Easy Living

According to a recent biography of Jean Arthur, Easy Living only got a so-so reception from the movie-going public of 1937. Today it is rightly regarded as a screwball comedy classic from the era that invented and defined that genre. The miracle was that it got made at all.

Jean Arthur was obligated to Columbia Pictures and the dictatorial Harry Cohn and she was allowed to make outside films. But Cohn determined when and where. So Easy Living may have been a great fit for her, but it didn't fit into his plans. Jean had to go to court before the film was made and a settlement was reached.

Easy Living also gave an outlet for some unknown comic talents of Edward Arnold who usually played some serious villains in films. Arnold is a Wall Street investment tycoon whose every bit of noise be it wisdom or flatulence is recorded for posterity. One day in fit of pique against his spendthrift wife Mary Nash and wastrel son Ray Milland, Arnold throws a most expensive mink coat from out the townhouse window and on to a passing working woman in Jean Arthur. He tells her to keep the thing and count her good fortune. But folks are in the habit of recording Arnold's every move, including one bestowing an expensive gift on a mystery woman.

That starts about 90 minutes of non-stop hilarity in which the very foundations of our financial institutions are rocked due ultimately everyone misconstruing a relationship between Arnold and Arthur. One does get going however with Arthur and Milland when she finds him working at an automat because Arnold's dared him to get a job. That ends in an incredible burst of hilarity, you think Animal House had a great food fight, check the one in Easy Living out.

Directed by Mitchell Leisen and written by Preston Sturges, Easy Living has all the earmarks of a Preston Sturges directed movie, in fact Sturges's stock company was somewhat assembled here if you look down the supporting players. My favorite is Luis Alberni whose white elephant of a hotel finally gets going due to some accidental rumors.

We're the richer for Easy Living being made even if Jean Arthur had to take Harry Cohn to court to do it.

This is a classic, with one of the great slapstick scenes of all time (in an automat) and wonderful innuendo and great timing throughout the film. Jean Arthur is a splendid comedienne, just lighting up the screen with a wry innocence, and Ray Milland is perfectly cast as someone a little debonair, a little too bourgeois, but ultimately quite charming. Finally, Edward Arnold is a lot of fun to watch as he chews up the scenery. As a long time fan of Preston Sturges who was quite happy to see "Miracle at Morgan Creek" finally released on DVD, I have to say, it is A CRIME that this little gem isn't available on DVD, just ridiculous.

The pleasures of a Preston Sturges film are many, and even his poorest are miles above the competition. I know, you're saying that Mitchell Leisen directed this and that it was based on a play but after hearing that incredible dialogue and seeing those broadly drawn characters, imbued with a warmth not found in most comedies, you can't tell me that this isn't a Preston Sturges film. Sure, there is evidence of Leisen's restraining hand that you can't find in, say, Miracle of Morgan's Creek, but it's Sturges, all right. But for me, the real joy is seeing my favorite actress from this period, Jean Arthur, work with material, from my favorite writer from this period, Sturges. She fits this material so well that it is a shame they never worked together again. Another real strength is the work of the character roles, always so good in Sturges films and we see a few of the actors who will later become part of the 'Sturges stock company'. So, if you want hilarious situations, laugh-out-loud dialogue and strong comedic characters, I heartily recommend this great film.

I generally do not care for average screwball comedies; they are too much like slapstick comedy; a little bit is fine, but an hour and a half of it becomes a bit tedious. This film, however, holds up for the hour and change because of the wonderful performances of Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold, and Ray Milland. When that trio is at the top of their game, you are bound to have a good film. The only weakness in the film is the direction, which is a bit heavy-handed and unnecessarily over the top. The pace of the film is about 100 mph, which is fine if you are short on time. However, there are so many good moments in the film that should have been stretched out, and some opportunities for genuine character exploration were lost. Arthur's character, however, is wonderfully developed, thanks to screenwriter Sturges, who is one of the best. He does have trouble, however, trying to gain sympathy for the rich and spoiled. We are really happier when Arnolds' character, Mr. Ball, is losing his shirt. We have almost zero empathy for Arnold;s spoiled wife, and only a tad more empathy for his son, whom Milland plays to the hilt. The rich and snooty are amusing only for a few moments at a time, and then their wealth becomes a point of annoyance. Fortunately, Arthur is there to pull us back into the world of the everyday man, and the film succeeds despite its ridiculous pacing.

Another in the long line of extremely pleasurable comedies starring Jean Arthur--no one can make fluttery bewilderment more enchanting, and there's plenty to be bewildered about in this heavenly screwball farce. Arthur is poor, honest, hardworking Mary Smith, whose life is changed when a sable coat thrown out of a window lands on her head. She tries to return it, but the man who threw it, rich banker J.P. Ball (Edward Arnold), in a fit of pique at his wife's extravagance, insists she keep it, and even buys her a matching hat in a nearby store. The store's employees, assuming she's a fancy kept woman (the idea!) spread the word around town, and soon everyone in sight wants to be her best pal, not least of all Arnold's son (Ray Milland), who is trying to make his way in the world without his father's backing. Although scenes such as Arthur's dismissal from her job (for "ethical violations") have become dated (without losing their humor), the portrait of an entire city eagerly sucking up to a (supposed) rich man's consort in hopes something will rub off on them couldn't be more timely. The movie has some of the best choreographed pratfalls in the genre, not least of all in the celebrated Automat sequence, when the windows accidentally open and everyone scrambles for the free food. (It's slapstick Marxism). And Arthur's pleased yet skeptical reaction to the enormous hotel suite she's offered (it looks like it belongs in the Emerald City of Oz) is just right; she looks at the lily-shaped tub, which is crowned by a statue of a shrugging goddess, and comments, "Look at her standing there with her arms sticking out; I guess she doesn't know either.") The only wrong note (for me), is the performance of Luis Alberini as the hotel owner; his brand of dialect humor gets tiresome--I'd just as soon it was left in the thirties for good.