{"id":38076,"date":"2016-10-28T09:22:52","date_gmt":"2016-10-28T16:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38076"},"modified":"2021-01-18T01:35:29","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T08:35:29","slug":"easy-living-1937","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38076","title":{"rendered":"Easy Living (1937)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You&#8217;re a sight for an eyesore!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Poster-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-38077\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Poster-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Poster-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Poster.jpg 473w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA millionaire (Edward Arnold) upset that his wife (Mary Nash) has purchased yet another expensive fur coat drops it from his building, where it lands on the head of a woman (Jean Arthur) riding to work on a double-decker bus. Arthur quickly finds herself the center of attention by a clothes designer (Franklin Pangborn) and hotelier (Luis Alberni) who assume she is Arnold&#8217;s mistress, and are eager to use her as a marketing pawn. Meanwhile, Arnold&#8217;s son (Ray Milland) &#8212; attempting to earn his own money by working at an <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Automat\">automat<\/a> &#8212; meets Arthur and the two fall in love, not realizing each other&#8217;s true social status.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Cross-Class Romance<\/li>\n<li>Edward Arnold Films<\/li>\n<li>Jean Arthur Films<\/li>\n<li>Millionaires<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Mitchell Leisen Films<\/li>\n<li>Preston Sturges Films<\/li>\n<li>Ray Milland Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPreston Sturges scripted this madcap screwball comedy predicated entirely on mistaken identities, with characters making countless assumptions while literally shoving a penniless young woman into wealth and comfort she never asked for (what a dream for Depression-era audiences!). Arthur is as appealing as always (I especially enjoy the scene where she carefully covers her ceramic piggy bank&#8217;s eyes with a tissue before smashing it), and she&#8217;s surrounded by a game cast who take full advantage of the absurd comedic potential &#8212; most notably Pangborn and Alberni as men whose livelihood revolves around catering to the uber-wealthy. Unfortunately, director Mitchell Leisen keeps the pace a little too frenetic, mostly showing non-stop chaos &#8212; including plenty of (too much?) physical comedy (characters trip and fall constantly), repeated malapropisms by Alberni (see quote above) and <em>a lot<\/em> of shouting, especially in the final third. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jean Arthur as Mary Smith<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Arthur.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Arthur.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"542\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Arthur.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Arthur-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Arthur-300x226.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Arthur2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Arthur2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"542\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38085\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Arthur2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Arthur2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Arthur2-300x226.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Franklin Pangborn as Van Buren<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Pangborn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Pangborn.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"542\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38081\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Pangborn.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Pangborn-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Pangborn-300x226.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Pangborn2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Pangborn2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"542\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38082\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Pangborn2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Pangborn2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Pangborn2-300x226.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Memorable sets<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Sets2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Sets2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"542\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38079\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Sets2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Sets2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Sets2-300x226.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Sets1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Sets1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"542\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38083\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Sets1.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Sets1-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Easy-Living-Sets1-300x226.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Sturges&#8217; witty, madcap script\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s recommended for fans of Sturges and\/or Arthur. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0028816\/?\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/73851\/easy-living#articles-reviews?articleId=194028\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2574easy.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/easy-living\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re a sight for an eyesore!&#8221; Synopsis: A millionaire (Edward Arnold) upset that his wife (Mary Nash) has purchased yet another expensive fur coat drops it from his building, where it lands on the head of a woman (Jean Arthur) riding to work on a double-decker bus. Arthur quickly finds herself the center of attention by a clothes designer (Franklin Pangborn) and hotelier (Luis Alberni) who assume she is Arnold&#8217;s mistress, and are eager to use her as a marketing&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=38076\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38076"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64133,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38076\/revisions\/64133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}