There's That Woman Again

I love Melvyn Douglas, I love Virginia Bruce, and I love screwball comedy.

However, in "There's That Woman Again," the Bruce character annoyed me for some reason. Her antics just seemed so ridiculous. Her husband (Douglas) seemed ready to kill her, and I could understand it.

There were some funny parts. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right kind of mood.

In this sequel to THERE'S ALWAYS A WOMAN, Virginia Bruce has replaced Gloria Blondell as the wife of Melvyn Douglas. They're still running a private detective agency, and Douglas is investigating who has been stealing jewelry from Jonathan Hale and Paul Harvey's store. Douglas has just told them that well-regarded clerk Gordon Oliver is the thief. At the same time, Oliver is in the office hiring Miss Bruce to prove he's innocent. Her suspicion soon falls on Harvey's wife, Margaret Lindsay. But Oliver is still in jail, and suddenly the murders start to pile up.

It's an all right mystery, but Douglas and Miss Bruce don't have the chemistry that he showed with Miss Blondell. Also the humor is a lot more slapstick and standard. Director Alexander Hall keeps things moving along, but it lacks the sparkle of its predecessor.

Bill Reardon (Melvyn Douglas) investigates a string of thefts at a jewelery store. He suspects the clerk Charles Crenshaw. Charles hires Sally Reardon (Virginia Bruce) to investigate someone following him. The combative couple ends up on opposite sides of the same case.

It's the second in the series and the wife role changes actress. Thankfully, there are fewer physical threats and she gets a few licks in of her own. The balance is more fun. It's an improvement no matter the era. The screwball comedy gets confused. It doesn't really matter that much. I don't care about the case. It's fine.

Melvyn Douglas and Virginia Bruce are the Reardons, who get caught up in another murder mystery. This was the follow-up to There's Always a Woman. with some of the same supporting cast (Tom Dugan). Some tricky little methods of murder in this one. as usual, Bill Reardon runs circles around the other cops, the newsmen, and even the murderer's gang. and it's interesting to note that they dance around the word "pregnant"... Bill Reardon keeps saying "are you...." and "you mean you're not...." oh how times change. Directed by Alexander Hall, who had directed the first chapter. Pretty good stuff.

"There's That Woman Again" had the potential to be a good comedy crime film. The plot is similar to one of the Thin Man series or a number of other comedy mysteries in which a wife tries to get in on a detective husband's effort to solve a crime. Most of those have some funny outcomes. But, Virginia Bruce's Sally Reardon in this film is half the film or more, and her foibles become more annoying than funny after a while. One can almost feel the frustration of husband Bill Reardon in Melvyn Douglas.

Rather than adding something of interest to the film, Sally's meddling detracts from it. This is not that good of a mystery and barely a fair comedy. Here are some favorite lines from the film.

Bill, "You may not be the best cook in New York, but you're the prettiest." Sally, "You may not be the prettiest private detective in New York, but you're the best."

Bill Reardon, "I'm going to kill you." Sally Reardon, "I..I..It's illegal." Bill Reardon, "Don't quibble". Sally Reardon, "You promised to love, honor and cherish." Bill Reardon, "Till death do us part -- that's now."

Mrs. Nacelle, "Mr. Reardon, would you be interested in a new choke for your wife. It's really a lovely novelty." Bill Reardon, "You know, the choker might interest me". Mrs. Nacelle, "There' something I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't in front of Davis. Will you meet me at the 35 Club for lunch?" Bill, "Yeah, at 12:30. What do ya get for this dog collar?" Mrs. Nacelle, "Uh, thirty-five hundred." Bill, "No thank you. I could choke her for less than that."

Bill Reardon, " My mother begged me not to marry beneath my station."

Bill Reardon, "Even now, my poor old father will only speak to me at family reunions."

Sally Reardon, "Well, if I don't say anything, they'll think I'm awfully stupid" Bill Reardon, "What do you wanna do, convince them?"