Don't defend me, Diggs! After all, what am I? Just the greatest actor in the world.

Hey! Look at this! Two weeks in a row! I’m really hoping I can keep this up all year. Today, we’re continuing the New Year’s theme (it’s still a New Year, isn’t it?) with a rather obscure film. I stumbled on this movie quite by accident a year or so ago. I actually already wrote a post on it – but who says I can only write one post per movie? No one, that’s who. New Year’s is only a small scene in this movie but it actually has a lot of bearing on the plot. Due to one mildly sincere New Year’s resolution, the main character embarks on a misguided attempt to be a better person –and fails to humorous effect. The movie is:

from Doctor Macro

It’s Love I’m After (1937)

Warner Bros.

Director: Archie Mayo

Featuring: Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Eric Blore

Plot in a nutshell:

Sparring lovebirds Basil (Howard) and Joyce (Davis) have as dramatic a relationship offstage as they do onstage. When Joyce announces on New Year’s Eve that she is leaving Basil once and for all, Basil resolves to be a better man in the following year. And when young Henry Grant (Knowles) begs Basil to persuade Henry’s fiancée, Marcia West (de Havilland) to fall out of love with the renowned actor, Basil accepts in a misguided spirit of goodwill. But when Joyce returns to the scene to find Marcia not quite out of love with Basil and Basil not working quite so hard as he’d hoped, things even more topsy-turvy.

Trivia: There’s not a ton about this movie in terms of trivia.

(Wiki) Leslie Howard originally envisioned either Gerturde Lawrence or Ina Clair, both noted for their comedic stage performances, as his leading lady, although they had limited experience in films. Producer Hal B. Wallis had director Archie Mayo meet with Lawrence, who was interested in playing the role, but when Wallis and Howard screened the 1936 British film Men Are Not Gods, they agreed she did not photograph well. The film began production without a leading lady. Then Wallis decided the screwball comedy would be a refreshing change-of-pace for Bette Davis, who had just completed the melodrama That Certain Woman. She initially declined the role of Joyce Arden, feeling the better female role was that of socialite Marcia West. She also resented being asked to accept second billing to Howard.

My thoughts on the film:

I love this movie! I think it’s funny, silly, and surprising. I watched it with my sister once and she pointed out that Leslie Howard was a peculiar choice for an irresistible heartthrob. It’s true that he isn’t the hunkiest actor around – Clark Gable or Errol Flynn would have both been a little more believable. But, I love Leslie Howard. I think he’s very attractive and I love the intensity he pours into his roles. And he’s simply hilarious in his film. As an over-the-top, self-absorbed, philandering ham he is perfect.

Favorite scenes:

I think my favorite scene in the movie is one towards the beginning where Basil and his valet, Digges (Eric Blore), tally up Basil’s “score” for the total year (points added for various charitable works and points deducted for various dalliances). The two actors are very enjoyable together and I love their banter throughout the film. Unfortunately, it’s pretty hard to find clips of the movie. I discovered the entire movie on YouTube and if you can find it, it’s well worth the watch. It’s worth buying, frankly, in my opinion, if you can’t find it online.

Who's Clark Gable?

I watched a delightful movie a little while back and I've been dying to review it so I think I'll include it in my much neglected 100 movies list:

#38 It’s Love I’m After (1937)

The movie stars Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles. The plot is a little confusing, but here goes: Basil Underwood (Leslie Howard) and Joyce Arden (Bette Davis) have procrastinated their marriage often but when Henry Grant (Patric Knowles) arrives and asks Basil to pretend to be a cad to his fiancée, Marcia West (Olivia de Havilland), so as to end her infatuation with him. Basil, in a moment of self-conscious heroism, agrees to help. Naturally, however, Joyce does not agree with him on how heroic his help is.

The performances were fantastic! I’ve always loved Leslie Howard, but have difficulty watching him because he is in so many dramas and I prefer comedy. I find him completely fascinating. He's such an amazing actor and he has this incredible intensity that I just love to watch. If anyone has any other good Leslie Howard films that are my style (you know, light and fun) other than Pygmalion and The Scarlet Pimpernel, please let me know! Anyway, I stumbled upon this movie and only five minutes in, I was smitten. Leslie Howard is side-splitting as a pompous and self-infatuated actor. Bette Davis is adorable. Olivia de Havilland has a flair for playing a madcap heiress and she’s at her comedic best in this one. I adored Eric Blore. He and Leslie Howard were brilliant together. I think Patric Knowles is a grossly underrated actor and he’s great again in this one. I was dying!!

It’s definitely on my wishlist now. Can’t wait to own it.

I tried to look up some trivia but didn't find much, other than the fact that Bette Davis resented being billed second to Leslie Howard (not surprising).

Here is one of my favorite scenes in the movie. It starts at five minutes. Feel free to skip ahead to the scene or treat yourself to the entire movie if you have the time. I intend to buy it because I'd like to reward Warner Bros for selling their archive collection by investing it. Also, the watermark is a big pain.

All of the photos in this post are from Doctor Macro.

Oh, come now, no one really hides in a clock!

Continuing in my count-up!

#27 The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)


In discussing this movie, it really is necessary for me to discuss the book as well. So, I'll give you a brief nutshelling of the plot and then I'll go into further discussion.

The plot is as follows: Sir Percy Blakeney Bart. is the most fashionable fop in London and is adored by everyone except, perhaps, his clever wife, Marguerite. What Marguerite and society do not know, however, is that Percy leads a double life. He is also the elusive hero known only as the Scarlet Pimpernel who has been stumping the Republicans over in France by rescuing French aristocrats from the guillotine. As the Scarlet Pimpernel is known all over for being an ingenious master of disguise, no one even suspects that the foolish Sir Percy could be at all connected.



Now, let me say this: I absolutely adore Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel. She wrote around a dozen sequels to the book and I've kind of eaten them up like literary candy. The one frustrating thing is that there has to be a film adaptation that quite follows the book. Now, I know this is a common complaint and I also know that to fully adapt the book, one would have to make an A&E-type production lasting around 6 hours (which, ironically, has already been done - quite appallingly, I might add). Despite the fact that the writers of the film do not stay wholly faithful to the plot or the characters, this movie is quite wonderful. The dialogue, for one thing, is delightful. There's so much fun word play going on. So many quotable moments. Here is an excellent example. Go to 6:00 to get to the right moment. My favorite scene is at the end of the movie but I don't want to give any spoilers! (You may notice that you can see more of the film here. I highly recommend it!)

Leslie Howard plays Percy to perfection. He has the droop of the eyes, the voice, the mannerisms down to an art. I also really love the intensity he gives Percy, because that's part of the fun. This movie makes me want to watch much more of Leslie Howard but I find that I don't always care for his other films, more's the pity. What makes the book (and the consequent movie(s)) so much fun is the character of Percy. You get a whole bunch of fun aspects rolled into one character. On the one hand, he's a fashion-minded fop, best friends with the Prince of Wales, and always fun at parties; on the other hand, he's a genius, bravely and selflessly sacrificing his safety for the innocent; and then on the other hand, he's a husband who is quietly and passionately in love with his wife. All of these make for a very fun character to read about!

I do recommend it! And when you see it (or if you already have) comment with your favorite line because there are several fun ones. My personal favorite is in the title.