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I cannot offer a normal critical review. I've been a fan of both actors since I first watched the Thin Man series, so all I can say is that my positive expectations were rewarded. There really is a kind of dynamic between them that the camera can capture but not control or impose.
When I wrote the first version of this review (6mar14), I had only watched each movie once; I hadn't noticed many details. For example, I didn't notice any bloopers or goofs. This website, however, remarks on such things: IMDb. I plan to read up next time before watching. [Note: When I first posted this, I put in the link to the other website, but I see that it was removed--even though Amazon owns IMDb. Now I've just written the initials. 9mar2014]
For people like me who were expecting the humor of the Thin Man series, it's important to note that two of the films are not comedies: "Manhattan Melodrama" (MM) and "Evelyn Prentice." The first of these was also the first time for them to act together, according to the slipcover. Both of these films let us see Powell & Loy outside their more familiar comedy roles.
I just re-watched MM and looked more carefully at what is going on. I like these two performers even more, now.
By the time MM movie was made, the word 'melodrama' already had a slightly negative connotation of being an over simplification of life: A completely pure Dudley Do-Right opposes a completely evil Snidely Whiplash. A woman is thrown in, so to speak, as a 'romantic interest'; she, too, must be as pure as the hero. In this movie, we get a similar set up, at least on the surface. Consider the name of Clark Gable & Mickey Roonie's tough-guy character, Blackie. Consider the name of the seemingly dull-witted boy Blackie outwits: Spud. Yet later Blackie hires Spud (played by Nat Pendleton) as his right-hand man.
I mention these points because all through the film there are instances of black/white moral oppositions with a third or fourth person in "gray," who sometimes moves to one or the other color. It seems as if the makers of the film are saying that in life there are in fact opposites as well as those in the middle. Yet, they also seem to be saying that what we think is 'good' sometimes is not so good after all, as when Powell's character Jim Wade must make decisions about Blackie, who runs illegal gambling joints. In short, it occurs to me that the makers of the film--writers, director, producer--might have purposely used the somewhat despised vaudeville title of 'melodrama' to highlight people's core character.
This takes me to Myrna Loy, who plays Eleanor, Blackie's girlfriend, who tires of his gangster lifestyle. As we discover early on, Eleanor is not a pure heroine in the old school variety but a modern hero(ine): a person who reflects on life and makes some tough decisions about what it means to live a good life. Throughout the movie she serves as a foil to both male leads. [I'm trying not to give the film away.]
The next film, "Evelyn Prentice," is also serious drama with black-and-white characters as well as those who move in the gray. As in MM, Powell plays a famous attorney, but Loy, his wife, is the central figure. Loy's character recalls Desdemona in some respects, a credit to the writing as much as the acting.
As for the three comedies, they're fun. The slipcover comment about "I Love You Again" says that, after a hit to the head, boring husband (Powell) becomes "convince[d]" he's a "con man." Watching the film a second time, I'm convinced he may have originally been a con man!
At some point it might be worthwhile to compare the way certain screen couples work against the times in which they live--and the way Hollywood thought they should be shown. Powell & Loy in the 30s vs say Hanks & Ryan in the 90s. (Somebody has probably done this already, and I'm just not aware of it.)
Finally, the more I see work by director W.S. Van Dyke, the more I like it.
[revised 9mar14 mv]
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Reviews with images
Perfect Collection of the Perfect Pairing Powell and Loy are Magic!
Absolutely one of the best Collection put together of Myrna Loy and William Powell. it has it all ! Drama with Manhattan Melodrama, there first pairing, where he play a lawyer making his way up while his street wise friend (Gable) goes the opposite way. and the common thing they have is the love for each other and Loy. Evelyn Prentice is another drama though not as impacting as Manhattan Melodrama it's still good Powell once again plays a lawyer who neglects his wife Loy. Rosalind Russell also star. Then Comes the lighter side of Powell and Loy, with Double Wedding which is so funny as Powell plays a bohemian who gets under Loy's skin and falls in love with her and tries to get her to admit the same. After that is I Love You Again- Powell is an uptight man on a cruise till an accident causes him to loose his memory and remember himself and fall for Loy all over again. Love Crazy, out of all of these films this is the one that will make you laugh the hardest. Powell and Loy are happily married till a miss understanding in the form of an old flame( Gail Patrick) comes back then in order to win her back Powell he pretends to be insane but things start snowball.
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Snippy101Mum
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J. McDonald 🏴
A magical pairing
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