Here's (probably) my last review of the year. This is the third movie about marriage I happened to saw by chance, and even when it's a minor film compared with the others, I enjoyed it the most :)
Third finger, left hand (1940) made laugh out loud in many occasions. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard (Pride and Prejudice, The great Zigfield, Marianne) and, as you can see, Myrna Loy & Melvyn Douglas play the leads.
Mryna's character problem with marriage is that she invented hers. Yes, because she is the editor in a magazine and needs to keep the men off. Even her family believes she's married, despite the fact that no one has ever seen the husband. She explains a lawyer admirer of hers (Lee Bowman) how it (supposedly) happened:
Myrna: I don't understand it myself sometimes. But there I was alone in Rio in April.
Admirer: Very romantic.
Myrna: Madly romantic. It was raining. Spring rain turning the pavements blue. I adore rain.
Admirer: I detest it. It gives me head colds. And furthermore, if it was so romantic, why did you leave him?
Myrna: It stopped raining.
Well, she meets Melvyn Douglas, a painter heading from NY to his town, Wapakoneta, and they start getting along. Melvyn hears that Myrna is supposedly married, and after a little investigation, he discovers the truth. He's kind of irritated with her, so he presents himself as her husband to her relatives, initiating an amusing conflict.
This is a funny little film with no pretensions but to entertaining you for an hour and a half. Myrna and Melvyn have their usual good timing and charm and if you don't expect more than that, I recommend this movie to you.
Here's my favorite scene from the movie, where Myrna pretends to be an uneducated woman in front of Melvyn's hometown friends, just to get even with him (sorry for the French subtitles):
Well, that's all for now, see ya soon with a special post to say goodbye to 2010 :)
Read part 1 and 2 of this post:
Nice little film, one of the few Myrna Loy vehicles (in other words, where she is the primary star, not sharing billing with a Powell or Gable). Love the "Brooklyn" sequence, and let's not forget that the porter in this film is a relatively unstereotyped black role; he's studying for a law degree (and helps solve things in the end). As Myrna had long campaigned against demeaning ethnic roles, this must have pleased her.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was totally amazed by that fact!! It was great to see, plus made me remember that quote from Myrna: "Why does every black person in the movies have to play a servant? How about a black person walking up the steps of a courthouse carrying a briefcase?". Now I really want to read her biography :) Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteSorry if I'm posting too many comments at once xD I really love this movie soooo much.... I was falling over with laughter, it was so funny. Myrna & Melvyn are amazing together!!! And you should really read her book, Clara.... I adore it. I got it for my birthday.
ReplyDeleteI love comments, so don't worry :) And yes, this movie is hilarious and the leads are terrific :) Oh, and yes, I really want to read her autobiography, but it's not available right now in the shop I order books :(
ReplyDeleteAww, that's a shame, Clara! :( It's only available through sellers on Amazon that I know of. It's not exactly a new book.
ReplyDeleteI love comments, so don't worry :) And yes, this movie is hilarious and the leads are terrific :) Oh, and yes, I really want to read her autobiography, but it's not available right now in the shop I order books :(
ReplyDelete