Double Wedding (1937)

Double Wedding - 1937

Coming up next is 1937's "Double Wedding" starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.  Powell and Loy were a popular team, and that is proved again in this comedy about a man who lives in a trailer (Powell) falling in love with a stern businesswoman (Loy).

The supporting players include Florence Rice, John Beal, Jessie Ralph, Edgar Kennedy, Sidney Toler, Katharine Alexander, and Donald Meek.

The film begins at this trailer.  It's the home of Charlie Lodge (Powell), a bohemian who has ideas to direct a film.  Charlie says of his trailer, "After all, a man's home is his castle, even if it is on wheels!"

Inside the cramp and cluttered trailer, Charlie directs a scene between two young lovers, Irene and Waldo, but they soon must return home before the Irene's older sister, Margit (Loy), finds them missing, as she disapproves of her sister's theatrical ambitions.

They find ways around Margit, rehearsing after she has gone to bed.  One night she finds out what they're up to and intends to put a stop to it.  Margit tells Charlie that he can name his price if he'll leave Irene alone.  He says he doesn't want money.  He only wants one thing: to paint Margit.

She reluctantly agrees, and Margit and Charlie begin to spend a lot of time together.  Previously, when alone with business associate Mrs. Kensington-Bly, Margit said, "Men and marriage and all that sort of thing take up too much time."  Mrs. Kensington-Bly smiled and replied, "Look, babe, you only have to run a dress shop.  Catherine the Great had fifty million Russians on her hands, and she had plenty of time left over."  Soon, Margit begins to fall in love with Charlie.

Through a lot of misunderstandings, Margit comes to believe that Charlie and Irene love each other and want to get married.  She finds out that the ceremony is to take place at his trailer.  She barges in and confronts them.  Only, it's a ruse.  Irene really loves Waldo.  And Charlie is in love with Margit.  Pretty soon quite a few people show up for the wedding.

The scene just gets more and more crowded as people flock to the little trailer to find out what's going on.

Seeing the crowd, a man even starts selling hamburgers and hot dogs to the bystanders.

Things get completely out of hand and a fight erupts, both inside and outside the trailer.  Through it all, Charlie and Margit finally get together, though by the end of the film, both are unconscious due to all the fighting.  The whole wedding scene is laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Cast rundown:

   William Powell....................................Charlie Lodge

   Myrna Loy..........................................Margit Agnew

   Florence Rice......................................Irene Agnew

   John Beal...........................................Waldo Beaver

   Jessie Ralph.......................................Mrs. Kensington-Bly

   Edgar Kennedy....................................Spike

   Sidney Toler........................................Keogh

   Katharine Alexander.............................Claire Lodge

   Donald Meek.......................................Judge Blynn

And that's all for Double Wedding.  It's a fun Powell/Loy collaboration.  And as I stated previously, the final wedding scene is extremely humorous.

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