Once I sorted out some movies for a friend,I decided to start catching up on films I had waiting to view. Finding Vivacious Lady a cheerful Rom-Com,I was pleased to spot another RKO creation from the genre,which led to me meeting my favourite wife!
The plot:
After his wife Ellen has been declared legally dead, Nick Arden gets married to Bianca Bates. Unknown to Nick,Ellen has actually been alive and living on an island with Stephen Burkett. Returning home,Ellen finds out that Nick has gone off on his honeymoon. Learning this,Ellen decides to give the happy couple a special honeymoon gift.
View on the film:
Taking over at the last minute when Leo McCarey got hurt in a car accident, (with McCarey's injuries making the comedy atmosphere desired on set difficult to retain) 27 year old director Garson Kanin enters the production with an impressive ease,as Kanin,editor Robert Wise (and un-credited editor McCarey) & cinematographer Rudolph Maté stylishly break the frame in two,so that the set-up and reaction to the punchlines are shown at the same time. Starting without a script in place, the writers never quite overcome the sown-together feel of the movie,but do weave a number of wonderful threads.
Holding Nick and his two wives in the same hotel,the writers lock them in with sparkling Screwball Comedy dialogue which zips along Nick's very funny attempt to keep each wife unaware of the other. Introducing Bianca and Ellen to each other causes some of the one liners to lose their sparks to dry Drama,which gradually gets pushed aside by the playful rivalry between Nick and Burkett. Flatmates off-screen, Cary Grant and Randolph Scott both give terrific performances as Nick and Burkett,with Grant giving Nick shocked,slippery reactions to the sight of his "dead" wife",whilst Scott grabs the eyes of all the ladies,as a chiselled Burkett. Returning from the dead Irene Dunne gives a wickedly dead-pan performance as Ellen,whilst Gail Patrick hits the Screwball punchlines wide as Bianca,as Nick decides who his favourite wife is.
The plot:
After his wife Ellen has been declared legally dead, Nick Arden gets married to Bianca Bates. Unknown to Nick,Ellen has actually been alive and living on an island with Stephen Burkett. Returning home,Ellen finds out that Nick has gone off on his honeymoon. Learning this,Ellen decides to give the happy couple a special honeymoon gift.
View on the film:
Taking over at the last minute when Leo McCarey got hurt in a car accident, (with McCarey's injuries making the comedy atmosphere desired on set difficult to retain) 27 year old director Garson Kanin enters the production with an impressive ease,as Kanin,editor Robert Wise (and un-credited editor McCarey) & cinematographer Rudolph Maté stylishly break the frame in two,so that the set-up and reaction to the punchlines are shown at the same time. Starting without a script in place, the writers never quite overcome the sown-together feel of the movie,but do weave a number of wonderful threads.
Holding Nick and his two wives in the same hotel,the writers lock them in with sparkling Screwball Comedy dialogue which zips along Nick's very funny attempt to keep each wife unaware of the other. Introducing Bianca and Ellen to each other causes some of the one liners to lose their sparks to dry Drama,which gradually gets pushed aside by the playful rivalry between Nick and Burkett. Flatmates off-screen, Cary Grant and Randolph Scott both give terrific performances as Nick and Burkett,with Grant giving Nick shocked,slippery reactions to the sight of his "dead" wife",whilst Scott grabs the eyes of all the ladies,as a chiselled Burkett. Returning from the dead Irene Dunne gives a wickedly dead-pan performance as Ellen,whilst Gail Patrick hits the Screwball punchlines wide as Bianca,as Nick decides who his favourite wife is.