myrna loy Archives - i luv cinema

The 1940 feature, I Love You Again, despite its formulaic set up, is proof positive that William Powell and Myrna Loy were indeed a match made in cinematic heaven. Lacking the snappy repartie and dialogue of the film series they were best known for (The Thin Man) a large portion of credit must also go to the director, W.S. VanDyke, who also was behind the camera for this film.

In this film, Powell plays a businessman, Larry Wilson, who, after a boating accident, suffers a blow to the head. He then realizes that he really isn’t this Larry person, but is actually a professional swindler by the name of George Cary. Instead of immediately coming clean about his identity, he decides to keep up the pretense for the sake of taking all the people who know him as Wilson for a ride. Among his intended victims are his/Larry’s wife Kay (Loy), who is actually in the process of divorcing Larry. Being that this is a rom-com and all, the plot does not go according to plan and George finds himself increasingly endeared by Kay.

Every time I see Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, I am reminded by how entertained by it. The first ten minutes alone are well worth the price of admission. It cannot be mentioned enough the almost genius of the comedy of Cary Grant’s physical presence. For me this hearkens to some of the comedy of the silent era.

This film is also the second and final pairing of Cary Grant and Myrna Loy in a light comedy. One can only imagine how successful a duo they would have been if their screen partnership were allowed to flourish .

And let us not forget the supporting talents of Melvyn Douglas as the “voice of doom.”

One thing always leave me scratching my head – given present sensibilities if the story were to be retold nowadays, don’t you think that Bessy would have sued her (former) employer for ripping off her ad slogan?

Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: I Love You Again (1940)

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)