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| Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection (Manhattan Melodrama / Evelyn Prentice / Double Wedding / I Love You Again / Love Crazy) | 
 enlarge | Actors: Myrna Loy, William Powell, Jack Carson, Clark Gable
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $49.98
Buy New: $27.99
You Save: $21.99 (44%)
New (40) Used (11) Collectible (1) from $26.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 4468
Format: Box Set, Black & White, Subtitled, Color
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 5
Running Time: 454
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.8 x 1
MPN: WARD79822D
UPC: 012569798229
EAN: 0012569798229
ASIN: B000Q7ZLUG
Theatrical Release Date: May 23, 1941
Release Date: August 7, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW AND FACTORY SEALED,item is 100% quaranteed,exacly the same as Amazon list,authentic US version
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Product Description
Contains: double wedding evelyn prentice i love you again love crazy and manhattan melodrama. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 08/07/2007
Amazon.com
The Thin Man was just the beginning. Myrna Loy and William Powell were one of Hollywood's best-matched screen teams, with the chemistry fairly bubbling in their scenes together, as this Warner treasure trove boxed set shows. Audiences in the '30s and '40s delighted in the fact that Loy's urbane sophisticate characters could match Powell's quip for quip, martini for martini. Manhattan Melodrama (1934) showcases Powell and Clark Gable as longtime friends on opposite sides of the law, and is the first pairing of Loy and Powell (and the first of four films they would make in 1934 alone. The film is briskly directed and the crackling screenplay won an Oscar the next year. Evelyn Prentice (1934) is the troubled wife (Loy) of a preoccupied attorney (Powell) who appears oblivious. The story isn't one of the strongest in the collection, but the cast sparkles nonetheless. A witchy Rosalind Russell makes her memorable film debut as a femme fatale. Double Wedding (1937) lets Loy and Powell flex their comedic chops. The plot is full of switchbacks and misunderstandings, but the key point is that their pal Waldo (John Beal) is that dreaded '30s male screen archetype, the milquetoast. Much of the film's fun is watching Powell's character coach poor Waldo to grow a backbone: "Women don't like noble, self-sacrificing men. Women are not civilized like we are. They like bloodshed!" I Love You Again (1940) is one of the top screwball comedies of all time. George (Powell) is bonked on the head and realizes he's had amnesia for the past several years, has been terribly boring and has been, yes, a milquetoast--who's about to be divorced by his fed-up wife, Kay (Loy). The crazy plot is lofted by the brilliant screenplay and the delivery of the two leads, who spar like expert fencers: George: "You be careful, madam, or you'll turn my pretty head with your flattery!" Kay: "I often wished I could turn your head--on a spit, over a slow fire." Divine! Love Crazy (1941) is another classic farce, featuring Powell in drag, Powell faking insanity, Powell conniving to win back Loy's love--all in a witty, urbane way, of course. The set is also chockfull of great extras, with each feature paired with a classic comedy or musical short, plus cartoon or audio radio interviews. The icing on the cake: The fabulous packaging, including an image from the original movie posters on the discs themselves. Film lovers won't want to miss this splendid collection. --A.T. Hurley
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
All but one of the Powell/Loy films are now on DVD May 8, 2007
91 out of 96 found this review helpful
This collection contains five titles currently not on DVD that were made starring the famous duo during the same time frame as their "Thin Man" series. With the exception of 1947's "The Senator was Indiscreet", this puts all of the Loy/Powell films on DVD. The extras described below are from a press release from Warner Home Video. The biggest let-down about this set is the lack of commentary for any of the films, but Warner probably figures with the amount of documentary material they put in the Thin Man Boxed Set, they would just be going over old territory. The films, in chronological order, are as follows:
Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
This is more of a movie with Powell and Loy than one about them as a couple. The focus is more on Clark Gable and William Powell, who play two orphans who grow up together but wind up on opposite sides of the law. Myrna Loy plays the woman that both characters love. Gable plays the gangster in this film, Powell the guy who goes up the political ladder. The melodramatic part is that as D.A. Powell's character wins a conviction against Gable's character, and as a result he is sentenced to death. Later, as governor, Powell must decide whether or not to commute his childhood friend's sentence. Powell is very good here at playing a more serious role.
Special Features:
Comedy short "Goofy Movies #2"
Classic cartoon "The Old Pioneer"
Theatrical trailer
Subtitles: English & French (feature film only)
Evelyn Prentice (1934)
This one seems to miss a step as far as plot holes go, but it is still above average. Powell plays a defense attorney who is also part detective, and whose heavy-duty work habits cause him to neglect his wife, played by Loy in the title role. As a result of this neglect, Loy commits an indiscretion with a playboy and ultimately figures into her husband's next big murder case.
