Double Harness

This is one of the "lost but found" films shown on TCM on 4/4/07. Apparently this and two other films shown that night were held out of public release due to litigation concerning royalties and now the powers that be at Turner Classic Movies have taken care of the licensing issues. Of the three films shown that night, none of them were great treasures but all three were excellent--very solid examples of the type of films RKO made during the era. Normally, when you think of RKO in 1933, you think KING KONG or Astaire and Rogers as a team, but there were other good films that might rank just below them in quality and entertainment.

One of the big reasons I saw this film (aside from the fact that I am a major old movie junkie) is that it featured William Powell--one of my favorite old movie stars. While this WAS one of his movies, he was not exactly the same type of funny and sophisticated guy he later played in the Thin Man films or in LIBELED LADY. Instead, he was a rich playboy who was a little less likable, though he was honest enough to tell his girlfriend (plaed by Ann Harding) that he wanted to be a playboy and didn't want deep commitment. Ms. Harding, though a nice person, was determined to marry him so she concocts a plan to trick him into feeling he must marry her. She is successful, though afterwards her victory seems very hollow. How all this is deftly resolved is pretty clever and interesting and makes this film well worth seeing.

The acting and writing are excellent despite this being a less than big budget sort of production. It's a good example of a "Pre-Code" film as topics such as adultery and premarital sex are actually discussed--something that would probably NOT been allowed after the new and strict Production Code was enacted in 1934-35. While the topics were NOT dealt with in a salacious manner, the adult aspects of this film make it pretty timeless and topical today.

Really well done adaptation of the play to the screen. Rather wordy as was most early 1930's films, but quite charming nevertheless. And, indeed, rather risque for its day since there is a supposition at one point that Ann Harding's character, Joan, in trying to trap William Powell into marriage, is giving pre-marital favors and is actually caught in the process. The chemistry between Harding and Powell is quite good and it is unfortunate that the two were never paired again in another film.

Once again, the big thinkers at Turner Classic Movies have provided film buffs with a tremendous cinematic coup, this being the re-release of six films crafted by Merian C. Cooper as executive producer, and tied up in litigation over the screening rights for decades. Among these films is the social satirical gem, "Double Harness," which is available from TCM via those cable TV providers who have TCM On Demand.

The film is, therefore, free for viewing at the convenience of the customer and this one comes highly recommended.

In all honesty, it was not until the very final scenes of this film, that I realized it was set in San Francisco ( and not New York ), and that the entire production was a satire. The beginning and middle sections of this movie -- from a play by Edward Poor Montgomery -- seem to fit nicely in the oh-so-predictable slot of "melodrama." Just about every player in this film is a character carved strictly out of "upper crust" marble, with all the trappings of the idle rich in the '30s.

Not that the idle rich in the Depression years had it so good, of course, as they apparently had to cut back on the caviar before dinner at least once in a while. The alert film buff will realize that this story is strictly from "la la land" in the first scenes, where the two sisters Colby are viewing bridal dresses for the younger one, Valerie, who is about to be married. The bill for her trousseau comes to well over $ 3000 at a time when $ 100 per week was a lot of money for a family of four. And by the way, everybody smokes ... a lot.

Everyone in this movie is fabulously wealthy by the standards of the day, even though their interests are under pressure from the economic turbulence of 1931-1932. Losses from a bank failure are mentioned in passing in one scene, but the audience cannot help but be captivated by the opulence of the lives of these characters. This film also serves to further establish the absolute brilliance of William Powell, who is the lazy playboy named John Fletcher, heir to a shipping line.

Powell seems to play his character with an almost sublime restraint, and a barely concealed exuberance: it is as if he knew in his subconscious mind that this was an "Ann Harding" picture and it was his duty to bolster her performance and her presence. He does so, in the most magnificent fashion, and it adds power to the social satire which is the weave of this cinematic fabric. It all comes together at the end, where a most elaborate private dinner party collapses into a drunken disaster for the younger sister, and a fist-fight for the butler and the cook !! And there's a happy ending, too, of course.

The only thing this film lacked was more ... more of the luminous Ann Harding, more of how she was slowly capturing the real man inside the phony, shallow playboy Fletcher, and more of how William Powell brought that character into reality from a stiff and rather formal screenplay, the kind of "very talkative" cinematic fiction so common in that era.

Nine of ten, and since it can be viewed for free, On Demand, it is highly recommended to any and all film buffs.

I just caught this sixty-nine minute comedy/romance from RKO (released to American theaters in 1933) on TCM as part of their lost-and-found spot tonight. Very fun picture directed by John Cromwell and starring Ann Harding, William Powell, and Lucille Browne. I am not very familiar with Ms. Harding's career, but I must say that I was very much impressed with her performance here. Actresses today should watch her in this film and take lessons. Her facial expressions had so much depth and realism, something that we, with few exceptions, do not see in modern actors. Powell holds his own as a playboy wanting to do little with his life besides play Polo and women. This was a nice warm-up spot for Powell until he would make his most legendary 'The Thin Man' ('34) the following year. DOUBLE HARNESS has a heck of a lot to offer in its 69 minute runtime. Let's hope we see this one appear on DVD soon.

"Double Harness" is a wonderful but obscure little RKO treasure from 1933, directed by John Cromwell, a capable craftsman who throughout his career specialized in prestige studio pictures. This is the earliest Cromwell picture I have seen, an adaptation of a rather loquacious play by Edward Poor Montgomery. I wanted to see it because I love Ann Harding and she is always a beautiful sight in almost everything she is in. I was pleased how radiant and divine Ms. Harding turned out to be in "Double Harness" - definitely one of her top five best films.

It's a small picture, with short (67 min) duration. Yes it's gabby, but intelligent & rapturous all the same, and I urge to seek out if you get the chance. William Powell - restrained, suave, and charismatic - is also wonderful as her romantic interest. Their precise charm and camaraderie and some of the ways she snares him into marriage are quite witty and delightful.