Box Set Mondays: Myrna Loy

This is my guest post which is up today at Sophie's wonderful Waitin' On a Sunny Day blog for her series Box Set Mondays. Thanks for letting me guest post!

It's a travesty that Myrna Loy never got her own DVD box set. She was never nominated for an Oscar, hardly any of her movies are even on DVD. This drives her fans - like me - to forever haunt the likes of YouTube and MetaCafe for clips or if we're lucky whole movies from our favourite star. My other favourite - Katharine Hepburn - has had many a boxed set created, and the majority of her films are released for us on DVD. I wish there were more of her films on DVD and I wish that there WERE A BOXED SET OF HER ALONE!!! There is the Thin Man Box set and the William Powell and Myrna Loy boxed set, but why not make one of her own? Surely she - one of the most underrated actresses of the golden age - deserves one, particularly as she's just had a new biography written about her. I remember deforest writing about a time on the TCM cruise when an 80 year old man stood up in the middle of a crowd of 300 and screamed at the head TCM programmer "WHERE IS THE ANN SHERIDAN BOX SET?" and then sat down again. So here is what I think should be in a Myrna Loy box set, some of these aren't even on DVD (TCM, I don't know if you frequent Classic Film Blogs, but please read this... Hint, hint?)

The List: Test Pilot (1938), The Thin Man (1934), The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946), Libeled Lady (1936), Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), Evelyn Prentice (1934)

Test Pilot (1938) Starring Myrna Loy, Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy - Directed by Victor Flemming

Ever since my mum told me she loved this film and I searched out some clips from it I wanted to see this movie. I'd searched and searched for the DVD, but alas, it was no-where to be seen. Test Pilot isn't on DVD.I found it on YouTube and immediately fell in love. Clark Gable is playing a carefree, debonair test pilot self who didn't "give a damn" about women or home life - that is, until he meets Myrna Loy's farm girl character. Spencer Tracy plays Gable's loyal best friend and "manager"... at least he has some common sense! Myrna Loy is adorable in this film. It's one of my favourites of hers.

The Thin Man (1934) Starring Myrna Loy and William Powell, Directed by W.S. Van Dyke.

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This is probably the film that Myrna is best remembered for. The quick witted wife, Nora, of detective Nick Charles. She quips back at him, loves him, teases him and is basically all around awesome. Who could want more in a wife? No-one it seems, because after this, most of Myrna's films had her playing the lead as a wife or devoted girlfriend - prompting the documentary "Myrna Loy: So Nice To Come Home To." You can't really love classic film without having seen at least one of the Thin Man series, and if you are only going to watch one, then this is definitely the best. No sequel could ever quite top it. This is flawless. A great addition to any collection.

The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946) Starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Teresa Wright and Dana Andrews. Directed by William Wyler.

Myrna loy came out of her "retirement" working for the Red Cross to appear in this. It's a very important film and a very important role for her. Here is my previous review of this post-war film that is bound to have anyone in tears.

Libeled Lady (1936) Starring Myrna Loy, William Powell, Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow. Directed by Jack Conway.

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This is one of my all time favourite comedies and films in general. It's wonderful - and I an only really think of The Philadelphia Story that tops it in terms of romantic comedies. Myrna Loy plays a rich society girl who is suing a big-time newspaper for $5,000,000 in a libel suit - after the newspaper had claimed she was a husband grabber. William Powell and Spencer Tracy work to frame her to undermine the credibility of her complaint. William Powell and Myrna Loy pair perfectly in this, the best since their inspired coupling in The Thin Man. There are plenty of cute scenes with Bill Powell in this movie but in my opinion it's not him that leads the show - though I hav to say he's still brilliant. I think that Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow are the best, and their performances stand out for me. Libeled Lady is a great piece of classic cinema that is never boring and always full of life and fun.


Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948). Starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas. Directed by H.C. Potter.

I love this film. It's a great story full of clever observations about a family's need for extra space - and when they get it - they find out that no matter how much space and land they have, they still have the same age-old problem of living together. Cary Grant plays a kind but easily convinced advertising man who follows his dream of having a beautiful family house in Connecticut - even if it means starting right from scratch. This is a super fun film where Myrna Loy again plays a quick witted wife, and it includes a great scene where Myrna Loy goes into great detail describing the colours she wants her house painted.


Evelyn Prentice (1934). Starring Myrna Loy and William Powell. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke.

