5pm PST – The More the Merrier, The (1943) – The World War II housing shortage brings three people together for an unlikely romance. Cast: Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn, Richard Gaines Dir: George Stevens BW-104 mins, TV-G
The logline may sound simplistic and a lot like a bad sitcom, but the execution was smart enough to win Oscar nominations for screenplay, actress (Jean Arthur), and director George Stevens. Fittingly, however, it was character actor Charles Coburn who went home a winner for his warm and hilarious support work.
The real star of this underrated screwball gem is the intense sexual chemistry fired off between Joel McCrea and Arthur. Watch close for a scene where they walk down the street together and he can’t keep his hands off her. When it comes to heating up the screen with pure desire, this little stroll ranks right along with Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart sharing a telephone in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Sex is so much sexier in the subtext.
That’s not to say today’s pick isn’t absolutely, laugh-out-loud hilarious, and brilliantly so. The choreography in some of the early scenes will take your breath away and rivals the best of the “Pink Panther” series. Had “The More the Merrier” starred Cary Grant, Stewart, Gary Cooper or Spencer Tracy it would enjoy the reputation it deserves. Unfortunately, we live in an unfair world where a superb leading man like Joel McCrea (though valued by the likes of Hitchcock, Stevens, and Preston Sturges) doesn’t enjoy the reputation he deserves, either.
Were I clothing and feeding reality and MTV-addicted teenagers desperately needing a gateway drug into something that doesn’t teach narcissism as a value, this would be it. Hand to heart: One of the best comedies of the 1940s (which is saying a lot) awaits your discovery.
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