Special Features:
Comedy short "Goofy Movies #3"
Classic cartoon "Discontented Canary"
Theatrical trailer
Subtitles: English & French (feature film only)
Double Wedding (1937)
This is a different kind of film for Powell and Loy. Loy plays high-powered businesswoman Margit Agnew who is unhappy to learn that her little sister is planning to marry vagabond Charlie Lodge (William Powell) who, since he lives in a trailer, is hardly in a position to support her. Margit tries to intervene, and in the end winds up with Lodge herself. The plot is thin, but the comedy is very good. This film was shot partly before and after the death of Jean Harlow, who was Powell's lover and Loy's good friend. Filming was suspended for awhile due to the tragedy.
Special Features:
Musical short "Dancing on the Ceiling"
Classic cartoon "The Hound and the Rabbit"
Theatrical trailer
Subtitles: English & French (feature film only)
I Love You Again (1940)
My favorite non-Thin Man Loy and Powell movie and showcases everything that is great about the chemistry the two had on screen. Powell plays stuffy and rich Larry Wilson, who, after a blow to the head, realizes he is actually confidence man George Carey. Wilson is just some alternate identity he assumed after he first got amnesia nine years before. Realizing he has a sweet deal in his wealthy second identity, Carey decides to clean out Wilson's finances and leave town. However, when Carey meets Wilson's estranged wife, played by Loy, he falls for her and decides to hang around long enough to win her back.
Special Features:
Crime Doesn't Pay Series short "Jackpot"
Classic cartoon "Tom Turkey and His Harmonica Humdingers"
Theatrical trailer
Subtitles: English & French (feature film only)
Love Crazy (1941)
Another excellent entry in the Loy and Powell series of movies. After four years of marriage, Stephen Ireland (William Powell) runs into an old girlfriend that lives nearby. The two end up just talking, but a series of comic misadventures cause Stephen's wife, Susan (Myrna Loy), to believe Stephen is cheating on her and she decides to divorce Stephen. Desperate to keep Susan, Stephen decides to pretend he is not in his right mind to draw things out. He does such a good job that everyone believes him - except his wife. There is some great physical comedy here by Powell.
Special Features:
Classic cartoon "The Alley Cat"
Audio-only bonus: Screen Directors Guild Playhouse Radio Broadcast
Theatrical trailer
Subtitles: English & French (feature film only)
A TRUE 5-STAR SALUTE FOR ONE OF FILMDOM'S GREATEST SCREEN TEAMS! July 14, 2007
20 out of 21 found this review helpful
When it comes to screen chemistry between two stars, there were probably only four that stood the test of time...Fred & Ginger, Flynn & de Havilland, Tracy & Hepburn, and my personal (non-musical) favorites, the unbeatable combination of WILLIAM POWELL and MYRNA LOY.
A million thank-you's to those amazing folks at Warner Brothers who keep managing to find a way to drain my bank balance...and I couldn't be happier. Every set from Warner is a winner, but this one is particularly appealing, because I've practically worn out my 6 Thin Man discs!
Here we get a broader spectrum of this terrific twosome. Their screwball shenanigans take center stage in laugh-filled romps such as DOUBLE WEDDING, I LOVE YOU AGAIN, and LOVE CRAZY. All hysterical. All worth countless viewings. Equally compelling are the more serious films in this set, the box-office smash MANHATTAN MELODRAMA, where CLARK GABLE shares the screen with Loy and Powell, and the highly underrated EVELYN PRENTICE which is a great showcase for both Ms. Loy and Mr. Powell. All five films will be joined by extra features, as is always the Warner way.
If you only know these two as NICK & NORA, you're in for even more fun...
and you might as well pick up the already-available LIBELED LADY, which is truly one of the greatest comedies of all time.
Thank you Warner Home Video for honoring this terrific twosome so wonderfully!
 Two Good Films - Three Forgettable June 16, 2007
16 out of 25 found this review helpful
Powell and Loy are at their best in the last two films. I personally much prefer Love Crazy to I Love You Again, which is slightly skewered and in some ways unpleasant - Powell's earlier years playing villans gives a bit too much authenticity to his characterization of a cad. One is left the ugly suspicion that a hidden side of his character is fundamentally quite detestable. Too, I Love You Again calls up a little too much of the drab small town dinginess (and sets to match) infiltrating and to my taste weakening the glamour of scenes in the later Thin Man series. Loy made some fine realistic movies, but Powell and Loy together are NOT small town!
Love Crazy finds the urban-dweller Powell waltzing into the movie, happily in love, ironically whistling the playful ditty "It's Delightful to be Married" a previous screen love, Louise Rainer, sang for him as Flo Ziegfeld's Fanny Held. (Who Powell playing Ziegfeld divorces for - Myrna Loy as Billie Burke.) The knowing and biting comments on marriage from the cabbie and the doorman regarding Powell's martial bliss set the undercurrents in play for the giddy Powell's undoing as the cheerful husband - ignorant of the games the mischievous Fates (The Gods of Comedy) have in store for him ahead. Into the apartment complex he jauntily carries his wedding present - a portable phonograph, and almost immediately his evening begins to unravel. I Love You Again is at all times genuinely loveable, and works it's sleight of hand with the practiced aplomb we expect from such talents. The moment when Powell suggests he and his wife, Loy, recreate their honeymoon night, but do everything 'backwards' is as priceless as is Loy's cooling rebutal to his attempt at jumping the gun on the bedroom. Too, the underrated Gail Patrick (see her sensational working with Powell in My Man Godfrey) and the lively and fun Jack Carson are most effective in their set-up roles. The best scene: a Lincoln-like Powell, pretending insanity to prevent a divorce proceeding, sets top hats sailing on a swimming pool, "Be free!"