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Evelyn Prentice is an often forgotten pre-code courtroom thriller. It is by no means a masterpiece but Myrna Loy's performance is one of many that should have at least been nominated for an Oscar. Myrna plays the wife of a successful lawyer who absentmindedly neglects her and their child for his work. When he has a short fling with one of his clients (Rosalind Russel, made up and glamourised beyond recognition in her very first film role) and Myrna finds out, she decides to have tea with a poet/gigolo who had approached her a few nights before. She writes some letters to him that he uses to blackmail her, and she finds herself secretly involved in his murder trial. Her performance is wonderful and the finale courtroom scene killed me. This one's an interesting glimpse into a career she could have had as one of MGM's prime dramatic actresses.

Thanks Sophie for having me guest post on your lovely blog and I hope that the rest of the series goes well :-D! So I hope this has inspired you to go watch some Myrna Loy and I hope that someone reads this and makes this box set (TCM, by the way I am completely happy to be paid in box-sets and lifelong subscriptions to your channel/magazine!)

~Bette

The Thin Man Boxed Set

I've acquired many a boxed set recently and over the years. I recently got for Christmas The Greta Garbo Signature Collection and The Myrna Loy and William Powell boxed set. I adore them to bits. And I Love You Again was hilarious, FYI. I've owned the amazing, wonderful, fantasmagorical, I'm running out of superlatives boxed set of all The Thin Man movies ever made. You can buy it here (UK), and here (US), on Amazon.

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It's a great boxed set. I've recently really gotten quite obsessed with Myrna Loy and her movies, so I'm watching all the movies with her in that I can right now. Best Years Of Our Lives and The Thin Man were the only ones I'd watched her in - and I recently read Dashiell Hammett's novel it was based on, so in August I convinced the family to re-watch it with me. We adored it and the great couple that lead the cast - William Powell and Myrna Loy. I was intrigued by this awesome actress that I'd never really read about or seen before. Well, fast forward from August to January and I've seen 15 Myrna Loy films with several more bookmarked on YouTube and one more to watch on DVD. In August, along with the Hepburn/Tracy Signature Collection, we ordered the complete Tin Man boxed set for a steal on Amazon. The films were directed by a group of directors (mainly W.S. Van Dyke and his son W.S. Van Dyke Jr.) and not all of them were collaborated on with Dashiell Hammett - but we love them all. 

I would recommend this boxed set to anyone. It's a fantastic load of films, and a great look at the couple that should have gotten married, Myrna Loy and William Powell - without shelling out the cash as I did eventually for the TCM Powell and Loy boxed set. All the films are worth the watch and not one of them is a disappointment as a sequel. I do have my preferences, but here's the IMDB plot summary for each and what I thought - so if you are thinking of getting them, then you'll know what you're in for. Or if you're just curious you can take a look :-D

1. The Thin Man (1934)

Nick and Nora Charles, a former detective and his rich, playful wife, investigate a murder case mostly for the fun of it.

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The Thin Man is a magnificent thriller/comedy in all it's pre-code glory. With Myrna Loy and William Powell finally hitting it off in their best loved genre - comedy - they totally embody the roles of playful husband and wife, Nick and Nora charles. After a two film string of melodramas (Manhattan Melodrama and Evelyn Prentice - both great, but not exactly their forte as a pair) MGM finally found out what to do with them. They also introduce the best acting dog ever as their dutiful wire-haired terrier, Asta. It's a great film filled with suspense, comedy, drinking, romance, drinking - did I mention drinking? You can never beat the first film in a series. There isn't anything wrong with this film, and of course it is where the Myrna Loy nose scrunch originated.

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2. After The Thin Man (1936)

Nick investigates the case of a missing man and later a murder that is connected to Nora's family.

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The Charles duo are back and this time with the addition of James Stewart who plays Nora's sister's ex-boyfriend driven half mad by revenge. This is probably technically the next best film after the first in terms of suspense and film craftsmanship. It's still a lot of fun and Nick and Nora are yet again wonderful and totally fun and in love just as they were in the first. This one's a great film on it's own, even if you haven't seen all the others in the set - which I do recommend watching in order.

3. Another Thin Man (1939)

An explosives manufacturer suspects a young man is out to kill him. He calls in Nick and Nora (with new baby) to sort things out.

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And something makes three! At the end of the last film, Nick sees nora knitting a baby sock and he looks at her questioningly and she just replies, "And you call yourself a detective." Even with the addition of a baby, this film stands out to me as perhaps one of the two slightly weaker films in the set. This one suffers slightly from a contrived and weak plot, but obviously they are all worth the watch because of Nick and Nora and of course Asta who does a backflip in this film. Also, William Powell plays with a toy panda in this one. Does it get any better?

4. Shadow Of The Thin Man (1941)

Nick and Nora are at their wise-cracking best as they investigate murder and racketeering at a local race-track.

