Protean writer Ben Hecht didn’t have input on all the films that made Golden Age Hollywood golden; it just sometimes seems that way. But did he also invent the Lucille Ball of I LOVE LUCY fame? Maybe so to judge by this neat little domestic comedy, co-written with Charles Lederer. Far better, if less known than MONKEY BUSINESS/’52, which they’d write in a similar vein for Howard Hawks, it’s also far less asinine. (Though don’t try convincing Hawks acolytes.) It’s simply directed by S. Sylvan Simon, getting everything across without going stupid for easy laughs. Franchot Tone, working very well with Ball (especially crawling over her in what’s almost a shared double-bed*), is Edward Everett Horton’s ad man (hats; shave-less shaving cream; hair growth tonic; embalming fluid that turns flesh to glass; an odd line up!). Scattered, inspired and needing his wife’s helping hand Tone knows they’re a great team, but resents the assistance and then watching her get the Lion’s Share of credit. Pretty funny stuff most of the way, with excellent payoffs and a real swing to its pacey delivery. Fun seeing Ball’s character getting her laughs thru overbearing competence rather than overbearing incompetence. But already very recognizable as LUCY. Next year, when MY FAVORITE HUSBAND took her to radio, she’d add that quality and see the rest of the I LOVE LUCY elements fall into place. Give Hecht credit for an assist.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: Lucy’s even closer to her iconic self in MISS GRANT TAKES RICHMOND/’49. OR: see another aspect of Ball in her next release, SORROWFUL JONES/’49. Over at Paramount, she and Bob Hope make Damon Runyon characters for the ages in a film not quite up to them. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2012/03/sorrowful-jones-1949.html
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Our poster gets this wrong (see above), and entirely misses a daringly shared single headboard.
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