Monday, October 10, 2011

Double Wedding or The Triumph of Yumph

     Double Wedding is a 1936 flick starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.  It is smack dab in the middle of their 14 movie collaboration, and for me probably ranks about there in quality as well.  The plot, for those unfamiliar, is roughly as follows:
        Open with Charlie, Waldo and Irene Agnew                               
        Aspiring bohemians three
        Doing the things that bohemians do
        Staying up late and acting artsy.

        Just as they get going, they must get going
        So bid Charlie adieu
        Have to get home without sister knowing
        What exactly they’ve been up to.

        Margit Agnew, bossy sister in charge
        Of her charge errant
        Acts as she does, by and large
        Because both lack a parent.

        But the cat’s out of the bag
        The butler did squeal
        So Margit follows to nag
        And their actions repeal.

        A confrontation at Spike’s Place
        Starts in earnest the romantic chase.

        Meeting in the trailer minute
        Charlie and Margit bargain
        If he gives Irene the boot
        Their posing sessions can begin.

        Still acting snippy and irate
        Pretending that the other they hate
        They start to fall in love
        Though of that only Charlie is admitting of.

        Now start the hijinks and comedic schemes
        Charlie claims the wedding is his and Irene’s
        But to a few he does admit
        That he plans to marry Margit.

        And where’s Waldo you say
        Why he’s on his way
        And bringing with him yumph.

        With all the lovers properly claimed
        The wedding ends in a riot
        I guess that violence on true love can be blamed
        So perhaps we oughtn’t try it.

     While it may at first seem out of character for the sophisticated William Powell to play the crazy bohemian, it actually kind of works.  To me Powell has always straddled the line between debonair and nutty – especially the farther he got from the 1920s/early30s.  It’s sort of similar to the way some view Cary Grant: suave with an underlying hint of danger.  Well, William Powell is suave with an underlying hint of goofiness.  A sort of goofball meets highball.  This film merely places more of an emphasis on that element of his character.  Actually, it also plays up Myrna Loy’s underlying character, which to me has always been rather snobbish.

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     As to the charge that there is little to no plot, I don’t particularly agree.  In fact I very seldom agree with accusations of lack of complex storyline equaling bad movie.  How intricate does a plot really need to be?  As long as there is some sort of movement and action it doesn’t matter if its as simple as boy loves girl, how do they get together.  Even movies with no plots can have good writing, and some worthwhile moments.  And in some ways this story line is rather reminiscent of a Shakespearean tale.  In some ways.

     And none of that is not to say this isn’t a amusing film with some funny moments.  My favorite exchange (and visual) was the telephone gong gag.  Seeing Powell rise up from the bed, and confusedly ask “who rang my gong” just tickles me every time.

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     Final things to note:  This was one of Sidney Toler’s last roles before becoming Charlie Chan.  Even here he has a rather funny accent though.  And the Oscar that clonks Powell on the head at the end could be a reference to the Oscar winning movie the previous year.  It was the Great Ziegfeld and starred …  William Powell and Myrna Loy.

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