The Powell/Loy partnership rarely took a wrong turn and while never achieving the popularity of Hepburn/Tracy or Astaire/Rogers, it remains my favorite. For me it started with The Thin Man and continues as I manage to find the last 3 or 4 that I have yet to see. The latest of said remaining films is I Love You Again from 1940.The teaming of Powell/Loy and W.S. Van Dyke began with The Thin Man and ended with I Love You Again (Van Dyke died in 1943). I Love You Again is a screwball comedy with William Powell as dual personality, with knocks on the head presenting either an uptight teetotaler or a slick racketeer. Racketeer Powell wakes up after being Teetotaler Powell for nearly a decade. He is shocked by his spendthrift habits, boy-scout citizenship and ultra-gorgeous Myrna Loy wife. But his wife is leaving him for another man.
Powell is equally funny as upstanding prig and sophisticated huckster (he is the latter imitating the former for a majority of the film). Myrna Loy is as beautiful and strong as always, but lets Powell handle most of the humor. The dialog isn't as snappy as in the Thin Man films, which is to be expected as the humor here is largely physical and situational. But it is consistently funny and often hilarious. It should be considered in the top 5 films that Powell and Loy made together.
Of other note: This film is being remade (slated for 2008), no other details are readily available. As with nearly all remakes, it is a shame that a film as timeless as this should be relegated to 'the old one.'
Of final note: I want to be William Powell.
0 comments:
Post a Comment