1937 Directed by Mitchell Leisen
J.B. Ball, a rich financier, gets fed up with his free-spending family. He takes his wife's just-bought (very expensive) sable coat and throws it out the window, it lands on poor hard-working girl Mary Smith. But it isn't so easy to just give away something so valuable, as he soon learns.
Jean Arthur Edward Arnold Ray Milland Mary Nash Franklin Pangborn Luis Alberni Barlowe Borland William Demarest Andrew Tombes Esther Dale Harlan Briggs William B. Davidson Nora Cecil Robert Greig Lee Bowman Vernon Dent Marsha Hunt Dennis O'Keefe Stanley Andrews Gertrude Astor Richard Barbee Benny Bartlett Wilson Benge Sidney Bracey Don Brodie Ethel Clayton Dora Clement Lois Clinton Tom Coleman Show All…
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I'm seriously considering converting my Letterboxd page into a Jean Arthur stan account where all I'd do is promote her movies and roast people whose only input is 'Wait, who the hell is this blonde? Jean who?'
Jean Arthur speaks fluent screwball poetry as written by Preston Sturges in “Easy Living.”
In a script dating from before his own directorial career, the seeds of Sturges’ sharp social satire are already evident.
“Living” is a comedy about a down and out depression girl, played by Jean Arthur, who finds herself the accidental owner of a sable fur coat. Sturges’ screenplay about her unwanted - though not unearned - wealth depicts the demanding career that is Consumption. And not the kind the poets died from.
Sturges and director Mitchell Leisen skew the imaginary profession of Rich Person by provoking scenarios around it that are almost (but not quite) as absurd in conceit.
Arthur sells both the satire and the…
i think they should have just allowed jean arthur to single-handedly crash the stock market. like what's the big deal.
“go on, i’ll meet you behind the grapefruit.”
mary finding out she made $9,000 and then hysterically telling johnny she’s going to buy a dog because she’s always wanted one was absolutely adorable i love this movie so much.
There’s something about Jean Arthur that sets her apart from other screwball stars. Whereas they are sly (Myrna Loy), or canny (Rosalind Russell), Arthur is doubting. Regardless of the situation or who she’s talking to, her default mode is suspicion — she may be poor, but she’s been around the block more than once, and knows few people are truly on the level. So it’s: Why are you talking to me this way? Why are you talking to me at all? WHAT IS IT YOU WANT? Even as she doubts those around her, though, she’s resolute in her belief in herself. It doesn’t how many degrees you have, if your math doesn’t match hers, you’re stupid! The combination is unusual and wonderful and,…
If you can watch Easy Living and resist falling head over heels for Jean Arthur, then I’m sorry but we can no longer be friends.
Take this as an example. In one scene, Jean’s hard-working but hard-come by Mary learns that she’s just accidentally come into a sizeable sum of money. After letting out an exasperated “WHAT?” in that high-pitched squeak of hers, the following is her initial reaction: “I’m gonna buy a dog. You know, one of those great big woolly ones with bangs all over it’s face. I know it’ll have fleas, but I don’t care! I’ve wanted one all my life”, before bursting into a bout of happy tears. Give it a whirl if you’re still not…
Sometimes, after a crushingly terrible 4 hour super hero movie, you need something like this.
Witty, well performed, Jean Arthur being the Queen of all things.
What a delightful movie. Great music, lovely comic misunderstandings and all the great word play you could ever want. Thanks to Lara Pop (one of the best follows out there) for the recommendation.
"You don't have to be so angry just because you're stupid!" - Jean Arthur to Edward Arnold and by extension Gamergaters, MRAs, anti-vaccers, mankind, the world, etc.
"A skunk smells the same today as he did in nineteen hundred and six!"
Fed up with his wife's overspending, J.B. Ball (Edward Arnold) throws an exceptionally expensive fur coat off the roof. It lands on working class girl Mary Smith (Jean Arthur). When J.B. lets her keep it, it changes her life. The owner of a failing fancy hotel asks her to stay there to help promote the place, and representatives from all kinds of companies appear out of thin air to offer her free goods. The rub? People assume she's J.B.'s mistress because he let her keep the coat, and she happens to be falling for John Ball Jr. (Ray Milland) without realizing the two Ball men are…
"Wherever there's smoke, there must be... somebody smoking."
It's a classic case of mistaken/misunderstood identity as only Preston Sturges could write and with Mitchell Leisen in the director's chair: Manhattan working-class woman Mary Smith (Jean Arthur) finds herself stumbling into high society when a fur coat falls from the sky onto her head during a bus ride to the office - she's an employee at the Boy's Constant Companion magazine, though not for long once the boss decides that that extravagant sable wrap has marked Mary as a woman of low morals - while banking heir John Ball Jr. (Ray Milland) is so frustrated by the trappings of wealth and perceived laziness that he decides to get back at dear…
Jean Arthur is one of the greatest comediennes to ever grace the screen and I will die on that hill. She's always so hilarious and strong, but also not afraid to be vulnerable and that's such a hard balance to strike in comedy. The only other film where Ray Milland had a major role that I had seen before this was The Lost Weekend, which is patently uncomedic, so I was really impressed by his skill in this screwball. He makes such a perfect comedic romantic lead. This is a lesser-known screwball but quite a lot of fun.
