mountainstonePT A terribly written film, obviously milking the Powell/ Loy magic long after it was gone. Don't waste your time. An unfunny movie. Not even clever.While the Thin Man and subsequent sequels were clever, by 41 it seems they should have killed this pairing. Bad scripting showed along with half hearted acting that they were only in it for the money. While the movie was not specifically a Thin Man film, the plot was pulling from it, and the insanity plea for the divorce was really lame, probably even by those standards. I found the movie boring and distasteful. Couldn't wait for it to end. You'll do yourself a favor passing on it.

J. Spurlin Stephen Ireland (William Powell) has been deliriously happy with his wife, Susan (Myrna Loy), for four years, but a series of misunderstandings begin on their fourth anniversary, involving a stalled elevator, Steve's old flame (who has just moved in downstairs) and a forgotten taxi cab. They end with Susan leaving Steve and taking up with the neighboring apartment dweller (Jack Carson), an expert archer who works best in his undershirt. Susan's mother (Florence Bates) is thrilled with this new choice, but Steve is out to win back his wife despite all obstacles. He pretends to be mad in order to delay the divorce, but winds up in an insane asylum. He escapes but is forced to dress as a woman and pretend to be his own sister in order to evade the police and win back his wife.This delightful screwball comedy is solid and laugh-filled enough to please anyone, but hasn't got quite enough zest to rank with the best in the genre. Powell and Loy together guarantee good entertainment. And if they aren't enough this film is bursting at the seams with familiar character actors.By the way, you know that thing people do when they mimic insanity, the thing that provides a running gag in this film? It involves running one's index finger up and down over one's lips to make a noise that sounds like "beedeebeedeebeedeebee." A friend of mine has coined a term for this bit of business: the "lip flubby." We need a term for this thing, so please help spread it.

dougdoepke It may not be Nick and Nora, but it is Myrna and Bill and madcap comedy seldom gets any better. Myrna wants to divorce our wandering boy because of his delightful misunderstandings with the slinky other woman, Gail Patrick (enough to turn any man's head). Now Powell must win her back by faking insanity, which he does in hilarious fashion. Mother-in-law Florence Bates is no help, and neither is the obnoxious Jack Carson (the name's Ward, Ward Willoughby). Except for attorney Sidney Blackmer, Powell's on his own and Loy is the prize.The romantic duo are in fine comedy form-- watch Loy's steely deadpan as Powell relentlessly mugs it up-- with a first-rate script and expert support. The party scene is a special triumph of comedic architecture, building to a hilarious climax rather daring for its time. Planned or not, the elevator scene gave me a serious shudder considering its nightmare potential. Anyhow, this is zany pre-war fare at its near-best, and proof positive that there was more to Powell and Loy than a dry martini and a cuddly dog.

Poseidon-3 Powell and Loy were a hugely popular romantic comedy team, most notably in the "The Thin Man" series of films. They complimented each other nicely and established a rapport and a synchronization in their timing which served them very well through many movies. This one has several funny moments and amusing set pieces, but, unfortunately, doesn't quite hang together well enough to be considered a classic. They play a married couple about to celebrate their fourth anniversary when a chain of seemingly minor events escalates into a trip to Divorce Court! Loy's domineering and intrusive mother causes some of the problems and Powell's ex-girlfriend Patrick adds fuel to the fire. Once separated, Powell will stop at nothing to prevent the divorce, even if it means having himself declared insane so that the marriage will have to last another five years! Plenty of slapstick and shenanigans follow as Powell tries to win back Loy while Carson pursues her all the while himself. Powell embarks on more than a few zany pratfalls here, getting his head stuck in elevator doors, slipping on rugs, falling naked into the middle of a cocktail party (off screen) and, most famously, dressing as a woman to evade the folks from "the home". He injects the role with his usual flair and enthusiasm. Loy is radiant. She is allowed to toss out a few understated zingers and wear several drop dead gowns (no costumer is credited, however), but mostly has to play it straight as she alternately wards off and protects Powell. Her inimitable looks and demeanor go a long way in helping this film stay interesting. Patrick plays a very secure man-eater (she's hardly fazed at all when an elevator breaks down and simply climbs out the roof without so much as a furrowed brow!) She has a harder look than Loy, but is attractive and appealing in her own right. Carson does a fine job as a brawny, but sometimes bumbling, neighbor who gets caught up in the action. He and Loy have an amusing scene involving mistaken identity. It would be hard to find a more agonizingly exasperating mother-in-law than the one Bates brings to the film. Hitchcock fans will recall her turn in "Rebecca" as Joan Fontaine's impossible employer. Here, she insinuates herself into things and stirs up trouble at nearly every opportunity. There's a lot going on, and much of it is charming and amusing, but it also becomes rather tedious and tiresome after a while to see people fretting and floundering over something that ought to have been cleared up with one or two sentences. Also, certain sequences play very lengthily today, their comic potential mined far beyond what is there. Still, it's a charming, at times sumptuous, time-killer with the wonderful pair that made much cinema magic together in Hollywood's golden age. Powell, famously, shaved off his trademark moustache for the cross-dressing sequence of this film, but never appears as a man without it.