Um Rival nas Alturas

"The Heavenly Body" is a fine play on words as the title for this film. William Powell is astronomer William Whitley who has discovered a comet. While he is so occupied with his work, another heavenly body sits at home all alone. Hedy Lamarr plays his wife, Vicky. She's so bored because of lack of attention, that she gets rooked into and then hooked on astrology. The story takes place around one of the observatories in Arizona. The time is the early 1940s, while World War II is taking place.

The two leads and the rest of the cast are fine in this film, and the idea for the plot is quite good. Some reviewers found it too silly that an astronomer's spouse would be into astrology. Of course it's silly, but silliness often makes for very good comedy.

The problem with this film is that the script just isn't very funny. In William Powell comedies, one is used to some very clever and witty dialog, usually along with some funny antics. There's little of either in this movie. Still, Powell's efforts with this lackluster role in an almost ho-hum story, earns this seven stars with a little stretch.

Helping that stretch are a couple of things one seldom sees in movies with stories in the U.S. during World War II. The first is Civil Defense wardens. James Craig plays one here as Lloyd Hunter. So, here was an American community during WW II that had people serving as air raid wardens.

The second unique thing for movies of that period also is related to the war. Rationing was enforced across the U.S. during the war. Different things were controlled at different periods during the war. Apparently, during the time of this film, food rationing was widespread. William Whitley discovers that the astrology guru, Margaret Sibyll has been hiding something. She finally comes clean and reveals that she has been stockpiling canned food supplies obtained with extra ration cards.

It was strange though, that William Whitley was used to a breakfast every morning of bacon and eggs. Apparently those things weren't rationed, or he got the full amount for their family. So, those two little extras about the history of the time add something to this film and boost its interest level some.

Obviously, the title of this movie described this actress perfectly. She had perfect chemistry with that thin man Powell. It was a different time and the country at war, but it brings back many memories of what went on during that period. ..the air raid wardens, the blackouts and Hedy waving at the window while Powell was telescoping her magnificence in that nightgown. A harmless and pleasant comedy.

Very surprised to see an unfavorable review of this on the front page. No, it's not a classic like some Orson Welles flick, but it is funny, and it is chock full of fine actors.

Honestly, if this comes on some Saturday afternoon, and you're bored, you can't go wrong. You will laugh, and you will feel better.

This delightful film works well because of the perfect combination of William Powell and Hedy Lamarr. It's a classic screwball romantic comedy -- silly, fluffy, hilarious. Stunningly beautiful Hedy Lamarr (who was actually a serious intellect offscreen) is surprisingly convincing as a ditz who is blithely unaware of the effect her obsession with astrology is having on her long-suffering professor/astronomer husband (Powell). If this were real life, you'd want to throttle her -- but that's a lot of the humor here. Powell puts across just the right amount of loving good humor mixed with near-homicidal frustration. There are some cute surprises along the way, and lots of recognizable character actors rounding out the cast. While the script falls short of the witty dialogue you'll find in comedies like The Palm Beach Story and Bringing Up Baby, it's still a fun trip down memory lane.

I am an unabashed Willam Powell fan. I loved the Thin Man movies and just about anything he has done is top notch. This movie falls somewhere in the middle of his resume, but not due to any fault of his own.

Powell is Bill Whitley, an astronomy professor who has discovered a comet. Hedy Lamarr is his wife, Vicky, who feels neglected by Bill's constant staring at the stars. Vicky goes to an astrologer who tells her she will meet the love of her life on a specific day. Along comes James Craig's Lloyd, a wartime air raid warden who catches Vicky's eye. Vicky, very matter of factly, decides to leave Bill and run off with Lloyd.

This is the crux of my problem with the movie. Powell and Lamarr are likeable and fun, but the plot device that Vicky would toss aside her marriage in this manner just felt contrived. Her character is so ditzy and shallow it does a huge disservice to the actress and the character. Bill is definitely neglectful of his marriage, but not enough to justify his wife leaving like this. She still loves Bill, but is letting an astrology fortune alter her life. The same thing for Lloyd who is poorly written and one dimensional. He talks about all his accomplishments, but you never get the idea any of it actually happened.

There is a pretty funny scene of Bill hosting a bunch of Russians from a liquor store and they all get drunk and have a great time. That was the high point of the movie. The rest of it was held up strictly by the charm of Lamarr and Powell.