My Favorite Jean Arthur Films - Part One (Comedies)

So I usually list the essential films of the classic movie goddess for each and every month. The problem I ran into with Jean is that she did so many wonderful films and I didn't know what to include. So instead of the essential films you have to see, I decided to post my favorite Jean films. And like I said there are so many of them, I had to break the list down into parts. Let's begin with comedies, where she was one of the best screwball queens of the 30's..in my opinion. Patti, we will get to dramas and westerns in the next part ok. So here are my fave comedy films starring Jean in no particular order. Please note there are tons of films Jean did during the silent era that I have yet to see. A good 30 or so films. Yeah, Jean was quite busy.

EASY LIVING (1937) Writer Preston Sturges and director Mitchell Leisen team up for this hilarious farce about Mary Smith (Jean), a editor for a boy's magazine, who winds up with a mink coat by accident and thru confusion and mistaken identity, she is thought to be the mistress of Wall Street tycoon J.B. Ball (played by the great Edward Arnold). Enter Ball's son (Ray Milland) who becomes attracted to Mary. One of the premiere screwball comedies of all time. 
A-

THE EX-MRS. BRADFORD (1936) Some people kind of view this one as a lightweight version of The Thin Man, since it co-stars William Powell. The only difference is him and Jean are exes but still have a penchant for solving mysteries. I think this film is very underrated and more than holds its own as a splendid comedy/mystery that would make The Thin Man proud.
B

MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN (1936) Jean's first film with Frank Capra and her first pairing with Gary Cooper, if I'm not mistaken. And the pair definitely have some chemistry as Longfellow Deeds (Cooper), a simple man from Vermont who inherits a fortune. Jean is cast as reporter Babe Bennett, who aims to get the story on Deeds one way or another. A wonderful film.
B+

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938) For her second outing with Frank Capra, but this time Jean's co-star is Jimmy Stewart. Different actor, same result in another great comedy which I believe features Jean's finest performance. As the lovely Alice Sycamore, she falls for her boss Tony Kirby (Stewart) and is swept off her feet when he proposes. The catch...Tony has to meet her wild and crazy family. I love Jean in this film. She is most definitely has her "A" game for this one.
A-

MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) Another comedy/drama that teamed Frank Capra with Jean for the third time. And marked Jean's second pairing with Jimmy Stewart. An iconic film from that great golden year of 1939.
B+

TOO MANY HUSBANDS (1940) This was one of the first movies I recall seeing Jean in and it is a delight.  Maybe not as well known and regarded as her other comedies but I'll take this over a lot of the comedies Hollywood cranks out now. Maybe I like it so much because it bears a similar plot to My Favorite Wife with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, also released the same year. In Husbands, Bill Cardew (played by Fred MacMurray) is declared dead after missing for a long period of time. His widow, Vicky (played by Jean) re-marries Bill's longtime friend Henry (Melvyn Douglas). When Bill shows up alive, the fun begins. 
B 

THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES (1941) Classic comedy with department store owner J.P. Merrick (the wonderful Charles Coburn) going undercover at his store to find out which employees are organizing a union. Unbeknownst to him, the two employees he are meet, Mary (Jean Arthur) and Joe (Robert Cummings) are said organizers. Dare I say, one of the best comedies ever made. Yeah I dare say.
B+

THE TALK OF THE TOWN (1942) Loaded with star power in Jean, Cary Grant and Ronald Colman, this film mixes screwball comedy with stirring drama expertly. Joe, an escaped prisoner (Grant) hides out at the home of his childhood sweetheart Nora Shelley (Jean), who just by chance has rented a room to law professor Michael Lightcap (Colman). How this film manages to be comedic one moment, then deadly serious the next is truly amazing. The trio of stars all give terrific performances.
B

THE MORE THE MERRIER (1943) During the WW2 housing shortage, resilient Connie Milligan (Arthur) shares an apartment with two men through some confusion and false pretenses. Mainly by the antics of flustery old  Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn re-teaming with Jean) who lies under the pretense of not stating his sex. He then finagles young engineer Joe Carter (hey it's Joel McCrea) to join in and tries to play cupid for Connie and Joe. Fun galore!
B+

A FOREIGN AFFAIR (1948) And lastly comes this terrific and wicked cynical comedy by Billy Wilder which casts a seasoned Jean as Congresswoman Phoebe Frost, who visits Berlin to investigate GI morals. Co-starring the legendary Marlene Dietrich, this is one gem of a movie.
B


Up next will be my second part of favorite Jean films, focusing on dramas and westerns.

My love of classic movies is beyond measure

Monty

THE MONTIES: 1944 - Screwball comedy and film noir dominate this year...

For 1944, we have some veteran directors (Capra, Hawks, Sturges), top stars (Cary Grant, Barbara Stanwyck, Claudette Colbert, Humphrey Bogart) and notable films (Double Indemnity, Since You Went Away, The Woman In The Window, Laura) competing for the top prize called the Monties.

