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| I Love You Again - 1940 |
The next Powell/Loy collaboration on our list is 1940's "I Love You Again". The story is of a mild-mannered man who has suffered from amnesia suddenly remembers who he was (a tough conman). He returns to the town where he lived, intending to swindle the townspeople. He falls in love with his wife and has a change of heart.
The supporting cast includes Frank McHugh, Edmund Lowe, Donald Douglas, Nella Walker, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer.
The story opens on an ocean liner. Larry Wilson (Powell) is traveling alone. On board he's gained a reputation as a penny pincher and a generally un-fun individual. He saves the life of "Doc" Ryan (McHugh) after he falls overboard, jumping in after him. The ship's crew lowers a lifeboat to save them, knocking Larry in the head with an oar in the process.
When Larry awakens the next day, he's a seemingly different person. He believes he is George Carey who's been knocked out on a train and someone has stolen ten thousand bucks from him. Larry really is George, a big time conman, realizing he's been suffering from amnesia after being knocked in the head on the train. The knock with the oar brought him to his rightful self. George and Doc Ryan (also a conman) come up with a plan to find out all about "Larry Wilson" and see what kind of a con they can swing.
Waiting at the dock when the boat arrives is Kay (Loy), Larry's wife. When he sees her, George can't believe how pretty she is, and can't believe his luck once he finds out he's married to her. Unfortunately for him, Kay and "Larry" are headed for a divorce. George wants to find a way to keep Kay and keep the swindle going at the same time.
He sets about trying to romance her. Kay finds him a completely different person from the staid, un-suave character she married. "Where did you learn to dance like this?" she asks. "Oh, by mail," comes the reply.
George keeps at it in the romance department. But Kay is having none of it.
George finds out that "Larry" is the manager of a large pottery works in town. He's also the leader of the local boy scout troop. It's fun watching George try to make sense of the things that "Larry" was so good at, particularly deer stalking.
George comes up with a plan (along with a big city gangster) to rig a parcel of land he owns with oil. When the townspeople discover it, they want it and are willing to pay anything to own the land supposedly rich with oil.
Meanwhile, George keeps romancing Kay, and wears her down. A funny scene occurs when they're nightgown shopping. The owners of the shop don't believe he wants to buy something expensive as he's notoriously tightfisted. Through it all, George finds he has a change of heart and wants to go straight and settle down with Kay.
Kay eventually learns the truth about George after hearing Doc on the phone. George is on his way to stop the deal with the gangster. The final scene is full of witty dialogue as Kay and the gangster go at it zinger for zinger. "Don't you dare lay a hand on him, you overgrown bully!" she says. "Shut your trap, madam," says the gangster.
George finds a humorous way out of the situation and he and Kay can begin their life together again (but for the first time as George and Kay).
Cast rundown:
William Powell........................................George Carey
Myrna Loy..............................................Kay Wilson
Frank McHugh........................................Doc Ryan
Edmund Lowe.........................................Duke Sheldon
Donald Douglas......................................Herbert
Nella Walker...........................................Kay's Mother
Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer...............................Leonard Harkspur Jr.
That's all for I Love You Again, a delightful comedy that's sure to be a favorite in the Powell/Loy film collection. It's full of laugh-out-loud moments. This is the ninth film they made together, and the fifth with the same director.
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| One Way Passage - 1932 |
Today's film is "One Way Passage" from 1932. It stars William Powell, a great favorite of mine, and Kay Francis. The two meet in a bar in Hong Kong, and unbeknownst to each other are traveling on the same liner to San Francisco, with a stopover in Honolulu. Their love story is instant. The moment they meet each other nothing else matters. Powell plays Dan, a condemned murderer on his way to a hangman's noose in San Francisco. Kay Francis plays Joan, a terminally ill young woman who is fighting to have her last days filled with happiness.
The supporting cast includes Aline MacMahon, Frank McHugh, Warren Hymer, Willie Fung, and Roscoe Karns.
Their first meeting takes place at a bar in Hong Kong, and happens quite by accident. She accidentally bumps him, causing him to spill his drink. "There seems to be a few drops left," he says after she apologizes. "Always the most precious, the last few drops," Joan says. "That's luck." They drink while gazing into each other's eyes.
When they finish their drink, they break the glasses and lay the stems on top of each other. They part company, not knowing that they will soon meet again.
Dan is later arrested for murder by a detective and handcuffed to his side. He breaks away from the detective by jumping overboard, handcuffed to the detective but aware of where he keeps the key. He saves the detectives life. Sgt. Steve Burke is so grateful he lets Dan stay uncuffed for the rest of the cruise. While in the water, he looks up at the deck of the ship and catches a glimpse of Joan. He scours the ship looking for her, and when he thinks he's lost his chance at finding her, she taps him on the back and they share a drink.
Once again, they break the glasses, leaving the stems crossed on the bar.
A shipboard romance ensues. The two spend every moment of the next four weeks together, falling in love.
Dan even dodges his detective and manages to get in some sightseeing in Honolulu. While there, he makes plans to ditch the ship entirely and books passage on another ship heading the opposite way. Before he gets the chance to, Joan collapses, and Dan makes the decision to see her to the safety of their ship and her doctor. Joan's doctor tells Dan that she is very dangerously ill and needs absolute rest if she's to make it to the mainland alive. Dan comes clean to the doctor about his future, and says he must tell her. The doctor counsels him not to shock her, for it will kill her.
On the last day of the cruise, they share a farewell drink. "Remember our first?" Joan asks. "We thought it was our last," Dan says. "You never can tell."
They once again break their glasses and cross the stems. They part company after saying they want to see in the New Year in Agua Caliente, Mexico, both knowing they will never make it. Joan overhears a porter talking about how Dan is a murderer and runs to find him. After saying farewell to him one last time at the gangplank, she collapses into her doctor's arms as Dan is led away by the detective to San Quentin and his eventual execution.
Fast forward a month, and the New Year's celebrations are going strong in Agua Caliente. The nightclub is crowded with people. The camera moves to the bar where two bartenders are talking and they hear a crash of glass.
The bartenders turn around to see two cocktail glasses broken and the stems crossed.
A few seconds later, the glasses vanish.
Cast rundown:
William Powell........................................Dan Hardesty
Kay Francis............................................Joan Ames
Aline MacMahon......................................Betty
Frank McHugh........................................Skippy
Warren Hymer........................................Sgt. Steve Burke
Willie Fung.............................................Hong Kong Curio Dealer
Roscoe Karns.........................................S.S. Maloa Bartender
That's a wrap for One Way Passage. The film is absolutely beautiful. From the moment Dan and Joan meet you are drawn in to their love story. It was given the Academy Award for Best Story, and it is so well-deserved.
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