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I have to say that this is my favourite of the films apart from the first of course. It's super fun and features one of the best plots in the set. There's lots of interaction with little Nicky who is more and more like his father every day. Nick reads him "fairy tales" about horses he's going to bet on, as Nora finds out when little Nicky comes back and tells her Daddy's newest story: "Son Of A Gun was forty to one!" It's adorable and the murder seems a lot more riveting and thrilling in this one than the previous one. That's a relief and this film is a joy to watch - as I say It's certainly my personal favourite :-D

5. The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)

Nick and Nora go on holiday to see Nick's parents, and end up involved in a murder - again.

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So this one isn't as racy as the others, but what can you expect! The production code is in full swing so no more drinking 17 Martinis a day, it's onto apple cider. Also - in the book Nick is meant to be Greek. I've never seen a less Geek family, but oh well - we'll roll with it. There's plenty of cute stuff in this film and I love the vibe of Nora trying to make Nick's parents appreciate his illustrious career as a detective. Nick's parents are very stuck up so it's great fun to see them being shocked by Nick and Nora's bohemian lifestyle. Also, this is one of Myrna Loy's first films back after giving up the movies to work with the Red Cross. She was a wonderful lady.

6. Song Of The Thin Man (1947)

Nick, Nora, and Nick Jr. investigate the murder of a band leader in New York.

~IMDB

The Thin Man series ends with a bang for another great cosmopolitan mystery involving a band leader and a shady Gloria Grahame as a singer (anything new there?). I enjoyed this one a lot. There's a hilarious scene in a hay-filled train car where one of the Charles's friends says "So you always have to sit in this car because of the M-U-T-T?" and Asta growls loudly at the man as soon as he says "M-U-T-T." Love it. This is certainly not a disappointment for Thin Man Films. They leave on a high point.

There you go! That's my thoughts on the set anyhow. As for the boxing and look of it I'd say it's great. I got the version that has two DVD cases and a few DVDs in each case - but I believe it's available with all six discs in individual covers. Hope you enjoyed it!

~Bette

Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman: The Ship That Never Left The Dock

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There was a post floating around on Tumblr a while ago that had a picture of Cary and Ingrid and the caption: "The Ship That Never Left The Dock". I don't know if you ever use it or see it used, but on the web, it's customary to tag or label your favourite of/on screen couples with OTP (one true pairing) or I Ship These Two (I ship them together, I put them together even though their roles or life don't mirror your views.) This made me think. I love Kate and Spence and The Powells, but they were either together or always played Mr and Mrs. I completely love Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman together. They're lovely and romantic together and whenever I watch them on screen, I find it hard to deal with that they were never married with many children. Is that weird?

They certainly show their both dramatic and romantic best in Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece (and my favourite), Notorious (1946). Their pairing was utter genius from a genius director. From the moment they first look at each other you know that that's it - their a match made in heaven. The whole way through the film even when they aren't a "couple" they are always somehow romantically joined. You don't get that often or easily - they were a near perfect match. Fast-forward about 10 years and you've got the delightful rom-com Indiscreet (1958), which I believe Cary Grant claimed to be his favourite movie.

Indiscreet is one of my all-time favourites. I can't pick any holes or faults with it - it's pretty flawless. It's one of those films that when you can't decide what to watch you just stick this on and enjoy it as if you've never watched it before. I first watched it with my mum as an antidote to the grim yet mesmerising Cabaret and we laughed and enjoyed it so much we showed it to my little sister that day and she loved it, too. They prove in this that they can not only do the dramatic together - but the comedy too. Why didn't more directors cast them together?

I suppose it was probably because Cary was always being paired with the likes of Irene Dunne and his other partner (I happen to adore this pair almost as much as the Ingrid one), Katharine Hepburn. Ingrid was often galavanting off in Italy or  making other movies without a main plot being love. It's a true shame they never made more movies together - I adore them. I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP.

~Bette

Be My Valentine...

I made this little GIF with my OTP Kate Hepburn and Spencer Tract because as you probably all know, today's the 14th of February... Valentines Day! I think these two are great. You have to read Kate's autobiography or watch "Katharine Hepburn, Me: A Self Portrait" to fully understand how romantic and wonderful their love story was. Happy Valentines! If you want to use this as an e-card or blog graphic or something then that's great! Just link back please, stealing ain't dandy like sugar candy. I'm probably a little late with this for Valentines Day... oh well!!!

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If you're planning on watching a movie tonight, I'd recommend either Notorious (Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman) or Random Harvest (Greer Garson and Ronald Colman)... They're the two most romantic films ever - in my opinion. Me? I actually just curled up on the sofa with Pillow Talk - I love me some Doris Day.

~Bette