So.

I almost had to divorce Joe last night. I was watching a PBS thingy on George Stevens. He had NO IDEA who George Stevens was.

I have instead told him that he is banned from ever watching movies again, unless he watches Gunda Din, A Place in the Sun, Giant, Shane, and The Diary of Anne Frank.

I know he's not a movie buff unless the films have some sort of space conveyance in them, but George Stevens ranks up there with Cecile B. DeMille and Orson Wells and Alfred Hitchcock as directors that changed not only how movies are made and viewed, but Hollywood itself.

Silly husband.

Who?

Oh, I wish I was joking.

[link]

George Stevens.

He started as a camera man in the early 1920's, filming in the west. Rex the King of the Horses, I believe it was called.

He went to Hollywood and started directing the Laurel and Hardy shorts and the rest, as they say, is cinematic history.

He directed Katherine Hepburn's first film, Alice Adams.

He also directed The More The Merrier, which is one of my favourite screwball comedies EVER. (Connie Willis did a fabulous homage to the film in her short story, "Spice Pogrom," with an alien in the Charles Coburn role. It's adorable.)

Also: I had the biggest crush on Joel McCrea.

They were showing clips The More the Merrier last night. It's one of his films I haven't seen, and I was cracking up. They showed the scene where she was explaining to Charles Coburn "At 8:01 I'll enter the bathroom. At 8:02 you'll start the coffee. At 8:06 you'll enter the bathroom."

Heh. Poor beleaguered Jean Arthur and her schedules. I love to see her feathers ruffled. And her insufferable fiance and that tiny apartment!

They did a remake of it in the 60's with Cary Grant in the Charles Coburn role and set it during the Tokyo Olympics (it's called Walk, Don't Run I think.) It was quite charming, but not as effortlessly effervescent as The More The Merrier. I wonder whether TMTM is out on DVD? I really should own it.

I'm going to delete my entire Amazon wish list and replace everything with nothing but George Stevens movies.

Walk, Don't Run

The theme was covered for the Ventures first hit.

I love More the Merrier. Definitely one of my top ten screwball comedies.

Top Ten Sixteen Screwball Comedies
The Lady Eve (Babs + Sturges = genius)
Bringing Up Baby (pure giddiness)
Ball of Fire (Cool chicks and stiff guys! It's a formula)
Palm Beach Story (Claudette! Weenie King)
My Man Godfrey (Ahh, Wm. Powell. Carole Lombard)
The More the Merrier (Jean Arthur. Somebody should write a song about her...)
The Awful Truth (Cary and Irene)
My Favorite Wife (practically the same movie as the Awful Truth)
It Happened One Night
Philadelphia Story
Holiday
Vivacious Lady (George Stevens! Plus Ginger and Jimmy)
The Thin Man (which I'm counting as a screwball mystery)
To Be or Not To Be
Nothing Sacred (a Ple favorite)

I found "The More The Merrier" at Netflix!

My brother and his wife's first apartment together was a place that had been split into two places during the WWII housing shortage in Chicago. Or it was two places that were combined? Anyway, it had this weird parallel hall thing with two rooms that were bedrooms and two baths and it was like two single apartments that shared an entry.

I think I must remedy this never seeing of The More the merrier. It sounds lovely.

Also, The Awful Truth and My Favortite Wife, which are practically the same move, are probably two of my favorite movies ever. Which might explain why I also like Sweet Home Alabame, although, frankly, that would be more fun with wacky riding on motorcycle hijinks, a la The Awful Truth.