It's Love I'm After

The plot of "It's Love I'm After", Archie Mayo's 1937 film, is a fairly simple one. A famed Shakespearean actor, Basil Underwood (Howard) is set to marry his longtime co-star Joyce (Davis) after a tumultuous courtship. The night he proposes to Joyce (again – this has occurred several times before) a stranger named Marcia (de Havilland) visits his dressing room, professing her love for him, telling him that she has seen all of his work, etc. He finds this intriguing and charming, but on his way to elope with Joyce, Marcia's fiancée Henry (Knowles) comes to visit Basil, asking for his help in curing Marcia's obsession. The two concoct a plan wherein Basil will go to Marcia's house, where her family is throwing a weekend party for guests, and act like a complete ass so that her affection for him will wane, and she will run back into Henry's arms. Basil embarks on his plans with his trusty valet Digges (Blore) with Joyce following close behind to get to the bottom of why she has been ditched – again.

The entire reason why I wanted to watch this film is because I had never seen it, and it features two of my favorite actresses of all time. And while de Havilland and Davis were characteristically wonderful (particularly de Havilland, who was positively luminous in this fairly early role), it was two of the male leads, Howard and Blore, who were the most delightful and humorous. Howard, probably best known as the weak Ashley from "Gone with the Wind", is absolutely hilarious in his role as a self-important, over-dramatic, yet earnest actor. I was often reminded of Rex Harrison, particularly of his performance in the sublime film "Unfaithfully Yours". The combination of intelligence, rapier wit and at times completely moronic behavior was a huge winner in this film. This is the first film I've seen Eric Blore act in, but his role of Digges was another hilarious inspiration. His seemingly stuffy (veddy British) demeanor was in complete conflict with the downright ridiculous situations he willingly participated in. The two were wonderful together, and it looked like they were having a great time doing this film.

Director Archie Mayo has directed films as widely diverse as "The Petrified Forest" (Humphrey Bogart) and "A Night in Casablanca" (The Marx Bros.), but it is clear that he has a true gift for comedic direction. The pacing of "It's Love I'm After" was very quick and the dialogue was whip-smart. I enjoyed this film a lot more than I ever expected to, and since it's one that seems to go under the radar often, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic comedy. "It's Love I'm After" gets a very emphatic 8/10 from me.

--Shelly

It's Love I'm After (Archie Mayo, 1937) is just a delight, an incredibly well-written screwball comedy that keeps the expertly-crafted witticisms flying thick and fast. Given the wrong material or the wrong direction, Leslie Howard could appear unbearably smug, but here he gets the role of a lifetime - and makes the most of it. He's a conceited ham, with two eyes for the ladies, who spends most of his time off-stage (and some of it on) warring with thespian girlfriend Bette Davis. Resolving one day to turn over not just a new leaf, but a whole book of them, he's forced to play the last word in unthinking bounders to disillusion the fiancée (Olivia de Havilland) of an old friend's son. It's a great set up: a reformed character having to appear even more reprehensible than before in order to do the decent thing, and it's developed in consistently surprising, imaginative ways.

And then there's the cast. Howard is flawless as the conceited, confused, compromised, increasingly desperate cad - who has more than a little of John Barrymore about him - with Davis giving her best comedic performance as his long-suffering lover, who packs an explosive temper. De Havilland is perfectly cast, both cloying and appealing as the starstruck girl who'll excuse anything her rambunctious idol does, while Eric Blore excels as Howard's valet and co-conspirator. Blore, one of the great supporting comics, is great in everything, but I've never seen him as funny as here. Displaying his customary lack of vanity and willingness to do anything for a laugh, he spends most of one scene making ridiculous bird noises and another displacing his silly toupee. Blore also gets the best line of the film, responding to Bonnie Granville's cry of "I know something you don't know" with one of the funniest, most petulant one-liners I've ever heard.

Drawing on Shakespeare to gets both its pathos and its laughs, in the vein of To Be or Not to Be and Withnail & I, It's Love I'm After is streets ahead of most other golden era comedies: intelligent, romantic and uproariously funny, eliciting the particular buzz that comes with watching something that's clearly very special.

Why this comedy is unremembered is a mystery to me. It's a witty, fast-paced film, all of the stars give good, funny performances and was critically applauded in its time. Howard and Davis, better known for Of Human Bondage and The Pertrified Forest show largely untapped comic talents; in Bondage and Forest, one often outshines the other, but in this film, they seem to go way over the top trying to outdo each other. Of course that's perfect for this movie and their characters, a hammy, battling stage couple who get along even less after De Havilland comes into the picture. Eric Blore provides priceless comic support. If you're a fan of screwball comedy or any of the stars, I highly recommend it.

I caught this on TCM as part of the Bette Davis Star of the Month tribute, and I have to admit, I didn't expect much. The thought of Davis, Howard, and de Havilland in a purely comedic film just seemed a little implausible to me. Thankfully, I was wrong; after five minutes, wild horses couldn't have pulled me away!

Howard plays Basil Underwood, the heartthrob of the theatre world. While touring the nation in Shakespearean plays, he builds quite a reputation as a lady's man, breaking hearts from sea to shining sea. On the eve of his elopement to his long-suffering co-star / fiancé Joyce (Davis), Basil is faced with a dilemma: in order to redeem himself in the eyes of an old friend, and in a vain attempt to make resolution for his many indiscretions with the fairer sex (the big blonde in New Orleans, the redhead in Denver, etc.), he has to make himself out to be a complete cad and cause a young fan (de Havilland) to hate him. The rest of the plot revolves around Basil's attempts to become a changed man, rather than the "bad odor" he is affectionately called at the beginning of the film.

Howard shines in this film; you can tell that he is really having some fun in this one. He plays the cad well, and is enjoyable at it. Davis has a basically supporting role, but handles what she is given with ease and sarcasm. De Havilland is a bundle of girlish charm and energy, and her blind adoration of Basil makes for some really cute situations.

The star, however, is Eric Blore, who plays Digges (Basil's valet and, essentially, his conscience). Forever packing (and unpacking) the bags and keeping track of Basil's dirty deeds, this man puts up with it all and handles it with unnerving calm and a sharp wit. Oh, and he does a mean bird call!

Although not the best of any of the primary players' careers, this is certainly a must-see for any fan of Howard, Davis, and de Havilland, or anyone just looking for a cute movie to make them smile. The last time I laughed this hard at primarily dramatic actors in a movie together was when I saw VALLEY OF THE DOLLS recently...the major difference is that Howard, Davis, and de Havilland intended to make a comedy. Enjoy!

A very young Bette Davis is again paired with Leslie Howard, this time in a delightful, frothy comedy about battling theatrical costars. Supposedly the couple was based on Lunt and Fontanne, but I suspect there's a little influence from "Private Lives" as well.

Howard is a riot as the outrageous, narcissistic actor who can't stop getting women to fall in love with him, and Davis is a beautiful spitfire as his costar/fiancé.

Olivia deHavilland is the sweet young thing in this and she's lovely as a starry-eyed woman who thinks she's in love with Howard. Eric Blore is Howard's hapless manservant, and he's hilarious.

This is such a wonderful, witty movie, the kind, alas, that had its heyday in the '30 and '40s and is no more. The beginning scenes, with the two on stage in Romeo and Juliet, whispering insults, is especially funny. It's great to see such a young Davis and deHavilland, too, and Leslie Howard in comedy. This movie is a treasure, not to be missed.