If you like Lombard in this, watch her four years earlier in...
... in No Man Of Her Own. Not as great a script as this, but it's good fun and she and Clark Gable are both terrific in it.
shareAnother unknown William Powell great is "Libeled Lady" if you haven't seen it.
"I will not go down in history as the greatest mass-murderer since Adolf Hitler!" - Merkin Muffley
I just saw this for the first time recently. Being a big fan of both Mr. Powell and Ms. Lombard, I perhaps expected too much. But I do not think it was the best work for either of them. I nonetheless enjoyed it very much. I gave it an 8, and maybe a 9 would have been okay, too. But that little bit of being underwhelmed affected my vote.
Perhaps one of those films you enjoy more on second viewing?
shareI was pretty young when I first saw this at a local University's classic movie revival night and I felt let down afterwards. At the time I was a big fan of funny 1930s movies starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, etc. This movie is synonymous with Classic 1930s Film and I thought it was a complete washout.
Upon reflection there is absolutely no connection between Godfrey and Irene. In some respects, I put this down to William Powell. He appears to have conceived a way to play Godfrey and absolutely stuck with it instead of being alive in the scene and in the moment. I never really felt for him, his past, or his present. Furthermore, never for a minute did I suspect him of harboring even mild affection for Lombard's Irene.
I used to blame Lombard for my inability to care about Godfrey and Irene, but upon reflection, she's doing her thing and he's not giving her much. Maybe it's "in character" but he should have opened up his character a bit more.
When I rewatched this movie, the best scene between them is the very first, when Godfrey meets Irene on the ash heap and thinks she's like Cordelia. Irene is a bit intimidated "I'm sitting!" but very willing to explain what's going on. She's charming in the scene, Powell is being intimidating, but he never really alters his attitude towards Irene through the movie.
Yeah, Libeled Lady is well worth watching. As is Fashions Of 1934.
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