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Double Wedding
A bohemian free spirit helps meek Waldo win back his fiancée and falls in love with her over-controlling sister in the process.
Release : | 1937 |
Rating : | 6.9 |
Studio : | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Assistant Art Director, |
Cast : | William Powell Myrna Loy Florence Rice John Beal Jessie Ralph |
Genre : | Comedy Romance |
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That was an excellent one.
Absolutely the worst movie.
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
The acting in this movie is really good.
Margit Agnew (Myrna Loy) owns a dress shop that she runs with the precision of a Swiss watch. In fact, she micromanages every aspect of her life and the lives of her sister Irene (Florence Rice) and Irene's fiancé, Waldo Beaver (John Beal). In fact, she put the happy couple together in the first place. Except that the couple is not so happy, because Margit's forte is managing, not feelings.Irene is disappointed in her intended, because he is, basically, a dim-witted, though likable, dolt. And he never takes charge like she thinks a real man should. Not to worry, though, because this is a comedy and their dissatisfaction is merely the setup for fun.Irene and Waldo are rehearsing for a movie written by the bohemian artist Charles Lodge (William Powell, who is teaming with Myra Loy for their seventh film together). When Charlie shows Waldo how to conduct himself in a love scene, Irene convinces herself that she now loves Charlie. She tells Margit who, needing to put her plan back on track, marches over to Charlie's trailer--parked at the curb on a city street. But she is no match for the eccentric whimsy of the easy-going Charlie.This film has much to recommend it, but it is the writing that drives this film and makes it so much fun. The plot is fairly routine, but the dialogue is full of comedic gems. Some are understated, some are wacky. They deliver some great zingers and classic pratfalls.Also notable are the fashions. Loy, in particular, is dressed well--fitting for the owner of a dress shop. The background music is superb, often utilizing a recorder to achieve the needed whimsical quality.The cast is wonderful. Waldo's personality is sometimes trying, but that is how he is written. Sidney Toler portrays Keough, a butler who is a former policeman and who behaves like a detective with his powers of observation and deduction. In 1938, Toler will take over the Charlie Chan franchise. It seems like he is preparing here. I do not think this was an easy script to pull off. Between the director's attention to timing and the actors' commitment to their characters, "Double Wedding" works very well.Despite the slapstick and some scenes that devolve into a general ruckus, the script is clever. Loy's determined dryness and the scattered non sequiturs are highlights. How smart they were to toy with the chemistry of the successful Powell-Loy team and put them in this different film that still plays to the strengths of each.
"Double Wedding" is an enjoyable, albeit dizzying comedy starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. It's really a tribute to the cast that they were able to carry on in such a wacky movie despite being shut down for a time due to Jean Harlow's untimely death. Both Powell, who was involved with Harlow, and Loy, who was a friend of hers, took her death very hard.Powell and Loy play polar opposites in this film. She is a complete control freak who has her life, her sister's life, and the life of her sister's fiancé, planned down to the millisecond. Along comes Powell, who lives in a trailer and hocks items when he needs money. Once he's in their lives, all bets are off, and chaos reigns supreme.The cast is great but the whole thing kind of veers off focus from time to time. The writing isn't as strong as in some of the other screwball comedies of the era. But Powell is a treasure and teamed with Loy, even more so.
A very funny, romantic movie. I enjoyed all the little creative pieces of "business" and lines such as "...you rang my gong." I enjoyed the treat of Sidney Toler as Keough.I enjoyed the beautiful, wonderful cars of the 1930s, and the background scenes of beautiful, wonderful downtown Los Angeles of the '30s and into the 1950s. I was born there in 1934 and remember it well when it was a beautiful place to live. Ah, nostalgia!! This is what it really did look like then.
Double Wedding is a wonderful comedy loaded with great dialogue and wit. This was just one of the 14 movies Powell and Loy teamed up for. It was during the filming of this movie that Powell's fiancee Jean Harlow died. Filming was halted for six weeks and Powell returned to finish the movie. He then went to Europe for a year before teaming with Loy again in 37 for another Thin Man movie.