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 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!

Maybe it's the presence of befuddled Edward Everett Horton, maybe it's the art deco sets, maybe it's rich people being silly but this sweet little motion picture feels very much like one of those lovely daft movies Fred and Ginger would make in a few years' time....but without the singing and dancing.

As an hour of lightweight vintage fun this is perfect! There's absolutely nothing special or memorable about it, there's no deep meaning, in fact you'll probably forget that you've seen it in a couple of days - however if you like that TOP HAT style of sophisticated but ultimately silly humour, you will find this genuinely funny.

Although it looks like an RKO film, it's a Warner Brothers film and if you are familiar with early 30s WB movies you will recognize everyone who pops up here. Genevieve Tobin doesn't often get to play the lead but here she does and she's actually fantastic. I might be a little biased because in this film she looks remarkably like Joan Blondell (who of course was the sexiest woman who ever walked upon the face of the Earth) but posher. There's even that same bath scene from BLONDE CRAZY with Genevieve Tobin being equally as funny and equally as hot!

Warner's films from this era were infamous for being penny-pinching. They were short and not one single millimetre of film could be wasted. There was no time for building up a scene, no time for background, every frame had to be accounted for. This one takes that philosophy to the absolute limit and yet it somehow manages to look really classy. What makes this unlike other WB comedy romances from about the same time such as GOODBYE AGAIN or SMARTY (apart from them starring Joan Blondell, the living goddess herself) is that this doesn't waste a fraction of a second on anything that's not progressing the story. Unlike those other movies, there's no sub-plots, no hint of The Depression, there's no mildly thought-provoking issues; in fact, there's no time to actually think. It's all done in an hour and it works. Guy Kibbee for example looks like he ran over from another set to read his lines and then ran back again but somehow it doesn't feel rushed, just fun.

Just switch your mind off, sit in from of the screen and smile to yourself for an hour.

Oh, the glories of a pre-Hays Code sex comedy. In this hilarious take on infidelity, Genevieve Tobin and Adolphe Menjou have an unusual marriage. Adolphe is having an affair with Genevieve's best friend, Mary Astor, and Genevieve is relentlessly pursued by Adolphe's best friend, Edward Everett Horton. Their teenaged daughter, Patricia Ellis, is under the impression her parents have the perfect marriage, and when the lid gets lifted off, she's shocked.

With fantastic comic timing from the actors, and beautiful costumes worn by the leading ladies, it's a wonder why Easy to Love isn't one of the most famous comedies to come out of the early '30s. Genevieve reminded me of a combination between Joan Blondell and Ruth Chatterton, and since she spent equal time dressed as undressed, it's a wonder why she didn't rocket to stardom-especially after her nude bathtub scene that flustered both her on-screen husband and I'm sure off-screen audiences.

Check this comic romp out if you like similar movies, like Design for Living and The Palm Beach Story. It's very entertaining, and Mary Astor is absolutely adorable, prancing around in halter tops and cold-shoulder dresses decades before they were popular.

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.

"Easy To Love" is essentially a filmed stage play which is saved by its cast. I was hoping it would get funnier or turn out better as it went on but what was needed here was a more subtle, sophisticated hand, someone with something resembling a 'Lubitsch touch'. The result was a ham-handed comedy which was too obvious as far as innuendo and plot development are concerned.

The cast did their considerable best, with Edward Everett Horton in one of his patented dithering simpleton roles carrying most of the comedic load, and aided and abetted by Adolph Menjou and Mary Astor. But by and large, the picture belonged to Genevieve Tobin, director Keighley's wife. Primarily a stage actress, she was in her element as Menjou's triangulated wife.

"Easy To Love" could have been better but is worth a watch as is. I think I am in the minority on this one. I was disappointed but perhaps I was expecting too much.