Myrna Loy And William Powell Collection DVD Review

Myrna Loy and William Powell are best known for their wonderful portrayal of married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles in the Thin Man series, part screwball and part mystery and six films of excessive drinking, but this pair made many films together in other roles as well. Although these other films aren’t all as wonderful as the Thin Man films, there are some good films and a chance to see Loy and Powell playing dramatic roles for a change. While some box sets have much more to choose from in terms of selection, this is the second set with this pair’s collaborating films, and it seems the well has just about run dry. In fact, the pair only made four other films together, but I suppose in theory that is still enough left for one more set. The set is a cardboard foldout package with five discs. Each of the films has its own disc and this is where they print the original ads for the film, or at least the picture art for them. This is fortunate considering there is hardly even a description of the films anywhere on the package.

Manhattan Melodrama (1934) This was Loy and Powell’s first film together, and quite an unconventional one when looking at their entire body of work, but it is a solid film nonetheless. This entertaining gangster morality play isn’t entirely original for the time, but it is Clark Gable’s tough performance that truly makes this a film worth watching. Gable and Powell are best friends from childhood who grew up together in an orphanage, but from there these best friends taking entirely different routes. Each is extremely successful, only at opposite ends of the law. Gable is a notorious gambler and small-time thug and Powell is a prosecuting attorney working in the D.A. offices. As each rises higher up in ranks they remain friends until a crime forces Powell to prosecute his dear friend. Myrna Loy plays Gable’s girlfriend, but apparently even the connection of the scenes she shared with Powell was enough to inspire twelve more films together. The DVD special features include a comedy short, cartoon and the trailer.

Evelyn Prentice (1934) Another strange pairing for the two, Evelyn Prentice is a courtroom thriller in which Myrna Loy is on trial for the murder of her husband, played by William Powell. Their relationship is filled with betrayal and mistrust. Powell is an attorney once again, but this time he is also a cheating husband. When his wife finds out she leaves him, but returns eventually at which point he blackmails her. It is filled with all sorts of double crosses, but none seem to hold the film together as well as the pair is able to. This isn’t one of their best. The special features include a “Goofy Movie” short and a cartoon. There is also a theatrical trailer for the film.

Double Wedding (1937) Screwball zaniness was what Loy and Powell did best and Double Wedding is a classic screwball comedy with a surplus of slapstick. There are more prat falls than pun in the film, which gets old by the ending which prefers the stars knocked out together rather than kissing. Powell is a bohemian painter living out of a trailer and when a young girl thinks she has fallen in love with him her controlling sister, played by Loy, swoops in to stop them. Somehow along the way they fall in love, but of course this is expected and not even explained in the film at this point. What’s more is there isn’t even much of a payoff to the romance conclusion and the double wedding referred to in the title never quite takes off. The DVD contains the film’s original trailer as well as an addition cartoon and short film.

I Love You Again (1940) The plot in this screwball comedy is so outlandish that it ends up being one of the most fun. At the beginning of the film Loy and Powell are already a married couple with a stale and failing marriage. Loy has plans to leave him while he is away, but when he returns having received a bump on his head he discovers that he has been suffering from amnesia the entire time he was married to her. In truth he was a thief until he suffered amnesia and became a small town penny pincher. Keeping the fact that he was once a different person he decides to win back his wife who has fallen in love with. At the same time he debates whether or not to become a criminal again. The DVD includes the same three special features as the rest.

Love Crazy (1941) This sweet screwball has Powell doing anything he can to save his marriage after a misunderstanding on his anniversary causes his wife to file for divorce. An interruption by his mother-in-law, and the source of nearly every problem in the film, causes Powell to run out on an errand on their anniversary. When he is stuck in the elevator with the attractive woman downstairs his wife and mother-in-law jump to conclusions. This just leads to more and more mistakes until it seems they will get a divorce. In order to prevent the courts from allowing this decision, Powell pretends to be crazy. This plan backfires when he is sent to an institution and is forced to break out in order to save his wife from the sleazy man downstairs.