MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

blanche-2 Edward Everett Horton stars with Patsy Ruth Miller in "Wide Open," an early talkie and a pre-Code. Horton and Miller made five films together. She retired in 1931.Horton is Simon Haldane, a man with some good ideas about his boss' business, but he's too shy to put himself forward. The boss' daughter, Doris (Miller) tries to give him confidence, and soon he is promoted to General Manager.But things at home aren't good, and what a home. Simon is afraid of women and doesn't like them, but they're milling around. A stenographer at work likes him, but worse than that is, one day a woman he has never seen before shows up with her mother, and her mother demands that he marry her. Not only that, she won't leave.Archie Mayo directed this, and the screenplay is written by James Starr and Arthur Caesar.At 69 minutes, this would have been fine at just a half hour - at 69 minutes it feels like it's the length of Howard's End. You'll swear to it.Edward Everett Horton was always delightful, and his comedy in this is very good. I don't know what it was in 1930, but today it's not a laugh-out-loud comedy. It has a couple of funny scenes. Louise Fazenda has a small role.

MartinHafer "Wide Open" is an unusual film in that Edward Everett Horton, a supporting actor, is in the lead--and it's a very pleasant little comedy. Simon is a VERY mousy guy who hates women (Horton). He also is mistreated by those around him because he's so meek. However, one day, out of the blue, 'Miss Jones' (Patsy Ruth Miller) shows up at his house and just won't get lost--no matter how much Simon hates and is afraid of women. When some folks at work find out that a woman is at Simon's house, they think that Simon has gotten married and throw them a party. What's next? Well see it for yourself. Just be prepared--it's a very sweet and funny conclusion to the story.In addition to these two actors, look for the Mack Sennett star, Louise Fazenda--the wife of producer Hal Wallis. And, note the many double-entendres which would NOT have been allowed after the Production Code would be enacted in mid-1934! Overall, a cute story--and ample proof that Horton was a very likable actor.

boblipton This is one of half a dozen early talkie comedies that Edward Everett Horton and Patsy Ruth Miller made. Although their comedy skills are very much in evidence -- I've enjoyed Mr. Horton in every role I've seen him in -- the screenplay is so obviously and mechanically written to hit all the keynotes of a one-set bed room farce that even Horton's mugging palled by the halfway mark. The usually delightful Louise Fazenda appears as an applicant for Mr. Horton's heart and Vera Lewis as a harpy of a mother is more hideous than funny.The movie does pick up when a rowdy bunch of well wishers break into Mr. Horton's house and musical interludes ensue. Still, this movie, while it has its moments, is more interesting as a study of the problems that Hollywood had in transitions from silent to sound comedies. Patsy Ruth Miller would be out of the business in a year and Edward Horton would work until his death, delighting everyone with his fussy manner and patented triple takes -- but in supporting roles.

data-25 Wide Open showcases the comedy talents of Edward Everett Horton and Patsy Ruth Miller who work well as a team. This was one of the 5 pictures they made together in 1929-31. This one contains several amusing scenes (the sleepwalking scene) and good comic support by Louise Fazenda. Horton plays the usual befuddled bachelor who's made fun of by everyone else. Miss Miller is quite charming as his potential love interest who gives him some much needed self-confidence. This is one of her few surviving Warner Bros. talkies. No great shakes but a good, enjoyable comedy.