Simply Perfect

Simply A Masterpiece

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

"When Ladies Meet" is one of those films that show how much the Production Code set the film industry back. In this particular case, it's not the risqué lines that are notable (although there are a few, like "Doesn't anybody here know what beds are for? Or DO you? Or is that the wrong thing to say?"), or the revealing clothes the ladies wear (just a backless dress for Myrna Loy at the start); it's the themes of fidelity, (self-)deception, love and marriage which the film examines in an open and frank way that the Code would soon render beyond reach. And it examines them from the point of view of each character. It's hard to decide who gives the best performance in the excellent cast - Ann Harding is enticing, but I might have to go with Alice Brady, who often steals the show as the "intelligent fool". Yes, there may be "too much talk" in this film, but nearly all of it is intelligent and insightful. The long conversation between Loy and Harding, in the middle of the night, is unlike anything I personally have seen so far in old Hollywood - not a dialogue scene meant to advance the plot or lead to a dramatic confrontation, just a calm, honest talk between two women who reveal their thoughts and feelings. A great - and too-little-known - movie. ***1/2 out of 4.

Excellent dialogue and compelling interpersonal exploration mark this sophisticated pre-code comedy, drama with terrific performances by all the principals in the cast including: Ann Harding, Robert Montgomery, Myrna Loy, Alice Brady, Frank Morgan, even Sterling Holloway (though very briefly & uncredited as a caddy).Directed by Harry Beaumont with a screenplay co-written by John Meehan, the film's Art Direction earned Cedric Gibbons his second Academy Award nomination. When the film was remade in 1941, with Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, Greer Garson, Herbert Marshall, and Spring Byington, Gibbons earned his twelfth Art Direction Oscar nomination.Loy plays a writer who won't marry Montgomery but instead goes off with her married publisher Morgan. Ironically, her latest unpublished work, about a married man and his mistress, is actually a thinly veiled account of her affair with him. In the book, the married man leaves his wife for his mistress and he and the mistress live happily ever after. Montgomery reads the books and says it doesn't ring true. Morgan's married to Harding. Brady plays a mutual friend whose home becomes the place where most of the truths come to light.Loy and Morgan are there for a rendezvous; Montgomery hears of it, and brings Harding to the "party". Loy and Harding have some discussions during which Harding figures out what's going on and Loy becomes fond of her "rival". Montgomery learns that Morgan's intentions, as he suspected, are not entirely honorable. All along, he'd rightly suspected that Morgan was just enjoying Loy's company and "services" with no intention of leaving his wife for her. Harding plays the long suffering wife of a man who strays, yet always accepts him back after he'd had his fun. The initially confident Loy becomes disillusioned.

Why is it that, these days, the term "sophisticated comedy" is synonymous with "something that isn't at all funny?" Back in the seventies, Norman Lear made TV sitcoms more "sophisticated" by making them "socially relevant." This became all the rage. As a result, there hasn't been a genuinely funny American sitcom since Green Acres. Thank goodness for the BBC, with such gems as "Keeping Up Appearances." "When Ladies Meet" goes even beyond these doldrums, however. I can't see why it's classified as a comedy at all. While it's not a tragedy in the Greek sense, where everyone is dead by the end, it certainly deserves to be classed as a drama rather than a comedy. Sure, there are some funny lines, mostly provided by Luis Alberni and Alice Brady, but they are much more like comedy relief than any kind of main flow of the story. I wouldn't even say there was much of a happy ending, although the finish is ambiguous enough that one can easily be imagined, a very trite one, at that.Myrna Loy monopolizes the show, and handles this meaty role quite capably, although I much prefer her in comedy roles, particularly as the unparalleled Nora Charles in the "Thin Man" series (which are genuine "sophisticated comedies" by the pre-1971 meaning of the term).Frank Morgan plays his brother Ralph, staid and serious. In fact, I had to look back at the credits more than once to make sure it was indeed Frank and not Ralph. There is nothing in his performance of the bubbly, bumbling, endearing character that he has played in so many other movies, notably "The Affairs of Cellini," and, of course, "The Wizard of Oz." Robert Montgomery plays a conservative, stuffy "Family Values" type, once again quite out of character for the sprightly devil-may-care youthful adventurer that he has played so often in film. In fact, I found his stodginess to be quite at odds with his young age, and rather unbelievable. He plays a typical hypocrite who sees nothing the least bit wrong with men having multiple extra-marital affairs, but feels it is absolute anathema for a woman to even contemplate doing so. His character is abrasive and unpleasant throughout. He is thoroughly detestable.The story is perhaps sophisticated for its time, but is barely so today. While these issues must still exist in our modern world, it is hard for me to believe that they would be handled with the same Biblical, Victorian attitudes that calcify the plot and especially the dialog in this movie. At least, one would hope not.An interesting story, well developed, well acted, with almost no surprises. And definitely not a comedy, by the definition "something that will make you laugh."

I saw this movie on TCM about a week ago, I had a blast. Ann Harding and Myrna Loy was excellent in this movie. Ann Harding may have stolen the show because she had the stronger role, I guess she was a bigger star than Myrna Loy at the time. Myrna Loy did a superb job with the role she was given by her MGM bosses. I never saw Myrna Loy cried in movie before, so she cried in this movie I was take aback, I said "Man she is good", she was very believable. I won't spoil it for you, but if you can get a copy, buy it. I am looking for one myself. Robert Montgomery proved to me that he is a fine comedian and a fine actor, because he more than held his own with the likes Ann Harding and Myrna Loy, but the stars of this movie are Ann Harding and Myrna Loy. This Movie is a Classic, I can't stop watching it.