I Love You Again | |
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Directed by | W.S. Van Dyke |
Screenplay by | Charles Lederer George Oppenheimer Harry Kurnitz |
Story by | Leon Gordon Maurine Watkins |
Based on | I Love You Again 1937 novel by Octavus Roy Cohen |
Produced by | Lawrence Weingarten |
Starring | William Powell Myrna Loy Frank McHugh |
Cinematography | Oliver T. Marsh |
Edited by | Gene Ruggiero |
Music by | Franz Waxman |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
I Love You Again is an MGM comedy released in 1940. It was directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starred William Powell and Myrna Loy, all three of whom were prominently involved in the Thin Man film series.
In 1940, while on a cruise, stodgy, overly frugal businessman Larry Wilson is hit on the head with an oar while rescuing a drunk "Doc" Ryan from the water. He wakes up and remembers that he is actually a suave con man named George Carey. George's last memory is of going to place a large bet in 1931.
When the ship docks at New York, he is met by Kay, whom he discovers is his wife. She however is in the process of divorcing him to marry Herbert. They go home to the small town of Habersville, Pennsylvania. George talks Doc (who is also a con artist) into masquerading as a physician treating him, partly out of curiosity, but mostly because of greed, after seeing the enormous balance in his checking account. That turns out to be a dead end (the money is only held in trust for the Community Chest), so he decides to swindle people using his alter ego's sterling reputation. He sends for his old crony Duke Sheldon, who plants oil on a lot George owns.
A complication arises when he falls in love with Kay a second time. She however wants nothing further to do with her boring cheapskate of a husband. George attempts to win back Kay's affections, while also trying to sell his land to several greedy leading citizens of the town. George uses his other persona as a celebrated woodsman to have his troop of Junior Rangers (many of them the sons of local businessmen) stumble upon the oil. This gets back to their fathers, who quickly offer to buy the land.
In the end, wanting to remain with Kay who now loves him as George, he decides to abort the swindle, but Duke will not let him. They fight, and George is knocked out by a punch. When he comes to, he seems to be Larry once more. Duke leaves in disgust, but having hooked the biggest scammer of the citizens in a side deal. When Doc muses that one knock on the head reversed the effect of another, Kay, who knows all and wants George back, picks up a vase. Before she can bring it down on his head, "Larry" proves that he was only faking to get rid of Duke.
Reviews of the film were generally positive. New York Times critic Bosley Crowther praised the film writing: "Mr. Powell and Miss Loy, no matter what their names, are one of our most versatile and frisky connubial comedy teams, and, given a script as daffy as the one here in evidence, they can make an hour and a half spin like a roulette wheel." [1] W.S from Motion Picture Daily stated that the audience was in "continuous laughter and applause throughout the film" and claimed that “M-G-M has made the funniest motion picture this industry has seen in 10 years."
Other critics agreed. Laura Lee, critic for the Philadelphia Bulletin, wrote, "Too ridiculous for words, but ‘I Love You Again’ is extremely funny. You may feel silly for laughing but laugh you must." Gilbert Kanour of the Baltimore Evening Sun said, "William Powell and Myrna Loy have lost none of their skill in provoking laughter...a witty and inventive plot."
According to Motion Picture Daily, the film did above average business at the box office during its first two weeks.
Lux Radio Theatre adapted the film twice, first in 1941 with Loy and Cary Grant, then in 1948 with Powell and Ann Sothern (Loy was supposed to reprise her film role in this adaptation, but had to drop out to do retakes on another film). [2]
The Thin Man is a 1934 American pre-Code comedy-mystery film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and based on the 1934 novel by Dashiell Hammett. The film stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a leisure-class couple who enjoy copious drinking and flirtatious banter. Nick is a retired private detective who left his very successful career when he married Nora, a wealthy heiress accustomed to high society. Their wire-haired fox terrier Asta was played by canine actor Skippy. In 1997, the film was added to the United States National Film Registry having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Libeled Lady is a 1936 American screwball comedy film directed by Jack Conway and starring Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy. The screenplay was written by Maurine Dallas Watkins, Howard Emmett Rogers, and George Oppenheimer, from a story by Wallace Sullivan. This was the fifth of fourteen films in which Powell and Loy were teamed, inspired by their success in the Thin Man series.
