Synopsis
Jim Buchanan (Marshall), founder and chairman of a major car company, is discontented and unhappy. His board of directors has rejected his latest car designs, and his haughty fiancée (Inescort) is bossy and irritable. Taking a break in the park, he sits next to Joan Hawthorne (Arthur), an unemployed young woman. She thinks he is unemployed also and suggests they answer a newspaper ad for a married couple to fill the positions of butler and cook. To help Joan and to get away from his troubles, Jim agrees.
The mansion belongs to an affable gourmet ex-gangster (Carrillo) who greatly appreciates Arthur's cooking. Happy living and working together, Jim and Joan are soon falling in love. Jim wants to break from his fiancée and marry Joan, but the circumstances will make him appear the fool. He returns to his regular life. Joan thinks Jim is a liar and thief who has deserted her. Intervention by the gangster and his associates brings the pair back together.
Discussion
If You Could Only Cook is a well-written and enjoyable romantic comedy. Jean Arthur, bright and affectionate, plays well with Herbert Marshall. Leo Carrillo and Lionel Stander are entertaining as the food-loving gangster and his skeptical associate. This film was made during the period of Arthur's transition from significant supporting player to major star.
Jean Arthur was a unique screen personality: bubbly, effervescent, and smart. She used her unusual voice to her advantage, employing its squeaky sound to emphasize her statements. Her characters are warm, cuddly, cute, and often slyly manipulative. Although she is best known for screwball comedy, she was equally effective in romantic drama.
Jean Arthur began her film career in 1923. Her roles in early talkies did not utilize her distinctive personality and comic ability. After twelve years and more than fifty silent and sound films Arthur finally became a major star after director Frank Capra cast her in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). She also received top billing in Capra's You Can't Take it With You (1938) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). Arthur's other notable films include Howard Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings (1939), Too Many Husbands (1940), and the George Stevens films The Talk of the Town (1942), The More the Merrier (1943) and Shane (1953), her final film appearance. She also appeared in an episode of the television series Gunsmoke in 1965, and starred in her own shortlived series, The Jean Arthur Show, in 1966. She died at age 90 in 1991.