"Love Crazy" may be the funniest movie ever made. It may be William Powell's best film and the best of the baker's dozen of Powell and Myrna Loy pairings. Those all were so very good. But this one clearly is the zaniest film Powell ever made. And what a beautiful premise and great plot. Pity those viewers who can't get by the absurdity of a notion to enjoy the hilarity of a wonderfully crafted and acted comedy. And, friends, this truly is a screwball comedy.
Everything about "Love Crazy" is superb. The plot, settings, camera work and all technical aspects are tops - although these don't weigh very heavily in the film. The screenplay, witty dialog, pratfalls, and hilarious scenes are wonderful examples of great writing and direction. Top that off with the leading co-stars and a superb supporting cast, and we have one of the best, most endearing and enduring 99 minutes of fun and laughter ever put on film. And this is one of those times when a film's title is right on the mark. This is a crazy film about love.
William Powell is Steve Ireland and Myrna Loy is Susan Ireland. They are celebrating four years of blissful marriage. This is the one film that has cast perfectly the proverbial spiteful mother-in-law. Mrs. Cooper is played by Florence Bates. I don't know if there's ever been another movie made in which the unanimous sentiment of an audience for a wishful act of violence was ever more prevalent. That should tell one something about how well written and acted this movie is - we all want to throw Mrs. Cooper off the balcony. But her character - with our disdain for her -- is an ingenious ploy to feed the comedy that ensues. And Powell is the masterful dupe of all of this - to our great enjoyment and pleasure.
This is another excellent supporting performance by Jack Carson. He was an outstanding actor who never achieved male lead status, but who could play any role to perfection. In my younger years I never cared much for him; but with some wisdom of age one can see how much his acting and roles contributed to the success and enjoyment of many films. Carson's Ward Willoughby is central to several of the hilarious scenes, including one of the funniest ever put on film.
Gail Patrick shines as Isobel Grayson, the one-time girlfriend of Steve's whom he left for Susan. Donald MacBride is perfect as her wealthy and growling jealous husband, "Pinky" Grayson. Vladimir Sokoloff is hilarious in his own right as Dr. Klugle. Sidney Blackmer plays Steve's attorney and friend, George Renny, to perfection. And one of my favorite of all the character actors of Hollywood's golden years gives another of his outstanding comedy performances. Sig Ruman is Dr. Wuthering, head of the Wuthering sanitarium in the country.
"Love Crazy" does something masterful that only the very best comedies achieve. It has several scenes of some length in which the situations themselves are hilarious and they are then embellished by the running dialog of the scenes. If one thinks of the comedy of the Marx Brothers or "I Love Lucy," this distinction is clear. While they had witty and crazy dialog and hilarious antics at times, ne'er the 'twain were met. In other words, the antics were going on sans witty dialog; and when there was funny dialog, there were no antics. On the other hand, the "Carol Burnett Show" on TV often created such situation plus dialog comedy that we see in "Love Crazy."
A sure sign of a movie's lasting quality is its ability to make one laugh in repeated viewings. "Love Crazy" does that for me. It has some of the single funniest scenes ever put on film. Myrna Loy and Jack Carson have me in stitches in a long scene Susan sets up to make Steve jealous. The courtroom scene recounting Steve's "normal" behavior to prove his sanity keeps me laughing throughout. Steve's shenanigans at Mrs. Bristol's party make me laugh time and again. His appearance before the Sanity commission is a riot, with all the doctors. When Susan leaves later, she says there is a nut in the room, "but it isn't Steve." The escape scenes at the sanitarium with Ward and Steve, and then Steve and Dr. Wuthering are hilarious. Steve's makeup as his sister, Miss Ireland from Saskatchewan, leads to very funny scenes. The best of these that has me guffawing every time is Miss Ireland's physical defense of Steve against Ward Willoughby's barbs. When Miss Ireland first slaps Ward, the looks on the faces of everyone are enough to leave one rolling in the aisles with laughter. The follow-ups just build the laughter.
