MYRNA LOY AND WILLIAM POWELL COLLECTION (MGM 1934-1941) TCM/Warner Home Video

In 1936’s The Great Ziegfeld, William Powell confesses to a beguiling Myrna Loy that there is “nothing I can give you except my love” to which Loy astutely replies “That isn’t enough. I’d expect part of your ambition, half of your trouble, two-thirds of your worries and all of your respect.” But what Powell and Loy gave each other, beyond a lucrative on-screen pairing that has since withstood the passage of time, and, as one of Hollywood’s most beloved ‘couples’, goes well beyond their mutual admiration shared off camera. Indeed, when, in 1935, Loy and Clark Gable were crowned ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ of the movies by Look Magazine, Loy received her most joyfully glib tribute from Powell, who addressed a card with a box sent to her on the day after the announcement that read from ‘your husband, William – the fourth’. Opening the box, expecting long-stemmed roses, Loy instead found a cacophony of old, dirty grapes. “It was from Bill,” Loy later reasoned, “…he had come in fourth on the list from voters and these were, of course, sour grapes!”  Powell and Loy were never in love – at least, not once the cameras stopped rolling.  By the time they appeared together in 1934’s iconic, The Thin Man, and then, Evelyn Prentice, the pair had already been kicking around Hollywood for more than a few years; he, as the elegant charmer, and she as the lanky sexpot with a wicked jaw. Together, they made movie magic as few screen teams of any generation have since; his effortless nonchalance and her sassy resolve, affecting and palpable.    

Oldsters will say there has never been another teaming like William Powell and Myrna Loy – and, of course, they would be quite right. Never before in film history, had two so separately successful and accomplished talents so beautifully meshed.  And, while some of Hollywood’s better-known couplings frequently resented their names being linked together, Powell and Loy instead took everything in stride – mindful that together, they were considered twice as good, with enough box office cache to conquer anything. It’s the palpable quality in their on-screen chemistry that makes us buy into their husband/wife act, built on an obviously solid foundation of mutual respect and understanding for each other’s much-enjoyed camaraderie and craft. Never to find their way to the altar in real life, in ‘reel life’ Powell and Loy remain fondly ensconced in the hearts of their fans as everyone’s favorite sleuthing duo – Nick and Nora Charles from MGM’s popular Thin Man franchise. Given the overwhelming success of that series, is it any wonder MGM sought to exploit their winning combination elsewhere? Cumulatively, they made 14-films together – 13 of which are presently available on DVD – 5, in this TCM/Warner Home Video Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection.

This set effectively brings together the couple’s most celebrated outings apart from their Ziegfeld opus magnum and Nick and Nora adventures, and, begins with their very first movie: Manhattan Melodrama (1934). Unusual for the pair, they are not married at the beginning of this one. Loy is Eleanor Packer, a fast-talking, wry moll to Clark Gable’s carefree racketeer, Blackie Gallagher. Eleanor is Blackie’s gal, preaching restraint and prudence for getting off the fast track to nowhere – a cause not embraced by her paramour. In mid-stride, Eleanor switches her romantic interests to Blackie’s boyhood chum, James Wade (Powell), a self-made man who becomes New York’s District Attorney and thereafter pledges to end organized crime in the city. The wrinkle in the story occurs when Blackie murders rival racketeer, Manny Arnold (Noel Madison) and accidentally leaves James’ coat (loaned to Eleanor after their first date) behind. Wade thinks he has the evidence required to arrest his old friend. But then Blackie’s stooge, Spud (Nate Pendelton) informs his boss that he has had an exact copy of Wade’s coat made for a bait and switch. Oliver Garrett’s screenplay may seem dated and cliché now, but in 1934 it was cutting edge – enough to earn an Oscar as Best Screenplay. In retrospect, the serious undercurrent of this story slightly interferes with the overall enjoyment of seeing Powell and Loy together for the first time – primarily because everyone is working against type. Gable plays the villain of the piece. Powell and Loy are not a couple yet, while Asta isn’t even an afterthought. In reality, none of the film’s stars had yet to create their iconic public personas.

Next up is Evelyn Prentice (1934) – a superior thriller, with Loy cast as the eponymous spouse, loveless and heartbroken. Her husband, attorney John (Powell) is a notorious womanizer whose latest fling involved Nancy Harrison (Rosalind Russell) – a client accused of murder. Jilted and in emotional distress, Evelyn takes up with writer, Lawrence Kennard (Harvey Stephens). But the affair turns sour when Evelyn discovers her lover will stop at nothing to extort money. Panicked at the thought of surrendering her cushy lifestyle, Evelyn shoots Larry and runs away – realizing, hours later, she has, in fact, killed him – and that another woman, Judith Wilson (Isabel Jewell) has been accused of the crime. To assuage her guilt, Evelyn encourages John to take the case, hoping his prowess in the court room will earn Judith an acquittal. But the facts are stacked against Judith and, as the mood of the trial grows more ominous and dire, Evelyn finds herself considering her own confession to the crime. Based on W.E. Woodward’s novel, Evelyn Prentice is an affecting melodrama, drawing us into troubled heroine’s growing angst; its ‘crime doesn’t pay’ morality play, neatly concealed behind stellar performances from all concerned.

