Tonight's Movie: Easy to Love (1934)

EASY TO LOVE (1934) is a delightful pre-Code bedroom farce, with charming Genevieve Tobin heading a terrific cast.

This short 61-minute comedy is in the style of a pair of Tobin's later films, THE GOOSE AND THE GANDER (1934) and SNOWED UNDER (1936). They were all made for Warner Bros. and accomplish something that's just not done in the movie business anymore, spinning a funny romantic yarn in about an hour and then calling it quits.

Tobin plays Carol, who as the movie opens is frustrated by her husband John's (Adolphe Menjou) lack of romantic interest; she laments that her marriage has gone from a double bed to twin beds to separate bedrooms.

Carol visits their doctor (William B. Davidson) for advice, thinking John is tired out from playing too much polo, but when she realizes he's not actually spending his afternoons at the polo grounds she hires a private detective (Frank McHugh). Lo and behold, John is keeping company with Carol's best friend, Charlotte (Mary Astor)!

Carol and John's friend Eric (Edward Everett Horton) has long carried a torch for Carol, and she hatches a plan for the two of them to stop by Charlotte's apartment while John is there. As John hides in a closet, he fumes while listening to Carol carry on about carrying on with Eric.

Of course, a story like this could be a total melodrama, and Tobin does have a couple of poignant moments coping with her husband's infidelity, but it's mostly played for laughs. The movie builds to a very funny conclusion, with all four leads characters present in a hotel room while a justice of the peace (Guy Kibbee) presides over the "ax wedding" of Carol and John's daughter Janet (Patricia Ellis) and her boyfriend (Paul Kaye). (The justice of the peace quips "I've had a lot of shotgun weddings, but this is the first fire ax wedding I've ever officiated at!") As the end credits rolled I had a big smile on my face.

The cast also includes the wonderful Robert Greig as Carol and John's butler and Hobart Cavanaugh as a desk clerk; Grieg's character is sweetly solicitous of his employers, and Cavanaugh has a great line.

EASY TO LOVE was directed by William Keighley, who married Tobin just a few years later. They were married from 1938 until his passing in 1984.

The script was by Carl Erickson and Manuel Seff, based on a play by Erickson and David Boehm. Although there are a fairly limited number of sets, the movie manages to escape the feeling of being a filmed play; perhaps the energetic cast and brisk pacing contribute to the cinematic feel. For those who may wonder, this film has no connection to the 1953 Esther Williams film which has the same title.

The movie was filmed by Ernest Haller. Tobin and Astor's gowns were designed by Orry-Kelly.

EASY TO LOVE is available from the Warner Archive. It's a nice print with good sound.