The Lottery Bride (1930) Reviews

Based on "Bride 66", a tone poem by composer Herbert Stothart, The Lottery Bride takes place in a distinctly Hollywoodized Norway. Ever on the lookout for extra cash, heroine Jenny Swanson (Jeanette MacDonald) coerces her sweetheart Chris Svenson (John Garrick) to participate with her in a three-day marathon race. When the exhausted couple fails to win first prize, Jenny enters herself in a "wife lottery." Though the lucky winner appears to be Chris's older brother, it is actually Chris himself -- but he isn't aware of it, having embarked on a dirigible expedition to the Yukon. Only after surviving a crash landing does Chris return home for a blissful reunion with Jenny. With a plot this silly, why did the producers bother to hire Joe E. Brown and ZaSu Pitts as comedy relief? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi