in many a film, here he is hilarious as the main star. He receives solid support from another worthy character actor, vinegar visaged Clarence Wilson playing his caustic employer. Together these two - sweet & sour - keep the laughs coming.

Plump Dorothy Vaughan as Herbert's Xanthippe, Mary Treen as their tart-tempered daughter, Hobart Cavanaugh as a bumbling friend and Arthur Aylesworth as a comically deaf judge all add to the merriment.

Patricia Ellis & Warren Hull handle the romantic angle of the film, but wisely it is never allowed to intrude too much. Movie mavens will recognize Tommy Bupp & Dickie Jones as the youngsters Herbert regales on the train with his wrestling yarns.