I'm a huge fan of Jean Arthur and don't really care for Myrna Loy's screen image that much. But at the same time, there have been moments when I would watch Myrna Loy, and be completely touched by her – such as when I watched her in THIRD FINGER, LEFT HAND. She was so tender and romantic in that film. And those are qualities I really appreciate, when watching someone. However, those aren't typical of her on-screen persona, which is a big reason why I prefer Jean Arthur. Plus, I think Jean is quite pretty.
For some strange reason though, Jean Arthur is always lumped into the same category as Myrna Loy, Rosalind Russell, and Barbara Stanwyck as being one of the "wisecracking, no-nonsense dames". But, while she did make a few roles with those elements present in her character, a bigger majority of her filmography seems to consist of comedy that relies on cuteness more than cynicism and naivety more than sarcasm, whereas Myrna Loy is the latter. She's very often sarcastic and cynical in her films. And while Jean Arthur may make a wisecrack here and there, it's never with the intent to be a smart Alec, not that I can see. It's more with the childlike enthusiasm of wanting to show off a funny joke, which is not the same thing. Plus, Jean's not as much a part of screwball comedy as people keep making her out to be. She made just as many or more well-known melodramas and romances, and to me, that's really where she shines. Because she had a softness about her that the others in the so-called "wisecracking Dame" category didn't quite possess to the same degree – at least not on screen. But even in Jean's comedies, that softness is an element that is always there. It's just part of who she was as an actress.
So, I think that when it comes to a comparison between Jean Arthur and Myrna Loy, there really is no comparison, because their screen images aren't as similar as so many seem to think. Jean Arthur is more like Mary Martin – cute, ditzy, adorable – funny. If we were to compare her to other film actresses, I would say she's a tiny bit like Julie Andrews, but as far as actresses of her own era, Mary Martin is the only one that comes to mind. Maybe Irene Dunne a bit too. But definitely not the other women she is usually compared with.
As for the question of who I prefer with William Powell, I have to go with Myrna Loy. Although I tend to prefer Jean in general, I do think that as a screen couple, Loy and Powell complemented each other perhaps better than they could've possibly complemented anyone else.
Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!
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