There are several types of films that I generally don't like, and stories about con men (and women) is one type of film I generally avoid. But, I also have always liked Greer Garson, so this time I made an exception...and I'm glad I did.

The film doesn't start out strongly, but as it proceeds it builds to...well...the conclusion was actually a bit of a let down. Part of the problem is that this film can't quite decide if it's a comedy or a drama. Either way could have worked, and this does work, but I would rather that it would have been one or the other. Particularly at the end, when it seems to lean heavily toward comedy.

The cast here comes together nicely. Garson is pretty good as a con woman with a conscience. Michael Wilding is excellent as the male half of the con team. Fernando Lamas adds flair to the film, as well as some sentimentality. And this has to be one of Marjorie Main's best roles as a rich woman with little class.

Certainly not one of Garson's better films, but it is entertaining...at least after the introductory scenes, which I felt didn't really work well.

"I am going to become a lady, which requires no character", well-spoken upstairs maid Greer Garson tells her female employer who has falsely accused her of stealing her earings. Garson teams up with her employer's brother-in-law (Michael Wilding) after telling him he looks like a gentleman while acting like the Artful Dodger. From there, Garson, who doesn't need the Pygmallion transformation like Eliza Doolittle, becomes a lady with Wilding's assistance. Even more than Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady", there is no doubt from the beginning that Garson is already a lady, even in her servant clothes. She somewhat resembles a young Rosalind Russell more than she does her classic role of Mrs. Miniver in her short-dark wig. Garson then disguises herself as European royalty on holiday in Europe. After being kicked out of Monte Carlo when their con game is discovered, Garson and Wilding head to several elaborate destinations where the same thing happens. They end up in San Francisco where their aristocratic ways fool the local wealth, lead by well-dressed but rough and tough Marjorie Main, playing a role similar to the one played by Jessie Ralph in "San Francisco". With such high-society folks as "I Dream of Jeanie's" Hayden Rourke and "Gilligan's Island" Natalie Schaefer in Main's circle, Garson's presence is soon considered to be the social event of the year. This leads to a comedy of manners with Garson fooling the general population, although she definitely seems too gentile for the role. As Garson gains Main's trust, she plans to steal her jewels, but doesn't count on falling in love with a handsome Latin Lothario (Fernando Lamas). And with Wilding breathing down Garson's neck (while posing as Main's butler), Garson is in great danger of being exposed. This is light comedy at MGM's most sophisticated, perhaps not as polished as the two previous versions ("The Last of Mrs. Cheyney", 1929 with Norma Shearer, 1937 with Joan Crawford), but still fast moving and entertaining. The conclusion, however, is totally preposterous and seems entirely forced.

MGM made its third sound version of The Last Of Mrs. Cheyney now entitled The Law And The Lady and the very British Greer Garson starred in the the last of the last. Retitiled The Law And The Lady her co- stars are the equally British Michael Wilding and the very Argentine Fernando Lamas. I was always amazed how many properties MGM found for both Lamas and Ricardo Montalban during their time at the studio that were not necessarily Hispanic per se.

Unlike the other two versions The Law And The Lady give the origin of the partnership of the two society crooks. Greer is a maid accused of stealing Phyllis Stanley's earrings, but her scapegrace of a brother-in-law Michael Wilding saves her from Scotland Yard. Wilding is a twin brother younger by five minutes. The two team up and go into the fleecing and thieving business.

Which brings them to Marjorie Main in San Francisco where they board and attempt to fleece. But Marjorie's also hosting Fernando Lamas whose got a distant connection to Spanish royalty. So it's a choice between Wilding, Lamas, the con artist life, or jail if Inspector Rhys Williams of Scotland Yard ever catches up with them. Maybe some of more than one choice.

This English comedy of manners is a great example of how MGM fit Lamas into non-Hispanic subjects with a bit of rewriting. Wilding and Garson do their lines well, I can't imagine original author Frederic Lonsdale having any objections or even someone like Oscar Wilde if he ever heard it.

This version holds up well compared to the other two, perhaps we'll see more remakes yet.