It's Love I'm After

The plot of "It's Love I'm After", Archie Mayo's 1937 film, is a fairly simple one. A famed Shakespearean actor, Basil Underwood (Howard) is set to marry his longtime co-star Joyce (Davis) after a tumultuous courtship. The night he proposes to Joyce (again – this has occurred several times before) a stranger named Marcia (de Havilland) visits his dressing room, professing her love for him, telling him that she has seen all of his work, etc. He finds this intriguing and charming, but on his way to elope with Joyce, Marcia's fiancée Henry (Knowles) comes to visit Basil, asking for his help in curing Marcia's obsession. The two concoct a plan wherein Basil will go to Marcia's house, where her family is throwing a weekend party for guests, and act like a complete ass so that her affection for him will wane, and she will run back into Henry's arms. Basil embarks on his plans with his trusty valet Digges (Blore) with Joyce following close behind to get to the bottom of why she has been ditched – again.

The entire reason why I wanted to watch this film is because I had never seen it, and it features two of my favorite actresses of all time. And while de Havilland and Davis were characteristically wonderful (particularly de Havilland, who was positively luminous in this fairly early role), it was two of the male leads, Howard and Blore, who were the most delightful and humorous. Howard, probably best known as the weak Ashley from "Gone with the Wind", is absolutely hilarious in his role as a self-important, over-dramatic, yet earnest actor. I was often reminded of Rex Harrison, particularly of his performance in the sublime film "Unfaithfully Yours". The combination of intelligence, rapier wit and at times completely moronic behavior was a huge winner in this film. This is the first film I've seen Eric Blore act in, but his role of Digges was another hilarious inspiration. His seemingly stuffy (veddy British) demeanor was in complete conflict with the downright ridiculous situations he willingly participated in. The two were wonderful together, and it looked like they were having a great time doing this film.

Director Archie Mayo has directed films as widely diverse as "The Petrified Forest" (Humphrey Bogart) and "A Night in Casablanca" (The Marx Bros.), but it is clear that he has a true gift for comedic direction. The pacing of "It's Love I'm After" was very quick and the dialogue was whip-smart. I enjoyed this film a lot more than I ever expected to, and since it's one that seems to go under the radar often, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic comedy. "It's Love I'm After" gets a very emphatic 8/10 from me.

--Shelly

I bought this film on video cassette online, not knowing what to expect, but since I liked all the stars involved - Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland - I figured I would probably enjoy the film. Enjoy is not the word, I relished it. It was like eating a dark chocolate ice cream cone with chocolate syrup and cherry and whipped cream piled on top. And nutty! Oh, so nutty! What a delight! Other reviewers here have mentioned the plot about a couple of bickering thespians, so I won't repeat it here in detail. I'll just mention my favorite scenes: ALL of them! :)

It's Love I'm After is Leslie's funniest film. He is hilarious, his comedic timing perfect. I burst out laughing whenever he started going on his Shakespeare routines, like picking up the burnt fish at dinner and reciting lines from Taming of the Shrew. I loved the way he and Bette Davis punched each other around, I can just imagine what fun they had playing this couple! And Olivia de Havilland looked so beautiful and sexy, she had great clothes in this film, and her part was all sweetness and light. The one who really steals the picture though is Eric Blore, who almost always plays butlers or waiters in films. The scene where Bette comes upon Leslie and Olivia kissing in the garden and sees Eric desperately doing turkey imitations to warn him of her arrival had me in conniption fits of laughter! Please see this film, you'll love it. 9 out of 10.

It's Love I'm After concerns a famous acting couple (Leslie Howard and Bette Davis) whose fighting often outweighs their love for each other. When a young girl (Olivia De Havilland) develops an intense crush on Howard, her fiancée takes it upon himself to make a deal with him to be mean to her. Howard does it to improve his moral standing but takes a few relapses as everything he does excites Havilland even more. This is a truly funny comedy with an excellent cast.

Olivia De Havilland appears here in an early role. Her enthusiasm and innocence make her seem younger than she is and very high-strung. However, her performance is perfect for the part.