The Thin Man Goes Home is a 1944 American comedy mystery film directed by Richard Thorpe. It is the fifth of the six Thin Man films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's dapper ex-private detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora. The supporting cast includes Lucile Watson, Gloria DeHaven and Helen Vinson. This entry in The Thin Man series was the first not directed by W.S. Van Dyke, who had died in 1943.
Myrna Loy was an American film, television and stage actress. As a performer, she was known for her ability to adapt to her screen partner's acting style.
Manhattan Melodrama is a 1934 American pre-Code crime drama film, produced by MGM, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, and starring Clark Gable, William Powell, and Myrna Loy. The movie also provided one of Mickey Rooney's earliest film roles. The film is based on a story by Arthur Caesar, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Story. It was also the first of Myrna Loy and William Powell's fourteen screen pairings.
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer is a 1947 American screwball romantic comedy-drama film directed by Irving Reis and written by Sidney Sheldon. The film stars Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Shirley Temple in a story about a teenager's crush on an older man.
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The Ghost Breakers is a 1940 American mystery/horror comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. It was adapted by screenwriter Walter DeLeon as the third film version of the 1909 play The Ghost Breaker by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard.
Nancy Goes to Rio is a 1950 American Technicolor musical-comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Joe Pasternak from a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon, based on a story by Jane Hall, Frederick Kohner, and Ralph Block. The music was directed and supervised by George Stoll and includes compositions by George and Ira Gershwin, Giacomo Puccini, Jack Norworth, and Stoll.
Edison, the Man is a 1940 biographical film depicting the life of inventor Thomas Edison, who was portrayed by Spencer Tracy. Hugo Butler and Dore Schary were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story for their work on this film. Typical of most Hollywood biopics, much of the film fictionalizes or exaggerates the real events of Edison's life.
Love Crazy is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Jack Conway and starring William Powell, Myrna Loy and Gail Patrick. Powell and Loy play a couple whose marriage is on the verge of being broken up by the husband's old girlfriend and the wife's disapproving mother. This was the eleventh of fourteen films in which they appeared together. The supporting cast includes Jack Carson and Sig Ruman.
William Horatio Powell was an American actor, known primarily for his film career. Under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the Thin Man series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Powell was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times: for The Thin Man (1934), My Man Godfrey (1936), and Life with Father (1947).
Rich, Young and Pretty is a 1951 American musical comedy film produced by Joe Pasternak for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Norman Taurog. Written by Dorothy Cooper and adapted as a screenplay by Cooper and Sidney Sheldon, it stars Jane Powell, Danielle Darrieux, Wendell Corey, and Fernando Lamas, features The Four Freshmen, and introduces Vic Damone. This was Darrieux's first Hollywood film since The Rage of Paris (1938).
Forever, Darling is a 1956 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Alexander Hall, written by Helen Deutsch, and starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, and James Mason. In the film, Ball stars as a wife who tries to save her struggling marriage to a chemical engineer (Arnaz) with the help of her guardian angel (Mason). Louis Calhern and Natalie Schafer co-star in supporting roles.
The Senator Was Indiscreet is a 1947 American comedy film, the only movie directed by playwright, theatrical director/producer, humorist, and drama critic George S. Kaufman. Produced by Universal Pictures it starred William Powell as a dim-witted U.S. senator who decides to run for president, with Ella Raines as a reporter interested in the detailed diary he has kept about all the political misdeeds of his colleagues. Powell won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his performances in this film and in Life with Father.
Rendezvous is a 1935 American spy film set in World War I, directed by William K. Howard, starring William Powell and Rosalind Russell and featuring Binnie Barnes, Lionel Atwill, Cesar Romero and Samuel S. Hinds. Powell plays an American cryptologist who tangles with German spies while falling in love.
The Red Pony is a 1949 American Technicolor drama film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Myrna Loy, Robert Mitchum and Louis Calhern. It is based on John Steinbeck's 1937 novella of the same name. Steinbeck also wrote the screenplay for this film. It was distributed by Republic Pictures.
Whipsaw is a 1935 American crime drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Myrna Loy and Spencer Tracy. Written by Howard Emmett Rogers, based on a story by James Edward Grant, the film is about a government agent working undercover traveling across the country with an unsuspecting woman, hoping she will lead him to her gang of jewel thieves. The film was produced by Harry Rapf for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and was released on December 18, 1935, in the United States.
Hired Wife is a 1940 American romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Rosalind Russell, Brian Aherne and Virginia Bruce.