Herbert Marshall and Jean Arthur pretend to be married. Image: TCM
We love studying the meals people eat in old movies.
Classic filmmakers’ food choices are interesting to us. What did previous generations think was an upscale meal? What were fashionable desserts? Why were birthday cakes so large?
Take the screwball comedy, If You Could Only Cook (1935), a film with a misleading title. One would think it’s about someone who can’t cook and gets a job as a chef. But it’s actually about a talented cook who has difficulty getting hired.
The film stars Jean Arthur and Herbert Marshall who meet, by chance, on a city park bench. Marshall, a fed-up automobile executive, walks in the park to Clear His Head. Here he finds Arthur, an unemployed gal searching Help Wanted ads in the newspaper. She’s dismayed to find most employers are hiring husband-and-wife teams.
She’s desperate for cash, but he’s more desperate for excitement, and he lets her believe he’s an unemployed man looking for work. They decide to pose as a married couple to apply for a job as Butler and Cook on a fancy estate.
But! The estate they’ve landed on is owned by a rich gangster (Leo Carrillo) who enjoys the Finer Things in life. He’s the carefully-groomed type who eats only the best food. He raves about Arthur’s cooking and soon starts to fall in love with her.
His right-hand man isn’t convinced she and Marshall are authentic. He says their hands are “too pretty” for the work they do, and warns, “I wouldn’t keep either one of ’em around the joint.”
The way to a man’s heart… Image: Dominique Review
Food in this film becomes increasingly less important as the plot Thickens, but there’s lots of madcappery afoot, so we’ll let it slide.
When Arthur and Marshall apply for the Butler + Cook Combo, the interview depends on Arthur’s cooking. (Marshall gets a pass as butler, thanks to his British accent.) Arthur is instructed to make a sauce, and it’s the adding of the garlic to this sauce that will determine their Fate.
Arthur carefully composes the sauce and adds the garlic at the end by wafting a single (uncooked) clove above the saucepan. “It must be six inches above the sauce,” she tells the gangsters. “Not four inches, and not eight. Six inches.“
Here’s the thing about Jean Arthur: She makes you believe her. In this scene, she peers intently into the saucepan, gently wafting the garlic clove, watching for the Moment the sauce is properly seasoned. She’s so serious about it, you almost believe this is how it’s done.
When Carrillo tastes the sauce, he swears it’s one of the best he’s ever had.
That’s not all she can cook. Throughout the film, Arthur prepares hearty breakfasts, serves Pasta al Pomodoro, and frosts a cake the size of a car tire.
Alas, her days of preparing gangster cuisine are short lived. The mobsters learn Marshall’s true identity – and that he’s engaged to someone else – and they can’t wait to dispose of him.
Clowning around in the kitchen. Image: Toronto Film Society
If You Could Only Cook is not one of the legendary screwball comedies of the 1930s, but it should be. It received mixed reviews from critics who said it had uneven pacing and a lead actor who wasn’t funny.
Frankly, 1930s’ movie critics were somewhat spoiled, because this is a delightful film with witty lines and marvelous chemistry between all cast members.
It also became part of a shakedown at Columbia Pictures. If You Could Only Cook was included in a series of comedies sold in the United Kingdom, falsely marketed as “A Frank Capra Production.” Naturally, Columbia charged Top Dollar for ’em.
When Frank Capra, who was not associated with these projects, heard about this scheme, he sued Columbia. Studio head Harry Cohn tried appeasing him with proceeds from these films, but Capra refused.
TCM says Capra was certain to win the case, so Cohn approached him with a private deal that included buying the rights to the stage play, You Can’t Take it With You. (Capra accepted the deal, and that film won two Oscars.)
But this business doesn’t take away from If Only You Could Cook, a frothy, delicious film, much like a chocolate mousse. We heartily recommend it if you’d like to sweeten your day.
If You Could Only Cook starring Herbert Marshall, Jean Arthur, Leo Carrillo. Directed by William A. Seiter. Written by Howard J. Green & Gertrude Purcell. Columbia Pictures, 1935, B&W, 72 mins.
