Tonight's Movie: Woman Chases Man (1937) - A Warner Archive DVD Review

WOMAN CHASES MAN (1937) is a diverting screwball comedy just released on DVD by the Warner Archive.

The film reunites regular '30s costars Joel McCrea and Miriam Hopkins. While not as much fun as their earlier romantic comedy THE RICHEST GIRL IN THE WORLD (1934), released by the Warner Archive about a year ago, WOMAN CHASES MAN is still lighthearted fun.

Hopkins plays Virginia, a starving architect who teams with a former millionaire B.J. (Charles Winninger) to convince the man's wealthy, very sensible son Kenneth (Joel McCrea) they should go into business.

While she's at it, Virginia saves Kenneth from a golddigger (Leona Maricle), who wants to marry Kenneth so she can afford to continue her secret romance with Henri (Erik Rhodes).

Broderick Crawford and Ella Logan play friends Virginia recruits to serve as butler and maid. With no experience, things are a little crazy as they serve Kenneth and his friends; Kenneth has no idea his father is preparing the food they serve on a spit in the backyard!

Crawford and Logan are fun in their parts; a decade later Logan starred in the original Broadway cast of FINIAN'S RAINBOW, and 12 years on Crawford would win an Oscar for ALL THE KING'S MEN (1949). Here they're amusing in supporting roles as the addlepated household service staff.

I last saw and liked this film a decade ago; it might have seemed a bit flimsier this time around, but I've got a soft spot for any movie with Joel McCrea and crazy Depression-era goings-on among the rich! The movie speeds by in just 71 minutes.

WOMAN CHASES MAN was directed by John G. Blystone. It was filmed in black and white by Gregg Toland. The story and script had input from many sources, with IMDb noting the unconfirmed dialogue input of Ben Hecht and Dorothy Parker, among others.

The DVD is a good print. There are no extras on the disc.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this DVD. Warner Archive releases are MOD (manufactured on demand) and may be ordered from the Warner Archive Collection Store at Amazon or from other online retailers.