Esther Williams Myrna Loy
I feel that Esther Williams did this role justice. Lucy on the other hand was no Harlow-shame but the remake is good not as great as the original though.
shareLibeled Lady with Myrna Loy, William Powell, Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy was a near perfect movie, this re-make had nowhere to go but down. They didn't even bother to freshen-up the dialogue. I was gritting my teeth the whole way through (although Esther Williams looks great in a bathing suit & Ethel Smith jamming on the electric organ was kida cool).
sharePersonally, I think there are only 2 reasons to prefer the original: 1. Its era, and 2. its stars. Otherwise, I am puzzled by the big divide over the people who love the original and yet hate this. I mean, it's almost the exact same movie, verbatim! I know, because "Libled Lady" came on TCM last night, and though I was excited to see it at first, when I realized how it's almost exactly the same to this, I thought "Why bother?" and cut it off.
As you may have gathered, I saw this movie first (b/c I'm a Lucy fan). But, after reading all the praise for LL, I find that it spoils my enjoyment of it a little. Although, I never really cared much for this movie, even before discovering it's a remake. So, I don't see how I could like the very similar original much better...
Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!
While I prefer 'Libeled Lady' over this version, it still was a cute film. Actually Gene Kelly and Lana Turner were supposed to play the roles done by Keenan Wynn and Lucille Ball. Had it starred those two, it definitely would have been more memorable.
shareWhile I prefer 'Libeled Lady' over this version, it still was a cute film. Actually Gene Kelly and Lana Turner were supposed to play the roles done by Keenan Wynn and Lucille Ball. Had it starred those two, it definitely would have been more memorable.
shareI just saw this movie the other day and I really liked it, but I like "Libeled Lady" much more. I mean the cast had William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy...that's like hitting jackpot casting. The only thing that bothered me on this remake was that the dialogue was basically verbatim so I was constantly comparing Esther Williams delivery of a line to Myrna Loy (as I did with every character in this film). It started annoying me, but it was nice to see Esther Williams in a movie that didn't have her in a bathing suit every two seconds.
To be honest, I think whichever one I saw first would have been the one I liked better because it's the exact same script. It just so happens I saw Libeled Lady about 5 times before I saw this one so I know the dialogue pretty well and how the actors in the original portrayed it.