Myrna Loy Takes Down Monster

It was movie time again the other night - one more opportunity for Cloverfield to be denied. And it was. You'd think I'd learn my lesson.

However, we did watch some fantastic cinema, circa 1941. We're suckers for old movies. Both of us had parents who knew that the older it was generally meant the better it is. That is not to say we don't like our new releases, as cloyingly saccharine as they may be in comparison. After all, there are very few original movies anymore - everything is a remake.

Cloverfield vanquished, Myrna Loy and William Powell took to the screen in Love Crazy. Few movie couples have achieved such prominence as have Loy and Powell. They were the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan of the '30s and 40's - sophisticated and extremely witty. They made 14 movies together. I would put them right below Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn and above Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. I guess while I'm name dropping, I ought to include my list of greatest screen couples, in no particular order, yet:

(I have no idea how to change the flower bullet points)

• Myrna Loy and William Powell
• Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn
• Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
  
• Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
• Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan
• Woody Allen and Diane Keaton

Who have I missed?

Any who, back to Myrna Loy and William Powell. These two are famous for the wise cracking Thin Man movie series, which you should run - not walk - and rent. As for Love Crazy, the story was that Loy mistakenly thinks Powell has cheated on her and demands a divorce. Powell, knowing his innocence, decides to fake insanity so as to delay the divorce and win her back. Hilarity ensues as we see Powell turn cuckoo for friends, strangers and the court to see.

It's three and a half out of four stars. The ending is a little slow, but the writing is tight and the comedy madcap.

I have two clips, both of which I cannot embed here. The first is the actual 1941 trailer from Turner Classic Movies. The second is a nine minute movie clip of Powell going crazy at a dinner party. The last four minutes of the clip are rolling-in-the-aisle funny.

Note for my friends: The movie is, in reality, in black and white.