Petticoat Fever (1936) Review: Myrna Loy and a Very Persistent Hostage Situation

If you are looking for something deep or life-changing tonight, please keep scrolling. But if you want a silly, snowy 1930s comedy where Myrna Loy wears giant fur coats and looks slightly amused by everything, Petticoat Fever is worth a quick look. People who love fast-talking stage plays will probably dig it, but anyone expecting actual logic or modern romance will absolutely hate how pushy the main guy is. ❄️

The whole thing is set in a tiny, isolated wireless station in Labrador. Robert Montgomery plays Dascom, a guy who has been alone so long he talks to his stuffed animals.

Then, a plane crashes nearby. Out steps the gorgeous Irene (Myrna Loy) and her incredibly stuffy fiancé, played by Reginald Owen.

Dascom immediately decides he is going to steal Irene from this guy. He does this by basically holding them hostage and lying about the wireless radio being broken.

The Weird Cabin Vibes

It is a pretty thin plot, honestly. You can tell it was based on a stage play because almost the entire movie happens inside this one cabin.

But the cabin itself is kind of amazing. It has these giant, random ice blocks outside and a weirdly cozy fireplace inside that seems to change size depending on the shot.

Montgomery plays his character with this wild, frantic energy. Sometimes it is funny, but other times you just want him to sit down and take a breath.

There is a moment early on where he starts dancing by himself when he hears a woman is coming. It goes on a little too long, to the point where it gets kind of awkward. 🕺

Myrna Loy Saves the Day (As Usual)

And Myrna Loy is, well, she is Myrna Loy. She has this incredible ability to look like the smartest person in the room without even saying a word.

Even when she is wearing a hood that makes her look like a very chic Eskimo, she is totally charming. You totally get why this lonely radio guy goes absolutely bananas over her.

Though, his behavior is pretty wild by today's standards. He basically gaslights them into staying because he is lonely.

If this happened in real life, it would be a thriller. But here, because it is 1936, it is treated as a adorable romance.

The fiancé, Sir James, is the typical pompous British archetype. Reginald Owen plays him with so much huffing and puffing that you almost feel bad for him.

Almost. He is so annoying that you want Myrna to leave him anyway, even if her other choice is a guy who has clearly lost his mind in the snow.

A Few Odd Details I Noticed

• There is a stuffed penguin in the cabin. Penguins live in the southern hemisphere, guys. Labrador is very much in the north. 🐧
• The movie reminds me a bit of other light comedies of the era, like So This Is Marriage?, where the relationship drama feels incredibly artificial.
• It also has that same loose, chaotic energy you find in early comedies like A Girl in Every Port, where the plot is just an excuse for people to act silly.
• One scene where they are eating canned food seems to last forever. You can almost feel the writers trying to stretch the stage play material to hit the 80-minute mark.

But then Montgomery does something goofy, like dressing up in formal wear in the middle of nowhere, and the movie gets its spark back.

It is definitely not a masterpiece. It lacks the sharp, biting wit of Loy’s The Thin Man movies.

Still, if you are stuck inside on a cold Sunday afternoon, you could do a lot worse. Just do not think too hard about the kidnapping aspect of the plot.