Le corps céleste

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!)

Enjoyed this silly 1944 Comedy starring William Powell, (William S. Whitley) and his wife, Vicky Whitley, ( Hedy Lamarr). Vicky is being badly neglected by her husband and seeks the aid of a woman Astrologist who predicts she will meet another man and fall in love. Vicky's husband Bill is a very famous Astromist who has recently discovered a new planet in the solar system and has no idea that his wife Vicky is not happy with him. Vicky does meet a handsome young man in her life who is a neighbor and is also an Air Raid Warden, which was needed during World War II. Hedy Lamarr looked fantastic in this film and her natural beauty is clearly shown along with her great acting abilities. Great actor William Powell gave and excellent supporting role and it looked like they both enjoyed making this film. This is a worth while film to view from 1944.

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.

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.

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.