... and MGM was normally not that good with that genre, but with William Powell and Myrna Loy they always succeeded.
Steve (William Powell) and Susan Ireland (Myrna Loy) are set to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary when everything that could go wrong does, and a series of misunderstandings lead to Susan wanting a divorce. Steve will stop at nothing to get her back, even if it means pretending to be crazy to stall the divorce proceedings. Susan doesn't buy his act for a moment and decides if her life is going to be put on hold that Steve would be better off in a mental hospital.
This is a real showcase for Powell, who gets to run the gamut of suave to silly, even going so far as to shave off his signature mustache to appear in drag. He and Loy have their usual excellent chemistry, and while her role is less showy than his, she's still memorable. Jack Carson and Florence Bates are both good at being unlikable, and they exploit that here, with Bates as Steve's meddlesome mother in law and Carson as a vain lug whose preferred form of exercise is bare chested archery. Sidney Blackmer is a lawyer with a dry sense of humor and comic zingers are sprinkled generously throughout the cast. Sara Haden takes time off from playing Andy Hardy's maiden aunt to portray a kleptomaniac at a mental hospital.
It's odd seeing Gail Patrick as the perceived "other woman" and Powell's old girlfriend who still has a thing for him just five years after she played a rich girl who had it in for Powell's character in My Man Godfrey. But, you know, her character had a thing for Powell's character in that film too.
The first and last thirds of the film (basically the parts that take place at Powell/Loy's apt.) are inspired, zany stuff that at times equal and even exceed the best of the Marx Brothers. Even if some of the situations stretch credulity, the movie is still funny.
Steve (William Powell) and Susan Ireland (Myrna Loy) are set to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary when everything that could go wrong does, and a series of misunderstandings lead to Susan wanting a divorce. Steve will stop at nothing to get her back, even if it means pretending to be crazy to stall the divorce proceedings. Susan doesn't buy his act for a moment and decides if her life is going to be put on hold that Steve would be better off in a mental hospital.
This is a real showcase for Powell, who gets to run the gamut of suave to silly, even going so far as to shave off his signature mustache to appear in drag. He and Loy have their usual excellent chemistry, and while her role is less showy than his, she's still memorable. Jack Carson and Florence Bates are both good at being unlikable, and they exploit that here, with Bates as Steve's meddlesome mother in law and Carson as a vain lug whose preferred form of exercise is bare chested archery. Sidney Blackmer is a lawyer with a dry sense of humor and comic zingers are sprinkled generously throughout the cast. Sara Haden takes time off from playing Andy Hardy's maiden aunt to portray a kleptomaniac at a mental hospital.
It's odd seeing Gail Patrick as the perceived "other woman" and Powell's old girlfriend who still has a thing for him just five years after she played a rich girl who had it in for Powell's character in My Man Godfrey. But, you know, her character had a thing for Powell's character in that film too.
The first and last thirds of the film (basically the parts that take place at Powell/Loy's apt.) are inspired, zany stuff that at times equal and even exceed the best of the Marx Brothers. Even if some of the situations stretch credulity, the movie is still funny.