In the aptly named "Love Crazy", Myrna Loy and William Powell again prove that they make a marvelous screen pairing. And someone did a good job of selecting projects for them.
The story starts with Powell and Loy almost giddily happy about their fourth anniversary. Then Susan's (Loy's) mother arrives and things go downhill. She's a clueless meddler who doesn't really like her son-in-law Stephen (Powell). Circumstances conspire to thrust an old flame into Stephen's path and his mother-in-law is there to witness just enough to inject doubt into the happy couple's relationship.
It's a winding story, but eventually Stephen tries to convince everyone that he is insane in order to save his marriage. Things spiral out of control as each misunderstanding compounds.
Powell proves a master of physical comedy in this film and he turns in an impressive performance dressed as a woman. The writing delivers some terrific one-liners.
Although this film deserves to be considered one of the best Powell-Loy matchups, for me the level drops off slightly after Susan starts to seriously doubt Stephen.
And it may be just me, but the portrayals of the legal profession and the psychiatry profession took me slightly out of the story. The legal doctrine used in the film seemed fabricated in parts. And the haphazard use of psychiatric jargon was jarring. It is possible, I suppose, that a psychiatrist in 1940 might have used phrenology as an aid in diagnosis, but no doctor would actually confuse schizophrenia with insanity. But these are not serious impediments to enjoying this film. I will deduct one point in my grading.
This film has much to recommend it. The Powell-Loy chemistry shines in the best parts and the twisting plot keeps things interesting.
The story starts with Powell and Loy almost giddily happy about their fourth anniversary. Then Susan's (Loy's) mother arrives and things go downhill. She's a clueless meddler who doesn't really like her son-in-law Stephen (Powell). Circumstances conspire to thrust an old flame into Stephen's path and his mother-in-law is there to witness just enough to inject doubt into the happy couple's relationship.
It's a winding story, but eventually Stephen tries to convince everyone that he is insane in order to save his marriage. Things spiral out of control as each misunderstanding compounds.
Powell proves a master of physical comedy in this film and he turns in an impressive performance dressed as a woman. The writing delivers some terrific one-liners.
Although this film deserves to be considered one of the best Powell-Loy matchups, for me the level drops off slightly after Susan starts to seriously doubt Stephen.
And it may be just me, but the portrayals of the legal profession and the psychiatry profession took me slightly out of the story. The legal doctrine used in the film seemed fabricated in parts. And the haphazard use of psychiatric jargon was jarring. It is possible, I suppose, that a psychiatrist in 1940 might have used phrenology as an aid in diagnosis, but no doctor would actually confuse schizophrenia with insanity. But these are not serious impediments to enjoying this film. I will deduct one point in my grading.
This film has much to recommend it. The Powell-Loy chemistry shines in the best parts and the twisting plot keeps things interesting.