It seems that in Hollywood there were two legitimate British actors: Howard and Charles Laughton. Laughton's weight forced him into fatherly roles and Howard's good looks pushed him toward romantic leads. Howard's presence in this film reflects his talents as an actor and this stereotype but the two are incorporated brilliantly. He shines the brightest.

Bette Davis made too few film comedies. The only ones that come to mind are this film, THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D., THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER, JUNE BRIDE, ALL ABOUT EVE (yes, it is actually a witty comedy), and POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES. There probably are others that have slipped my mind. In MR. SKEFFINGTON, Fanny does have a flibbertigibbet type of character, frequently breaking off luncheon dates with an unseen female friend, and annoying people with her selfish problems (the scene with George Coulouris as Dr. Byles is hysterical for his justifiable explosion). But most of the film is serious about her mistreatment of the loving Job Skeffington. Of the comedies I listed, ALL ABOUT EVE and JUNE BRIDE are best for script and performance highlights for Davis. Monty Wooley, Mary Wickes, Jimmy Durante, and Anne Sheridan are far funnier in THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER. The comics who control POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES are Thomas Mitchell, Edward Everett Horton, and (best of all) Peter Falk. THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D. is Davis's best film with Warner Brothers co-superstar Jimmy Cagney, and it is her best piece of slapstick - but she hated it because she spent several scenes removing cactus needles from her rear end (literally).

IT'S LOVE I'M AFTER is very funny, but it is also interesting as the last film Davis did with Leslie Howard. They had been together in her first great dramatic hit, OF HUMAN BONDAGE, and then had played the tragic, late blooming lovers, in THE PETRIFIED FOREST. This is their only comedy after all the earlier tragedy (Davis dies in BONDAGE, and Howard is gunned down by Humphrey Bogart in FOREST). The three films should be shown together by some film society.

They play a famous "Lunt and Fontaine" or "Southern and Marlowe" acting pair from the stage, who can't keep their egos from constantly clashing. Davis, at the start of the film, is performing a love scene with Howard, and has taken the trouble to eat onions (lots of 'em) before they go on. He goes through the scene without revealing how he detests her (at present) though he manages to whisper to her his true feelings. Only one year earlier Howard had played Romeo in M.G.M.'s production of the Shakespeare play, with Norma Shearer as Juliet. Many critics felt that Howard and Shearer, no matter how well they emoted, were too old for the parts (which call for teenage types). I defy you to even accept their performances in the balcony scene, etc., after seeing Howard and Davis in this film.

Due to the script, Davis disappears for too many scenes, while Howard has to try to undue the schoolgirl crush of Olivia de Havilland. He does this, assisted by Eric Blore, by being boorish and demanding at the home of de Havilland's father, George Barbier. It does not work according to every plan Howard hatches, although de Havilland does managed to lose interest in him at the end (with the aid of Davis, and Howard's pompous ego). The film works pretty well as a comedy. May I recommend the sequence involving Blore trying to give a signal to his boss, and finding himself at war with some birds. Leslie was quite good in the film, but Eric was ... well Eric Blore was always the dependable comic actor.

While Bette Davis and Leslie Howard are amusing as two battling lovers who also happen to be ham actors, the surprise of this little comedy is Olivia de Havilland as the moonstruck girl with a crush on matinée idol Basil Underwood (Howard). De Havilland never had a better ingenue role and she makes the most of it. Amusing to note that three years later she and Howard would be paired as Melanie and Ashley in 'Gone with the Wind'. Strange that previous comments fail to even mention her presence in this film! Even Bette Davis admitted that de Havilland had the better role with more footage--and claimed to dislike the film. However, all three leads are excellent--with Eric Blore stealing scenes as the butler frequently told by Leslie Howard to "Pack my bags!" Bonita Granville is rather irritating as de Havilland's brat sister and Spring Byington is her usual chipper self. Patric Knowles, as de Havilland's boyfriend and ultimate love partner, is wonderful in his amusing role as the man who sets the whole plot into action. Catch this one on Turner Classic Movies if you can. It's well worth it. Leslie Howard shows a real flair and delight in playing his ham actor--one of his finest comedy roles. A highlight is a confrontation between him and de Havilland when she declares: "I was in love with Clark Gable last year. If I can get over him, I can certainly get over you!" Screwball comedies don't get any better than this!