"Easy Living" is one of several outstanding film comedies that had a perfect combination of screenplay, direction and actors. This is an early brilliant and witty script by Preston Sturges. It has numerous scenes with running dialogs of witty and funny lines. And, when the dialog dies down, it's punctuated by slapstick, mayhem or sight gags that leave viewers roaring with laughter. What a marvelous film with multiple scenes of repartee and malapropisms.
Jean Arthur shows once again why she was considered one of the finest comediennes who ever lived. Her Mary Smith is a likable, somewhat naïve character who is just right for the exchanges with a host of opportunists. She never really knows what all the fuss is about, or what others are talking about. None of the main characters know what all the opportunists think they know, so this bounces along from one hilarious situation to another.
The supporting cast includes some of the best comedy characters in Hollywood at the time. Luis Alberni as Mr. Louis Louis utters some riotous malapropisms. "Oh, Mr. B, what a sight for an eye sore." Ray Milland, as John Ball Jr. is hilarious in his exchanges, especially with his father. But I think Edward Arnold as J.B. Ball, tops every scene he is in. How the man could keep a straight face, and maintain his grumpy posture throughout the film, is beyond me. It must have required many takes to put this comedy on film.
I think this movie, like most very clever comedies, has a subtle message of satire. Here it clearly is high society, the spoiled nature of the rich, and the opportunists who pander to such society. They are a part of it, in that they live on the fringes and are welcomed in only because they are the willing servants and caterers to the society – by choice. Franklin Pangborn as Van Buren is the epitome of such people. And he plays the part perfectly.
Watch for a long scene in the food automat after Ray Milland (Johnny) meets Jean Arthur (Mary Smith). The pandemonium and mayhem that break out make this one of the longest slapstick scenes I can remember. What a riot.
Here are a few funny lines from the movie to whet your appetite. J.B. Ball says to son, John: "Oh, pooh! I was a banker's son, and up until I was 26 yeas old, I was just as dumb as you are." Graves, the butler, has been standing by and chimes in: "Yes, indeed, sir." Ball continues: "But after a while, all the fat fell off my brains and I Say, how old are you?" Later in the conversation, John says to his dad: "I'm gonna make you eat those words." Ball: "That's all you'll be eating." John: "Possibly!" Ball: "Probably!" John: "Right! Yeah!" Ball: "Right! Yeah" John: "Yeah!" The butler, Graves: "Yes sir!"
Mary Nash as Jenny Ball: "Well, you want me to look nice, don't you? After all, the wife of the fourth biggest banker..." Ball: "I beg your pardon. The third biggest banker. Well, I guess you've got me, Jenny." Jenny: "You're not as smart as people think you are."
Ball has thrown a $58,000 sable coat his wife had just bought out the window of their high-rise apartment. On the street, he sees Mary Smith trying to find the owner and he tells her to keep it. Smith: "Now, wait a minute, Santa Claus." Ball: "Huh?" Smith: "What's the matter with it? Is it hot?" Ball: "Well, I don't know. I've never worn one." Smith: "What kind of fur is it anyway?" Ball: "Zebra. Anything else you want to know?"
Louis Louis: "Miss Smith, I am a man like this. I don't beat around the bush to come in the back door." Smith blindfolds her piggy bank before she smashes it with the heel of her shoe. "Sorry, Wafford," she says. Johnny and Mary are at the breakfast table looking at the want ads in the newspaper. John: "Well, there must be something for somebody that can't do anything."
Jean Arthur shows once again why she was considered one of the finest comediennes who ever lived. Her Mary Smith is a likable, somewhat naïve character who is just right for the exchanges with a host of opportunists. She never really knows what all the fuss is about, or what others are talking about. None of the main characters know what all the opportunists think they know, so this bounces along from one hilarious situation to another.
The supporting cast includes some of the best comedy characters in Hollywood at the time. Luis Alberni as Mr. Louis Louis utters some riotous malapropisms. "Oh, Mr. B, what a sight for an eye sore." Ray Milland, as John Ball Jr. is hilarious in his exchanges, especially with his father. But I think Edward Arnold as J.B. Ball, tops every scene he is in. How the man could keep a straight face, and maintain his grumpy posture throughout the film, is beyond me. It must have required many takes to put this comedy on film.
I think this movie, like most very clever comedies, has a subtle message of satire. Here it clearly is high society, the spoiled nature of the rich, and the opportunists who pander to such society. They are a part of it, in that they live on the fringes and are welcomed in only because they are the willing servants and caterers to the society – by choice. Franklin Pangborn as Van Buren is the epitome of such people. And he plays the part perfectly.
Watch for a long scene in the food automat after Ray Milland (Johnny) meets Jean Arthur (Mary Smith). The pandemonium and mayhem that break out make this one of the longest slapstick scenes I can remember. What a riot.
Here are a few funny lines from the movie to whet your appetite. J.B. Ball says to son, John: "Oh, pooh! I was a banker's son, and up until I was 26 yeas old, I was just as dumb as you are." Graves, the butler, has been standing by and chimes in: "Yes, indeed, sir." Ball continues: "But after a while, all the fat fell off my brains and I Say, how old are you?" Later in the conversation, John says to his dad: "I'm gonna make you eat those words." Ball: "That's all you'll be eating." John: "Possibly!" Ball: "Probably!" John: "Right! Yeah!" Ball: "Right! Yeah" John: "Yeah!" The butler, Graves: "Yes sir!"
Mary Nash as Jenny Ball: "Well, you want me to look nice, don't you? After all, the wife of the fourth biggest banker..." Ball: "I beg your pardon. The third biggest banker. Well, I guess you've got me, Jenny." Jenny: "You're not as smart as people think you are."
Ball has thrown a $58,000 sable coat his wife had just bought out the window of their high-rise apartment. On the street, he sees Mary Smith trying to find the owner and he tells her to keep it. Smith: "Now, wait a minute, Santa Claus." Ball: "Huh?" Smith: "What's the matter with it? Is it hot?" Ball: "Well, I don't know. I've never worn one." Smith: "What kind of fur is it anyway?" Ball: "Zebra. Anything else you want to know?"
Louis Louis: "Miss Smith, I am a man like this. I don't beat around the bush to come in the back door." Smith blindfolds her piggy bank before she smashes it with the heel of her shoe. "Sorry, Wafford," she says. Johnny and Mary are at the breakfast table looking at the want ads in the newspaper. John: "Well, there must be something for somebody that can't do anything."