BEST FILM
winner: Arsenic and Old Lace
nominees: To Have And Have Not; Double Indemnity; None But The Lonely Heart; The Woman In The Window; The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek; Laura; Lifeboat; Since You Went Away; Sunday Dinner For A Soldier; The Uninvited
Thoughts: The first Frank Capra film to win a Montie and it's one of my top ten favorite films of all time. Marks yet another Cary Grant film to land a Montie bringing that total to 5. As you can see, it was a nice mix of comedies, film noir and dramas to make the nomination list. Notably absent is the Oscar winner for 1944, Going My Way, as it is not one of my fave films.

Wait, say that again..slowly

BEST DIRECTOR
winner: Frank Capra (Arsenic and Old Lace)
nominees: Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity); Fritz Lang (The Woman in the Window); Preston Sturges (The Miracle of Morgan's Creek); Howard Hawks (To Have and Have Not)
Thoughts: The fourth time was the charm as Frank Capra finally wins his first Montie for directing. He was previously nominated for Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, You Can't Take It With You, and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. It was close, as he just edged out Preston Sturges who did an equally memorable directing turn for The Miracle of Morgan's Creek.

Frank feeling pretty good after winning his first Montie

BEST WRITER - new category
winner: Preston Sturges (The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek)
nominees: Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity); John Steinbeck (Lifeboat); Jules Furthman and William Faulkner (To Have and Have Not); J.H. Wallis and Nunnally Johnson (The Woman in the Window)
Thoughts: I decided to add writing as a category and 1944 yielded some top notch writing jobs. The other nominees were of the thriller and film noir variety but it was a screwball comedy that gets the Montie: Preston Sturges for his extremely hilarious Morgan's Creek.

Preston keeping his cool upon learning of his win

BEST ACTOR
winner: Humphrey Bogart (To Have And Have Not)
nominees: Cary Grant (None But The Lonely Heart); Edward G. Robinson (The Woman in the Window); Fred MacMurray (Double Indemnity); Eddie Bracken (The Miracle of Morgan's Creek)
Thoughts: Bogie wins his first Montie for his solid performance as the tough yet tender Harry Morgan. Yes I liked him here more than I did in Casablanca. This film allowed him to show his emotions on the outside and his chemistry with Lauren Bacall was perfection. Cary Grant did a wonderful job outside his normal safe comedy zone with None But The Lonely Heart but I think Bogie edges past him by a hair.

Now that you won a Montie, let's go celebrate

BEST ACTRESS
winner: Lauren Bacall (To Have And Have Not)
nominees: Joan Bennett (The Woman in the Window); Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity); Claudette Colbert (Since You Went Away); Betty Hutton (The Miracle of Morgan's Creek); Hedy Lamarr (Experiment Perilous)
Thoughts: What a film debut for 19-year old Lauren Bacall as Marie "Slim" Browning, the young woman who craves adventure and causes Bogie to fall head over heels in love with her. Out of all the categories for this year, this was the easiest choice to make. Bacall was amazing in her debut film performance.

Yeah I think this acting thing is going to work out nicely

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
winner: Diana Lynn (The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek)
nominees: Ethel Barrymore (None But The Lonely Heart); Ruth Hussey (The Uninvited); Jean Adair (Arsenic and Old Lace); Josephine Hull (Arsenic and Old Lace)
Thoughts: As the wise beyond her teen-ager years, Diana Lynn was awesome as Emmy Kockenlocker. Sister to Betty Hutton, she was able to dispense sound advice and keep her dad in check. A marvelous performance.

Cheer up girls...this is a festive occasion

OK, that's better Diana

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
winner: Edward G. Robinson (Double Indemnity)
nominees: Raymond Massey (Arsenic and Old Lace); Clifton Webb (Laura); William DeMarest (The Miracle of Morgan's Creek); Joseph Cotten (Since You Went Away)
Thoughts: The venerable Edward G. Robinson wins his first Montie with his strong performance as insurance investigator Barton Keyes, who really is the best thing in this superb film.

You two ain't fooling me...which one of you took my Montie?

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
winner: The Uninvited
nominees: Laura; Double Indemnity; Lifeboat; Meet Me In St. Louis; Home In Indiana
Thoughts: Another new category is cinematography. I know the academy Awards split this into two: color and black and white but I decided to make it just one. And while Home In Indiana is just a gorgeous film to look at in all that glorious color, I found The Uninvited to be just as fantastic with it's almost dreamlike world in black and white.

The beautifully shot film, The Uninvited

So that wraps up another Monties presentation. Would love to hear everyone's feedback on my selections and what did you think of the new categories I added. Will be back soon with the year that was 1945.

*Please note that I just found out while To Have And Have Not was a 1944 production, it was not released until January 1945. But I decided to keep it as part of 1944 anyway. I don't want to make things too technical here. Just keep things fun and light. Arsenic and Old Lace is an entirely different story. While filmed in 1941, it did not see the light of day until 1944.

NOTABLE FILMS THAT I HAVE NOT SEEN FOR THIS YEAR:

GASLIGHT
DRAGON SEED
MRS. PARKINGTON
CASANOVA BROWN
THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO
I'LL BE SEEING YOU

Frank Capra Night on TCM - Monday, Dec 7th

Tonight on TCM, a selection of legendary director Frank Capra's films are being aired. They are: It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, You Can't Take It With You, Arsenic & Old Lace and Platinum Blonde. The festival starts at 8pm tonight.