I adore ms. Arthur, and worship most of the films she was in, but THIS
turkey is unbearable.
There s virtually NO story to be told. Furthermore, the pacing is
horrendous and stale. Scenes go on FOREVER, without any shred of
revealing who these people are and why Arthur is living in the
Penthouse.
Pedestrian, convoluted, empty and drab.
A yawn-fest from start to finish.
Could not disagree with you more, this is a classic Sturges picture!
shareSorry to read that, gb. I just got around to seeing it last night. I didn't love it, but I liked it.
Aside from typical "screwball" elements of misunderstandings that could be avoided by people asking logical questions or imparting the most basic information, and are exacerbated by those who jump to conclusions and/or don't listen to each other, it contained Sturges trademarks of unlikely but innocuous situations whose consequences snowball to unwieldy proportions, punctuated by episodes of slapstick mayhem and lots of yelling, and displaying the energy, snap and off-kilter sensibility so characteristic of his work.
I think my only real complaint was with Arthur's character herself: impatient, brusque, sometimes even rude, as well as passively befuddled and quite dense. Those drawbacks were compensated for by Milland's easy charm and, particularly, the vitality of Arnold and Alberni, the twin engines powering the effort, surrounded by Sturges' stock company of eccentrics.
Lively and fun, and I'm glad I finally caught up with it, although it's probably not one I'll rush to see again. "A pleasant diversion" pretty much sums it up.
Poe! You are...avenged!
I love most other Sturges' films, particularly when he's directing, but this was
just a real mess to me. The idea of the coat landing on Arthur was good, but
the script falls to pieces like a white horse with four broken legs. I respect
everyone else's opinion on it, but I didn't laugh once. Can't think of another
Arthur picture I dislike.
On a related "screwball" note, I finally got all the way through My Man Godfrey a few days ago. For reasons I can't quite put my finger on, I had just never been able to find my way into that film, if you know what I mean.
I do know that Carole Lombard wasn't the reason, since I had never seen enough of it to gauge either her character or performance, and although I did find myself enjoying it, and judged it to be among her best work, I was left with an impression similar to that of Arthur's character in Easy Living: she was annoying.
Add perhaps oddly, it was that very aspect that led to my high evaluation of her work therein. The part gave her only two notes to play: dreamy romanticism and infantile tantrums. But she made the most of those two notes.
For my money, the most interest by far was generated in the characters and byplay of Powell and Gail Patrick.
Poe! You are...avenged!
I didn't love "My Man Godfrey" either, but I didn't dislike it as much as
"Easy Living."
Incidentally, my fave Arthur film of all time is "The More The Merrier." I
showed to my mom recently, and she didn't like it. She enjoyed the first 45
minutes, but got bored when Arthur and Joel McCrea went on their date and
the FBI got involved. I love the film, but to each his own.
Good choice. I can't think of an Arthur comedy I'd grade any higher.
Poe! You are...avenged!
You have no concept of real comedy this movie is wonderful!
shareFolks don't realize things like this really happened in the 1930's. Bread lines, people out of work, the automat was real! They originated in Philadelphia and New York..when I was a kid my father would take me to them. I believe my sister and I went to them in the late 60's early 70's. They finally closed in the 80's I believe. The food was natural, cheap and delicious! Getting back to the movie it was great despite other negative opinions. Probably from people who think these lame movies playing now are "AWESOME" lol.
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