Le corps céleste

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.

I usually avoid watching movies that get less than a 3-star rating on the Turner Classic Movies channel but maybe I should reevaluate that policy because - being a big William Powell fan and an admirer of Hedy Lamarr - I decided to watch this movie, having never seen it. Glad I did. Yes, it's got its silly side - but so do many comedies. What's really significant is that it features William Powell at his comedic best, with many brilliant creative and hilarious scenes you just have to see and enjoy. Though this is a flawed movie, it is nonetheless engaging and highly entertaining due to Powell's ability to conjure up some of the most ingenious funny scenes ever. Though Hedy Lamarr is a ditz here and not necessarily the kind of character most men would want as a wife (being quixotic and ruled by astrologers), there are in fact women like this (I was married to one) and so even her part rings true to those of us who've "been there." So...silly but not so silly. Yet...really really funny! And you don't have to be a William Powell fan to like this one. Enjoy! (You will!)

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.

"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.

Bill Whitley (William Powell) is an astronomer who must work nights because of his discovery of a new comet. His wife, VIcky (Hedy Lamarr) is feeling neglected and accompanies her neighbor Mrs. Potter (Spring Byington) to visit an astrologist, Mrs. Sibyll (Fay Bainter). Vicky is instantly hooked on astrology because it gives order and purpose to her life. As a scientist her husband cannot take it seriously. When Vicky's horoscope says that she will meet a man who will become her next husband and she thinks that man is the local air raid warden (James Craig), Bill has his work cut out for him to try and keep her.

This is a pretty good WWII era time capsule. You have the air raid wardens walking the neighborhood making sure the lights are out, you have a hilarious scene with a bunch of Russians that emphasizes that they are America's friends, and the rationing that was going on even gets comically inserted into all of this. I'm surprised that the scene with the Russians didn't get everybody involved in trouble with HUAC seven years later since the idea of the friendly Russians was very short lived.

I realize that this is an attempt at a screwball comedy, but I just don't believe the performers. Hedy Lamarr is playing it way too ditzy, and William Powell, at no point, seems like he is as upset as he says that he is that his wife is planning to leave him for another man. It's the minor players that make this -Henry O'Neill as a colleague of Powell's at the observatory, all of the maids entering and exiting the Whitley household, and most of all Faye Bainter as the astrologist with a deep dark secret.

I mainly stuck with it to the end as a William Powell completist, and Powell does have lots of funny bits that made it worth it.