The third film in this collection is also the first opportunity we get to experience Powell and Loy doing what they did best – romantic comedy. Double Wedding (1937) is a riotous catered affair; all about Waldo Beaver (John Beal) – engaged to the long-suffering, Irene Agnew (Florence Rice) for four years while residing at the home of her sister, Margit (Myrna Loy). Waldo’s a bit of a willy-nilly – a fact that does not sit well with Irene who desperately wants a he-man by her side. To shake her fiancée from his complacency, Irene professes grand amour for Bohemian artist, Charlie Lodge (Powell). Naturally, Margit will have none of it. She is determined to see her sister’s happiness neatly tied up with the more affluent Waldo – whom she suspects is genuinely in love with her sister. Confronting Charlie about Irene’s interests, Margit discovers a new wrinkle. She too seems to be falling in love with him and this – inevitably (though not predictably) leads to a ‘double wedding.’ As Charlie harbors the same affections for Margit, he sets about a new task, to transform Waldo into a man Irene can be proud to call her own. Delightful, wacky and charming, Double Wedding is a spirited comedy transcribed for the screen by Jo Swerling from a play by Fernec Molnar. It sparkles with vintage kitsch and coo – just the sort of good-time rom/com in desperately short supply these days.

Next up is the buoyant – often poignant - comedy of errors, I Love You Again (1940). Powell is boring businessman, Lawrence Carey. While on a cruise with his old friend, Doc Ryan (Frank McHugh) he whacks his head, develops acute amnesia, and, is transformed into mean-spirited swindler, George Carey. That would be enough of a premise for one Powell/Loy caper. But the plot only thickens from there. Faking his identity and milking it for all its worth, George pretends to be Lawrence for the sake of his friends and family. The comedic coup de grace occurs when George realizes he is deeply in love (or, at least, lust) with his own wife, Kay (Loy) on the eve she is set to divorce him for Duke Sheldon (Edmund Lowe). W.S. Van Dyke – who directed most of Powell/Loy’s Thin Man outings is in rare form here, working out the misdirection and merriment from a stellar screenplay by Charles Lederer, Harry Kurnitz and George Oppenheimer. Witty banter and a series of convoluted plot twists make I Love You Again a sparkling – if underrated – gem in the Powell/Loy canon.

And last, though certainly not least, there is the delightfully unhinged, Love Crazy (1941); an absurdly premised screwball that never fails to generate the hearty laugh. Powell and Loy are cast as idyllically marrieds, Steve and Susan Ireland. The couple live in a fool’s paradise until a note of suspicion is cast on Steve’s fidelity by busybody, Mrs. Cooper (Florence Bates) – a seemingly well-intended indictment, especially when Susan catches Steve in a completely harmless – though, on the surface, compromising position with their neighbor’s wife, Isobel Grayson (Gail Patrick). To halt Susan’s divorce proceedings, Steve fakes insanity – a ploy that backfires when the judge hearing the case decides Steve is crazy and should be relegated to a mental institution for life! The William Ludwig, David Hurtz, Charles Lederer screenplay plays fast and loose with mental illness (arguably, never a laughing matter), but populates the scenery with such a delightful bunch of oddities, that even most die-hard cynics will not be able to help but enjoy this hysterical outing.

The DVD transfers on these B&W films are, on the whole, quite solid – though not without a few flaws worth mentioning. Uniformly, the gray scale is impeccably rendered with a grain looking indigenous to its source and a minimum of age-related artifacts. Contrast is bang-on accurate, except on Manhattan Melodrama where it appears only slightly below average, though nothing that will disappoint. Some of the shots scattered throughout each of these transfers appear slightly softer than anticipated.  Evelyn Prentice, has a particularly hazy look that I do not believe is a part of Charles G. Clarke’s original cinematography, but rather, owing to less than stellar archived elements that may not even be derived from first-generation materials. However, these are minor quibbling on an otherwise completely acceptable transfer. The sharpest transfers in the bunch are I Love You Again and Love Crazy. Alas, each is plagued by edge enhancement, aliasing and shimmering of fine details. Love Crazy in particular, suffers from edge effects that are distracting. The audio on all is Dolby Digital 1.0 mono. Again, Manhattan Melodrama represents the weakest installment, with a slightly muffled characteristic. For the rest, they sound clear, if unremarkable, but probably as they did when theatrically released. Extras are limited to audio only radio broadcasts, cartoons, short subjects and theatrical trailers. For sheer entertainment value, this is a marvelous collection that should be added to everyone’s home library. One simply wishes Warner Home Video had taken slightly more care in transferring these movies to DVD, minus the aforementioned digital anomalies. One would also sincerely hope to find these eventually on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive.

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

Manhattan Melodrama 3.5

Evelyn Prentice 4

Double Wedding 4

I Love You Again 3.5

Love Crazy 4

VIDEO/AUDIO

Manhattan Melodrama 3

Evelyn Prentice 3.5

Double Wedding 3.5

I Love You Again 4

Love Crazy 2.5

EXTRAS

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