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An action-packed slog

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

'Libeled Lady' is a marvellous and thoroughly enjoyable comedy, a near-classic with three of the four stars on top form (especially Jean Harlow and William Powell, Spencer Tracy's comedic chops became more refined and more at ease in his later films in my opinion).'Easy to Wed' is a musical remake but is nowhere near as good and one may question its point. It is by no means a bad film though and makes for more than serviceable entertainment. Starting with its faults, Esther Williams has little to do and her role does not play to her strengths while Van Johnson is wooden in a role just as underwritten and looks uninterested.The musical numbers don't feel necessary (despite Ethel Smith contributing very nicely on the organ), are not that compellingly staged and are also not particularly memorable, while the story is even more contrived than that of 'Libeled Lady' and lacks its zippy energy (the musical numbers do it no favours), some of it badly drags. The ending feels too pat and incomplete.However, the classy cinematography, beautiful use of colour and elegant wardrobe more than compensates as does a script that is almost as witty and sophisticated as that of 'Libeled Lady'. The duck hunting scene is not as hilarious as the fishing scene in 'Libeled Lady' but still an amusing scene. Edward Buzell does his best to inject some energy and style and does very competently.Keenan Wynn has very deft comic timing and doesn't come over as heavy-footed. It's Lucille Ball's exuberant and very funny performance that steals the show though, especially when she indulges into a flight of Shakespeare.On the whole, vastly inferior but serviceable and watchable. 5/10 Bethany Cox

During the hey-day of Hollywood, remakes came fast and furious, but most of the great screwball comedies weren't touched for 20 years. MGM obviously couldn't wait and remade one of its best only 10 years after the original. There is no topping the original cast of this tale, and the replacements point out the B category this fell into, even on an A budget. As charming as Esther Williams is, she can't compare to Myrna Loy, and Van Johnson and Keenan Wynn are as far down the totem pole from William Powell and Spencer Tracy as they can be. The real delight is that Lucille Ball can't miss here in the Jean Harlow part, showing off her flaming red hair here in Technicolor. Only Lucy could get away with accusing someone of arson, meaning bigamy.The musical numbers seem pretty superfluous, with Lucy utilizing her hips to literally blow the hats off the chorus boys without even touching them, in one number. Organist Ethel Smith heats things up, even banging on conga drums in another. Ms. Williams pretty much avoids the water, although a funny duck hunting scene with her, papa Cecil Kellaway and Johnson (altered from the original hysterical fishing sequence) is set on a river. The presence of the annoying socialite and her dizzy daughter seems out of place here. This isn't for purists but isn't a dud, either.

After "The Morning Star" prints a gossipy item on beautiful socialite Esther Williams (as Connie Allenbury), she decides to sue the paper for $2,000,000 in libel damages. Their business manager Keenan Wynn (as Warren Haggerty) interrupts his impending wedding to brassy redhead Lucille Ball (as Gladys Benton) to work on countering Ms. Williams' suit. Mr. Wynn hires writer Van Johnson (as Bill Chandler) to battle Williams. He plots to have Mr. Johnson marry Ms. Ball, then pursue Williams. The men hope to create an actual scandal between Williams and a married man, then get her to drop the lawsuit...The script has Johnson asks for a green dress, but he gets blue...This is a re-make of "Libeled Lady" (1936) with the addition of musical and swimming sequences. While pleasant, they add nothing to the story. The four lead performers are not individually unsatisfying and are okay in pairs (Johnson with either Williams or Ball), but the quartet doesn't mix well. Most outstanding is the "Technicolor" photography (Harry Stradling) and costumes (Irene Lentz). Lucy is terrific at the piano when Johnson is practicing his "duck calls" before a date with Williams. Lucy got the last laugh when she made it much funnier on her TV series episode "Lucy Goes Duck Hunting" (1963).****** Easy to Wed (7/11/46) Edward Buzzell ~ Van Johnson, Lucille Ball, Esther Williams, Keenan Wynn

The film Easy To Wed had an impossible task to follow the film and stars of one of the best screen comedies ever made Libeled Lady. I would take nothing away from Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Lucille Ball, and Keenan Wynn. But frankly they're all not a patch on the quartet of William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, and Spencer Tracy. Music and MGM technicolor is what distinguishes this film and the music primarily Latin in origin is pretty good and comes from a variety of sources. Colombian singer Carlos Ramirez contributes a native song and Ethel Smith plays her famous Tico Tico on the organ. Part of the film is set in Mexico so these acts are brought in without any strain on the plot. When the stars do their numbers, the results are pretty tepid.Esther Williams stays fairly dry in Easy To Wed. Only a dip on a water slide and a brief swim in the family pool where she unplugs a rubber raft and sends Van Johnson into the water are all you see of her. No classic water ballets in Easy To Wed which must have disappointed her fans tremendously.In Libeled Lady the character Loy/Williams's father is played by Walter Connolly and he's an avid fisherman. Here he's a hunter and Van Johnson has to take a crash course in duck hunting to make an impression on father Cecil Kellaway. Van's best moments like William Powell's in the first film are in the hunting scenes. The basic outline of the story remains the same. A false story about heiress Esther Williams's romantic escapades has caused a lawsuit to be filed by Cecil Kellaway. Editor Keenan Wynn postpones for the umpteenth time his wedding to Lucille Ball to meet the crisis at the paper. Wynn's plan, to hire back his ace reporter Van Johnson and marry his girl friend Ball to Johnson and then have Johnson strike something up with Williams. Just as Jean Harlow did, Lucille Ball amazingly enough goes along with this madcap scheme. Everybody performs well, but after you've seen Libeled Lady you will think of Easy To Wed as a road company version of that classic.