Easy Living (Mitchell Leisen, 1937): USA

Reviewed by Byron Potau. Viewed on DVD.

While it was directed by Mitchell Leisen Easy Living is more notably written by respected comedy writer and director Preston Sturges. This screwball comedy has all of the zany elements of its sub genre including several funny moments, but is mildly dated in some of its slapstick humor. What is of more interest is the film’s satire of the Great Depression, the lifestyles of the rich and poor, and, with its risqué plot points, how it got past the Production Code so intact.

When big time investment banker J.B. Ball (Edward Arnold) finds that his wife has frivolously bought a $58000 sable coat, one that cannot be returned, he tosses it off of the roof of their building falling several stories only to land on Mary Smith (Jean Arthur) who is passing by on a double decker bus. When she tries to return the coat to Ball he insists she keep it and takes her to a high class store to buy her an expensive hat to go with it. The rumors begin to fly that she is Ball’s mistress leading to an endless stream of people pushing everything from jewelry, cars, even a luxurious hotel suite on her, trying to take advantage of her situation for their own benefit. To complicate things even further, she meets Ball’s son, John Ball Jr. (Ray Milland), only she does not know it’s his son. When he helps her steal a meal from the automat she takes him in for the weekend which leads to even more misunderstandings and near catastrophes including a potential market crash on Wall Street.

The film has a nice easy flow and likability. The actors do a fine job in their roles. Ray Milland, though he had yet to become the star he would be, is charming and makes for a fine romantic lead. Edward Arnold is solid and displays a good comic timing, while the supporting cast, many of whom would work regularly with Sturges in his directing days, make the most of their limited screen time. Jean Arthur, who had hit her stride after the previous year’s success in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, gives the film’s best performance. She is very charming, unassuming, and naïve, giving charming smiles and delayed reactions amid the chaos that ensues around her.

The comedy itself is a bit uneven. At times it is laugh out loud funny, but at other times it gets a bit tiresome. How many times can a person slip and fall before it stops being funny? You will know by the end of this film.

There are a few situations that anyone with knowledge of the Production Code, which had been in effect since 1934, would wonder how the film ever got a seal of approval. Apparently, a mistaken mistress and seemingly everyone’s approval and condoning of it was not so bad as long as it is only a mistake. There are a few other moments that I won’t ruin that also walk a fine line and give a minor risqué element to the film.

Where the film really stands out is in how well it works as a satire of not only its time, but our time as well. With the country in the throes of a recession a look back at one of the finer satires of the Great Depression is a worthy distraction. It’s all here; the frivolous spending of the rich, the struggles of the poor, rags to riches, the instability of the stock market, and a few working class barbs like “dirty capitalist.” More than anything the film’s relevance is what sets it apart and is further proof of the great writing talent of Preston Sturges who had a gift for social satire and tended to use it, but let’s not forget director Mitchell Leisen who deserves at least some of the credit too for pulling it off.