The other three films are for me at least largely forgettable.
If I Love You Again and Love Crazy were paired I would rate them at least a 4, possibly a 4 and half. But the rating plummets when they're connected to the others.
When will we be able to see some Powell movies without Loy? Life With Father demands release restored to its glorious colors, not to mention Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. A set of the best of Powell's Warner Brothers films?
If, unlike myself, you loved all these films and don't yet own Libeled Lady then by all means order that film ASAP! The DVD print is not quite as good as it should be, but the movie is wonderful, with Powell's real life girl friend (and what a twist that gives the film!) Jean Harlow just sensational fun!
Nick and Nora step out August 10, 2007
16 out of 19 found this review helpful
After a considerable wait, the remaining five movies which starred Powell and Loy is available on DVD and it is really great to be able to enjoy their efforts. Powell and Loy were stars of the very successful "Thin Man" series (the title character was actually the murder victim in the first series, but most of the fans thought it referred to Nick Charles). Along with the six movies in the Thin Man series, the pair made seven other movies (not counting the Powell vehicle "The Senator was Indiscrete" in which Loy makes a cameo appearance) leading many to believe that they were in fact married in real life.
The movies in this series run the gamut from the sorts of melodramas that MGM famously churned out in the 30s. To be honest, I prefer the later comedies. Clearly, after the success of the first of the Thin Man movies, producers understood that the pair was very well suited to light comedy and animated banter. In films like "Love Crazy," "I Love You Again" and "Double Wedding," Powell and Loy perform well in romantic comedy roles. Loy's personna as "the perfect wife" and her own skills at light comedy make her a perfect foil for Powell's wisecrakes and prat falls. My favorite of this series is "I Love You Again" in which Powell plays a gangster who due amnesia has spent ten years as a squirral stuffing club joining guardian of civic virtue much to Loy's dismay. In "Double Wedding" and "Love Crazy," Powell gets to stretch his comedic range. Loy is of course perfect.
The two non-comedies are interesting as well. "Manhatten Melodrama" was a massive hit in its day and looks more like the sort of films that Warner Brothers became famous for in which childhood friends follow different paths and Loy is the romantic interest. It is the pair's only teaming with Gable (although Loy made several really good films with "the King"). "Evelyn Prentis" appears to have been billed as a romantic comedy, given the trailer (included in all the movies). It is the story of a marriage on the rocks due to the husband's career and his refusal to spend more time at home. Rosalind Russell is one of the clients in the film in an early role.
This is a wonderful series and even includes some cartoons and short subjects. Powell and Loy's other movies include "Libeled Lady" (with Jean Harlow (who was slated to marry Powell), and "The Great Zigfeld" along with the boxed set of Thin Man movies are all available on DVD.
popular pair for a reason September 7, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
William Powell and Myrna Loy were paired together for eleven films: the six Thin Man movies (available in their own collection)and these five. They had good rapport, and people enjoyed them in a variety of settings. Admittedly, Myrna Loy frequently played 'straight man' to Powell's mischieviosity. In the commentary to the Thin Man series, it says that by the last film she was eager to do more serious 'topical' roles. And certainly her Nora doesn't get to play to her (Loy's) potential.
In this group of five films, stories unrelated to each other, we frequently see her in a more serious character, whether in melodrama or comedy. The mobster's-moll-turned-reformer's-wife in "Manhattan Melodrama" is serious, but not one of her better performances. Or perhaps the intervening sixty-five plus years have changed sensibilities enough that it is hard for us today to consider 'melodrama' well done! While Loy may have wanted to take on serious issues, her performances shine in comedy. And she may have realized that 'issues' can be addressed through a palatable comedy without the heavy-handed approach of melodrama.
Each disk also contains extras -- a bit different variety on each disk: a radio broadcast version of the film (of least interest to me), period cartoons, and shorts or 'public information' films. It is hard to tell from today's perspective if the short accompanying 'Manhattan Melodrama' on the evils and social degradation of slot machines is meant to be tongue in cheek humor or serious morality tale. I suspect the latter, but today it seems outrageous. Quite a contrast is the short 'Dancing on the Ceiling' in which a man follows a woman into a dentist's office, only to find the entire staff is made up of women who use laughing gas on their patients and engage in strange fantasies with them while under the influence.
Of the five films represented "I Love you Again" is my favorite, though that may be due to greater familiarity. It is the only one I had found to purchase (on VHS) before this set was released. But it still seems to have a story line and banter that has the best timing and the fewest elements that take you out of the story to say 'boy, this was really made a long time ago!'.
Not every film is magic. But it is a good thing to have this set available so that -- despite their mixed qualities -- we can still enjoy the Powell-Loy pairing.
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