I don’t think I’ve seen this one. But I’m intrigued because I never pass up an opportunity to see a screwball comedy. And to add Jean Arthur and Herbert Marshall into the cinematic recipe, count me in! Thanks for whetting my appetite to explore this one!
What a nice review! You bring up excellent questions when discussing classic filmmakers’ food choices. What I would like to know is why are men, more often than not, ordering and/or drinking black coffee in movies and why did children’s/family media, especially movies, feature food fights around about the late ‘80s to the mid-2000s? Thanks for joining my blogathon!
Being someone who considers himself an amateur cook, I find the Arthur character intriguing. I’m not sure about that garlic scene, having never seen the movie, but it sounds like something I might do. Now I’m hungry. Almost breakfast time here, so I think I’ll whip up a spinach and tomato omelet with a hint of garlic…
This was such a lovely film! I watched it some years ago when I was preparing my thesis. Now you make me want to watch it again! And you are right, I would totally trust Jean Arthur’s way of making a sauce. Thanks for a great article!
Thanks, Virginie! This is an underappreciated film, isn’t it? It’s funny and charming, and all the things you want in a Jean Arthur film. It’s too bad she & Herbert Marshall didn’t make another film together.
I have not been out in two weeks from a bad cold, then someone posted this yesterday! Free is good. This was such a weird movie! But weird in a good way. Loved it
Silver Screenings 
I don’t think I’ve seen this one. But I’m intrigued because I never pass up an opportunity to see a screwball comedy. And to add Jean Arthur and Herbert Marshall into the cinematic recipe, count me in! Thanks for whetting my appetite to explore this one!
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This is a peach of a film, and Jean Arthur & Herbert Marshall have wonderful chemistry. I hope you get the chance to see it!
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💜
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Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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This sounds like a real treat. Perfect Sunday afternoon viewing.
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It really is. It’s a gem of a film. A terrific cast and script.
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Thanks, Gill. I’ll drop by to take a look.
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What a nice review! You bring up excellent questions when discussing classic filmmakers’ food choices. What I would like to know is why are men, more often than not, ordering and/or drinking black coffee in movies and why did children’s/family media, especially movies, feature food fights around about the late ‘80s to the mid-2000s? Thanks for joining my blogathon!
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Ha! That’s an excellent observation re: movie food fights. Ah, those were the good ol’ days.
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Being someone who considers himself an amateur cook, I find the Arthur character intriguing. I’m not sure about that garlic scene, having never seen the movie, but it sounds like something I might do. Now I’m hungry. Almost breakfast time here, so I think I’ll whip up a spinach and tomato omelet with a hint of garlic…
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Mmm…a spinach and tomato omelet. DEE-LISH. Especially with hint of garlic.
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This was such a lovely film! I watched it some years ago when I was preparing my thesis. Now you make me want to watch it again! And you are right, I would totally trust Jean Arthur’s way of making a sauce. Thanks for a great article!
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Thanks, Virginie! This is an underappreciated film, isn’t it? It’s funny and charming, and all the things you want in a Jean Arthur film. It’s too bad she & Herbert Marshall didn’t make another film together.
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So happy, I could not find this for free anywhere, then got smart and checked on my local library system, and put it on hold !
My movie-watching has greatly improved since I got recommendations from your blog 🙂
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So glad to hear it. This movie has a lot of charm. I hope you enjoy it!
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I have not been out in two weeks from a bad cold, then someone posted this yesterday! Free is good. This was such a weird movie! But weird in a good way. Loved it
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“Weird in a good way” is a terrific description of this crazy little flick.
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And I hope you’re better soon.
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THank you! Getting there
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How fun does this movie look? I’ve heard of it but never seen it.
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Oh, you’ve got to see it. It’s so underrated.
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So glad to find another fan of this delightful gem. I wish Jean and Herbert had made more films together.
Maddy
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Me too. It was your review that persuaded me to watch this film again & write about it.
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This sounds like great fun, I love the storyline. Another for my Ruth recommendation list!
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Haha! This movie has a lot of charm and funny lines. Plus the leads have terrific chemistry. I think you’d really enjoy this one.
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