Easy to Love

Thanks to Turner Classic Movie Channel, this rare 1934 Warners Comedy survives and turns up occasionally.

Sexual and boudoir situations and dialogue hold up well in 21st century America as dapper Adolphe Menjou cavorts with gorgeous Mary Astor behind his wife's back. (lovely Genevive Tobin) Supporting role played so well by Everett Edward Horton as a wealthy friend of the family in love with Tobin. The opening scene of a double date swap in the limo must be seen to be believed for this era! What a shame Will Hays prevailed with his "code" and so relatively few movies like this really showed us that they had a lot of fun back in the 30s. Don't miss it when it comes on....it's a joy of an early 30s picture!

This is a must see....if just for the huge stars at their glamorous best. Edward horton must have made a deal with the devil... he doesn't look anywhere near 48. Cutie mary astor at 28, years before maltese falcon. Dashing adolphe menjou, looking younger than 44. Gen Tobin, looking younger than 34. Hugh herbert is in here for comedy. And the steamy plot. Some great filthy double entendres about 14 minutes in, when wifey is on the phone. If this was released in january 1934, they must have been filming in 1933, just as the film production code was being phased in. But they seem to have snuck this past the censors, or the rules weren't being enforced yet. We watch three couples deal with marriage in various levels of happiness. It's mostly light and fluffy, even with the serious subject of cheating on one's spouse. Moves rapidamente. A warner brothers shortie, at 61 minutes. No wasted lines. Directed by bill keighley. Based on the play by thompson buchanan. Had a bunch of plays made into film. Fun. The picture and sound are exceptionally high quality... it must have been a good restoration!

Thanks to Turner Classic Movie Channel, this rare 1934 Warners Comedy survives and turns up occasionally.

Sexual and boudoir situations and dialogue hold up well viewed in 21st century America! Dapper Adolphe Menjou cavorts with gorgeous Mary Astor behind his wife's back. (lovely Genevive Tobin) Supporting role played so well by Everett Edward Horton as a wealthy friend of the family in love with Tobin. The opening scene of a double date swap in the limo must be seen to be believed for this era! What a shame Will Hays prevailed with his "code" and so relatively few movies like this really showed us that they had a lot of fun back in the 30s. Don't miss it when it comes on....it's a joy of an early 30s picture!

Genevieve Tobin is happily married to Adolph Menjou, but is happily carrying on an affair with Edward Everett Horton, who is married to Mary Astor, who enjoys Menjou as her other man. When the menage's daughter, Patricia Ellis, falls in love, everyone is very suspicious.

This was released in January of 1934, so it's still pre-code, but it's all so arch and precious that there's no reason to take any of the underpinnings of the situation seriously. This hurts the arch comedy, and were it not for the topnotch cast, it would be very dull indeed. Fortunately, the cast is that good.

This is a gem of a comedy--very much like a Lubitsch bedroom farce, only with a brisker running time, a lower budget, and some of that early '30s Warners snappiness added in.

Menjou is a great farceur, playing the husband who cheats but is aghast that his wife would consider doing the same. Horton is--well, Horton: the unique dithery fussbudget he always played. Mary Astor shows her gift for comedy here (almost a decade before "The Palm Beach Story") and Genevieve Tobin is a delight. So, too, is young Patricia Ellis--only 18 at the time of the filming but showing great poise. Robert Grieg, also a favorite of Preston Sturges' and known to Marx Brothers fans for his prominent role in "Animal Crackers," steals many a scene as the all-knowing butler. But the film is *really* stolen by Guy Kibbee as the justice of the peace, who only shows up in the last ten minutes but essentially walks off with the whole movie.

Thank goodness for Turner Classic Movies, and for its programmers who run obscure films like this which are so delightful. This film may be from 1934, but it hasn't dated a bit; its wry look at the craziness of love is still relevant.