One thing that helps a person get over a case of melancholy is laughter. Short of having family or friends who can help induce the jollies when one is downcast, a good movie can help remedy the blues. But not just any movie will do. It has to be a wholesome, very funny film with dialog and/or situations to make one laugh. Most of the screwball comedies of the black and white era would do. Some are sure-fire bets to relieve the low moods. One of the very best of these is "Love Crazy."
Everything about "Love Crazy" is superb. The plot, settings, camera work and all technical aspects are tops - although these don't weigh very heavily in the film. The screenplay, witty dialog, pratfalls, and hilarious scenes are wonderful examples of great writing and direction. Top that off with the leading co-stars and a superb supporting cast, and we have one of the best, most endearing and enduring 99 minutes of fun and laughter ever put on film. And this is one of those times when a film's title is right on the mark. This is a crazy film about love.
William Powell is Steve Ireland and Myrna Loy is Susan Ireland. They are celebrating four years of blissful marriage. This is the one film that has cast perfectly the proverbial spiteful mother-in-law. Mrs. Cooper is played by Florence Bates. I don't know if there's ever been another movie made in which the unanimous sentiment of an audience for a wishful act of violence was ever more prevalent. That should tell one something about how well written and acted this movie is - we all want to throw Mrs. Cooper off the balcony. But her character - with our disdain for her -- is an ingenious ploy to feed the comedy that ensues. And Powell is the masterful dupe of all of this - to our great enjoyment and pleasure.
This is another excellent supporting performance by Jack Carson. He was an outstanding actor who never achieved male lead status, but who could play any role to perfection. In my younger years I never cared much for him; but with some wisdom of age one can see how much his acting and roles contributed to the success and enjoyment of many films. Carson's Ward Willoughby is central to several of the hilarious scenes, including one of the funniest ever put on film.
Gail Patrick shines as Isobel Grayson, the one-time girlfriend of Steve's whom he left for Susan. Donald MacBride is perfect as her wealthy and growling jealous husband, "Pinky" Grayson. Vladimir Sokoloff is hilarious in his own right as Dr. Klugle. Sidney Blackmer plays Steve's attorney and friend, George Renny, to perfection. And one of my favorite of all the character actors of Hollywood's golden years gives another of his outstanding comedy performances. Sig Ruman is Dr. Wuthering, head of the Wuthering sanitarium in the country.
"Love Crazy" does something masterful that only the very best comedies achieve. It has several scenes of some length in which the situations themselves are hilarious and they are then embellished by the running dialog of the scenes. If one thinks of the comedy of the Marx Brothers or "I Love Lucy," this distinction is clear. While they had witty and crazy dialog and hilarious antics at times, ne'er the 'twain were met. In other words, the antics were going on sans witty dialog; and when there was funny dialog, there were no antics. On the other hand, the "Carol Burnett Show" on TV often created such situation plus dialog comedy that we see in "Love Crazy."
A sure sign of a movie's lasting quality is its ability to make one laugh in repeated viewings. "Love Crazy" does that for me. It has some of the single funniest scenes ever put on film. Myrna Loy and Jack Carson have me in stitches in a long scene Susan sets up to make Steve jealous. The courtroom scene recounting Steve's "normal" behavior to prove his sanity keeps me laughing throughout. Steve's shenanigans at Mrs. Bristol's party make me laugh time and again. His appearance before the Sanity commission is a riot, with all the doctors. When Susan leaves later, she says there is a nut in the room, "but it isn't Steve." The escape scenes at the sanitarium with Ward and Steve, and then Steve and Dr. Wuthering are hilarious. Steve's makeup as his sister, Miss Ireland from Saskatchewan, leads to very funny scenes. The best of these that has me guffawing every time is Miss Ireland's physical defense of Steve against Ward Willoughby's barbs. When Miss Ireland first slaps Ward, the looks on the faces of everyone are enough to leave one rolling in the aisles with laughter. The follow-ups just build the laughter.
One thing that helps a person get over a case of melancholy is laughter. Short of having family or friends who can help induce the jollies when one is downcast, a good movie can help remedy the blues. But not just any movie will do. It has to be a wholesome, very funny film with dialog and/or situations to make one laugh. Most of the screwball comedies of the black and white era would do. Some are sure-fire bets to relieve the low moods. One of the very best of these is "Love Crazy."