Trouble for Two is a 1936 mystery film directed by J. Walter Ruben, adapted from the Suicide Club stories by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Robert Montgomery stars as Florizel, the crown prince of some dinky little country called Corovia. As the film opens, his father the king tells Florizel that it's time for him to marry his long-intended bride, Princess Brenda of Irania. (Not Iran, it would seem.) Florizel, who hasn't seen Brenda since they were both children, remembers a gawky, awkward little girl, and recoils. His father gives him a lecture about The Chains of Commanding and says that marriage to Brenda is his duty. He also reminds Florizel that Corovia has some dangerous anarchists led by one Dr. Noel, who not long ago tried to kill Florizel. Florizel's marriage is required for the political stability of the kingdom. However, word has come from Irania that Princess Brenda is also balking at the marriage. In light of that news, the king gives Florizel a chance to think it over, sending him off to London for thirty days, with palace courtier Colonel Geraldine (Frank Morgan) as his companion.
Strange things start happening after Florizel leaves. On board the ship, he is approached by the beautiful Miss Vandeleur (Rosalind Russell), who tells him that she is in danger of her life and asks him to hold a secret document for her. Florizel cheerfully agrees, but when they land in England Miss Vandeleur does not show up to meet him, and Florizel discovers that the document is blank paper. Then when Florizel and Geraldine are having dinner in London, they're approached by an odd young man who tells a strange story. It seems the young man has decided to kill himself, and has joined a suicide club. Intrigued by the odd story, Florizel claims that he too wants to die and goes to the suicide club along with Geraldine. They are followed by the mysterious Miss Vandeleur, who joins the club herself.
Tropes:
- Ace Of Spades: Whoever draws the Ace of Spades in the suicide club card draw is the person who dies. Whoever draws the ace of clubs has to go along as the executioner.
- As You Know: The king says "For 15 years we've been negotiating this marriage!"
- Black Comedy: Florizel arrives for his duel only to find a gravedigger digging a grave for him. Florizel says it looks big enough, and the gravedigger responds "You'll be comfortable anyway."
- Brandishment Bluff: When the bad guys are about to kill Florizel, Geraldine holds up the pudding in his hands and claims that it's a bomb. The pudding soon starts leaking filling over his arm, but the anarchists hesitate just long enough for Florizel to escape.
- Contrived Coincidence:
- Whoever draws the ace of clubs is the executioner who escorts the chosen victim to death. Miss Vandeleur draws this card on two consecutive nights.
- It turns out that the suicide club is legit and Florizel just happened to join a murder club organized by the man who wants to kill him.
- Establishing Character Moment: Geraldine goes off to fetch Florizel and finds him in a large room in the palace...with a whole circus troupe. And Florizel is about to try a tightrope that the circus people have rigged up in the room. He's established as madcap and fun.
- Flynning: A big dramatic duel to the death between Florizel and Noel at the climax, concluding with Florizel stabbing Noel in the chest and pushing him into the open grave.
- A Foggy Day in London Town: London is perpetually wrapped in fog at night, like when Florizel and Geraldine first head off to the suicide club, or on their second trip when Florizel goes off with Miss Vandeleur, who is supposed to kill him.
- Foreshadowing: The king reminds Prince Florizel that there's an anarchist group led by one Dr. Noel who wants to kill the both of them.
- High-Class Glass: You can't get more high class than an actual king, which is why the king of Corovia wears one. Sets up a gag where the king's glass pops out of his eye when they are told that Brenda refused marriage because she "will never buy a pig in a poke."
- I Lied: Florizel arrives for his duel to the death with Dr. Noel, only for Noel to say sorry, he and his goons will just going to kill Florizel instead.
- It Was Here, I Swear!: Florizel grabs a cop off the street and hauls him back to the suicide club, only to find the place stripped clean of everything, including the gallows.
- King Incognito
- Prince Florizel travels to Europe under the assumed name of "Mr. Godall".
- Unsurprisingly, it turns out that beautiful Miss Vandeleur is actually Princess Brenda herself. She was also fleeing the Continent, being just as reluctant to marry him as he was to marry her.
- Meet Cute: Florizel tries to make his acquaintance with lovely Miss Vandeleur on the boat, only for her to tell him she's being hunted by killers and that he has to hold an important document for her.
- Ruritania: A two-fer with the crown prince of "Corovia" being promised in marriage to a princess from "Irania".
- Secret Test of Character: The whole charade with the letter was Princess Brenda's way of testing Florizel (she recognized him, even though he didn't recognize her) and seeing what kind of a man he was and if he'd help a lady in distress. The scary guy who demanded the letter at gunpoint was actually her servant.
- She Is All Grown Up: Florizel is shocked when he discovers that lovely Miss Vandeleur is Princess Brenda, whom he remembers as a gawky child with glasses.
- Something Only They Would Say: Miss Vandeleur reveals her true identity of Princess Brenda when she says she too was running from an arranged marriage, because she refused to "buy a pig in a poke". That was the princess's message to the court of Corovia.
