Huzzah!
Wow– just read some fantastic news over at The Digital Bits. Per them, Sony will be releasing, not one, but TWO volumes of lesser known, truly delightful comedy gems on August 4. Here’s your rundown:
Icons of Screwball Comedy – Volume One
If You Could Only Cook (Columbia, 1935) Stars Jean Arthur, Herbert Marshall, and Leo Carillo; Directed by William A. Seiter.
Too Many Husbands (Columbia, 1940) Stars Jean Arthur, Fred MacMurray, and Melvyn Douglas; Directed by Wesley Ruggles.
My Sister Eileen (Columbia, 1942) Stars Rosalind Russell, Brian Aherne, and Janet Blair; Directed by Alexander Hall. I assume its this first version, but there is a 1955 remake starring Janet Leigh, Jack Lemmon, Betty Garrett and Bob Fosse. My Sister Eileen would be reborn again as the musical Wonderful Town (“Christopher Street!”).
She Wouldn’t Say Yes (Columbia, 1945) Stars Rosalind Russell and Lee Bowman; Directed by Alexander Hall.
Icons of Screwball Comedy – Volume 2
Theodora Goes Wild (Columbia, 1936) Stars Irene Dunne, Melvyn Douglas, and Thomas Mitchell; Directed by Richard Boleslawski.
Together Again (Columbia, 1944) Stars Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, and Charles Coburn; Directed by Charles Vidor.
The Doctor Takes A Wife (Columbia, 1940) Stars Loretta Young, Ray Milland, and Reginald Gardiner; Dirccted by Alexander Hall.
A Night to Remember (Columbia, 1943) Stars Loretta Young and Brian Aherne; Directed by Richard Wallace.
* * *
Truth, I’ve only seen about half of these. If You Could Only Cook is especially fine, and one I’m surprised to find on DVD. It’s a classic Depression-era, screwball plot (and by that I mean, equal parts romance and highly improbable lunacy): Marshall is a rich inventor who poses as a butler when he meets poor girl Arthur. In order to to get work as a cook (which, girl can’t cook), she needs a butler. The boss, who it turns out is an actual mob boss, wants a pair, like a salt and pepper shaker. The other Arthur vehicle, Too Many Husbands, is basically a retread of the earlier Cary Grant/Irene Dunne hit, My Favorite Wife, but fun and lively, nonetheless. Theodora Goes Wild came just as Dunne was hitting her stride. In this one, she’s the author of a smutty bestseller, only her uptight town doesn’t know it yet. As for My Sister Eileen, I wouldn’t have classified it as a “screwball” but it’s pretty decent, nonetheless. The other’s I’ve not seen, but so much the better as its always a treat to find a new Boyer or Milland film.
I’m heartened that Sony is investing in these older, lesser known movies, especially when it would seem based on the upcoming release schedule that the DVD studios are lightening their output. There’s still an armload of comedies (some more screwball than others) that I’m hoping will make it to DVD, namely Bachelor Mother, Remember the Night, George Washington Slept Here, I Married A Witch, and The Strawberry Blonde, as well as a few from the Hal Roach Studios: Merrily We Live, There Goes My Heart, and San Diego, I Love You. Hopefully, if these are not found in proper releases, at least some of the Warner Bros. properties will be released via The Warner Archive.
Tags: DVD News/Reviews
