Double Wedding by Richard Thorpe (1937)
28 July 2008A romantic comedy with William Powell and Myrna Loy that played with my heart strings. There on screen chemistry just could not be beat, and I love in this film seeing her realize she loves him, but giving him up to her sister, that was so heartbreaking, and yet the film ends in absolute silliness to make up for it. A really fun film.
Irene Agnew (Florence Rice) and her meek fiance Waldo Beaver (John Beal) are reading a scene from a script written by Charlie Lodge (William Powell) an artist and a bit of a bohemian, who lives in a trailer in an empty lot next to an Italian restaurant. Soon they all plan on going to Hollywood to get Charlie’s script made, but there is one problem, Margit (Myrna Loy) Irene’s domineering sister. Margit is disturbed when her butler Keough (Sidney Toler) an ex cop reports that the couple didn’t come in until the morning, and were out with Charlie Lodge. Things get worse when Irene decides to test her fiance who was chosen for her by her mother and Margit, and tell him and Margit that in fact she is now in love with Charlie. So Margit goes down to give Charlie as piece of her mind, and Charlie quickly picks up on what is going on, but realizes right away that he in fact likes Margit, and Margit quickly starts having feelings for this man that is so unlike her.
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…
Margit has her butler Keough start to follow Charlie, and plans to try and get Irene back with Waldo. She also makes a deal with Charlie to let him paint her, in exchange for him giving up Irene.
Charlie meanwhile is trying to spend all his time with Margit and make her totally fall in love with him, as well as work on Waldo and make him act like a man and stand up for the women he loves, since that is all that Margit really wants anyway.
Keough tells Margit that Charlie’s wife is in town, and Margit’s financial backer Mrs. Kensington-Bly (Jessie Ralph) turns out to be good friends with Charlie from Paris, when he was her guide. Margit is furious about the wife, who is in fact his ex-wife, and ends up going to see her. Margit learns that Charlie left his ex because she would not start over and give up her money, which she couldn’t do, but she still misses him.
Charlie then starts telling everyone that he is getting married at 3, some he tells them Margit, but most he tells Irene, and Margit finally gives up and agrees to go to the wedding. Unfortunately it takes Waldo longer to buck up and get drunk and decide to stop the wedding than they hoped, and finally Charlie has to stop it, and tell Margit he never loved Irene, but loves Margit, and she says, but she loves him. In the chaos, Waldo comes and takes Irene away, and the trailer starts going, and chaos ensues, and Charlie and Margit both get knocked out!
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Silly fun!
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