Powell, Loy in 5 treasures
DVD set features duo in films other than 'Thin Man'
But they were also teamed for seven other pictures (and Loy did a cameo in Powell's "The Senator Was Indiscreet"). And now five of those seven are packaged together in a new box set released this week. (The missing titles are "Libeled Lady" and "The Great Ziegfeld," which have long been available individually on DVD.)
"WILLIAM POWELL AND MYRNA LOY COLLECTION" (Warner, 1934-41, b/w, five discs, $49.92). According to Warner Home Video, the "Thin Man" DVD set of six movies starring Powell and Loy has become its best-selling classic series, having surpassed the Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers titles.
And if you watch these films, you'll see why people enjoyed and continue to enjoy their work together. Loy and Powell have fabulous chemistry and both are excellent actors, equally capable in serious or comic vehicles.
"Manhattan Melodrama" (1934) is, as the title suggests, one of their more serious collaborations and it marks the first time Loy and Powell worked together both billed below Clark Gable. This one trots out the old saw about boyhood friends taking separate paths one becoming a crook and the other a lawyer (or priest, or cop ... fill in the blank). Here, Gable becomes a racketeer and Powell is the district attorney on track to become governor; Loy is the woman they both love. OK, it's a hokey plot but as played by these experts and a bevy of seasoned character actors in support it's great fun. (This is the movie John Dillinger saw just before exiting a Chicago theater, where he was gunned down.)
"Double Wedding" (1937) is a farce with bohemian Powell upsetting control-freak Loy's plans for her sister's wedding. The script isn't as strong as the other two comedies here, but Powell is a riot, and, of course, he and Loy are great when they're sparring.
"I Love You Again" (1940) is the best film in this set, a riotous comedy about a dull businessman (Powell) who doesn't realize he's been suffering from amnesia for years. A conk on the head causes him to suddenly revert to his former self a wily con artist. The one hitch is his wife (Loy), who wants a divorce. Well-written and well-played by a game cast. The young scout who "discovers" oil is Carl Switzer, "Alfalfa" in the "Our Gang" comedies.
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For more about Powell (and Loy), see my book William Powell: The Life...
Roger Bryant | Aug. 10, 2007 at 9:44 a.m.
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