1937 - EASY LIVING, an excellent Preston Sturges comedy

Preston Sturges wrote but didn't direct this film but his humor is all over it.  Easy Living has all of the Sturges touches which include the screwball characters, the slapstick humor and the amusing dialog.   

Easy Living starts with a rich banker throwing his wife's mink out the window of his townhouse to spite her.  The mink lands on top of a woman heading to work at a magazine called "The Boys Constant Companion," an amusing reference to "Boys Life" magazine that was published by the Boy Scouts of America for many years.  Since it's a comedy and one written by Sturges the whole  plot leads up to near collapse of the American banking system.

30's comedy legend Jean Arthur is the working woman who suddenly finds herself with a mink coat and the friendship of a rich banker played by another 30's staple actor Edward Arnold,  yelling his way through the film.  Arnold's son is played by Ray Milland in an early role and Luis Alberni plays some character named Louis Louis of the hotel Louis. You get the picture

 

The film was directed by Mitchell Leisen  who made some good films for Paramount and was the nemesis of then writer Billy Wilder who accused him of ruining his screenplays, a rather ridiculous charge.  The film is well paced and Leisen does bring a kind of elegant professional style to Easy Living.

 

Easy Living is definitely a high water mark for a 30's comedy and hold up very well during this recent viewing.

The running time is 88 minutes, a high recommedation.