Main Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Frank McHugh, Edmund Lowe, Donald Douglas
Release Year: 1940
Country: US
Run Time: 97 minutes
Plot
Those popular MGM co-stars William Powell and Myrna Loy take a break from their usual Thin Man duties to star in the zany comedy I Love You Again. The film opens with Loy prepared to divorce her dull businessman husband Powell. A blow on the head causes Powell to remember his former life as a notorious con man. No one in town has any knowledge of Powell's criminal past, a fact he hopes to use to his advantage. Loy, astounded at Powell's sudden surge of amorous ardor, reconsiders her divorce. When she learns of his true identity, she is even more fascinated. Another blow on the head restores the non-criminal Powell--at least, that's what he and Loy would like you to believe. The film's highlight is a screamingly funny sequence in which Powell plays scoutmaster to a group of surly youngsters (including Our Gang veterans Carl Switzer and Mickey Gubitosi, aka Robert Blake). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
There was never a screen team like William Powell and Myrna Loy, and the uproarious I Love You Again shows them off to their best advantage. "Screwball" is the best term for Again, and few films deserve the appellation as much. The plot turns on a familiar "amnesia" situation, but once viewers accept this unlikely set-up, they're in for a fast, fast, fast rollercoaster of a comedy. Director W.S. Van Dyke is in top form here. There may not be the most imaginative camera set-ups that the world has ever seen, but everything fits together beautifully, and he keeps the pace up at all times -- yet without sacrificing clarity. Van Dyke should thank his lucky stars that Gene Ruggiero was on his same wave length in the editing room, for the cutting is key to the film's successes.) Of course, while the direction, editing and screenplay are all tops, it would be for nothing without Powell and Loy. Powell is totally in his element, delighting in the opportunity to play two such different characters and clearly having the time of his life. Loy is also in tip top form, ready with a riposte, yet also game for an embrace, when it's on her own terms, and delivering lines with beautifully precise inflection. And the chemistry between the two is without equal. Donald Douglas is a bit of a bore, but the rest of the supporting cast is a very definite plus. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Daniel B. Cathcart - Art Director, Cedric Gibbons - Art Director, Dolly Tree - Costume Designer, W.S. Van Dyke - Director, Gene Ruggiero - Editor, Franz Waxman - Composer (Music Score), Franz Waxman - Musical Direction/Supervision, Oliver Marsh - Cinematographer, Lawrence Weingarten - Producer, Edwin B. Willis - Set Designer, Douglas Shearer - Sound/Sound Designer, Maurine Watkins - Screen Story, Harry Kurnitz - Screenwriter, Charles Lederer - Screenwriter, George Oppenheimer - Screenwriter, Octavus Roy Cohen - Book Author, Leon Gordon - Short Story Author
While on a cruise, stodgy, overly-frugal businessman Larry Wilson (William Powell) gets hit on the head with an oar while rescuing 'Doc' Ryan (Frank McHugh). He wakes up and remembers that he is actually a suave conman named George Cary; Doc is one of his crooked associates. However, he has lost all memory of the past nine years as Larry.
He returns to New York and learns that he is married to Kay (Myrna Loy), who is in the process of divorcing him to marry Herbert (Donald Douglas). George pretends to have amnesia (from the blow to his head) and talks Doc into masquerading as a physician treating him, partly out of curiosity, but mostly because of greed, after seeing the balance in his checking account. That turns out to be a dead end (the money is only held in trust for the Community Chest), so he decides to swindle people using his alter-ego's sterling reputation. A complication arises when he falls in love with Kay a second time. She however wants nothing further to do with her boring cheapskate of a husband. George attempts to win back Kay's affections while simultaneously trying to sell some worthless land to the greedy leading citizens of the town.
Cast
William Powell as Lawrence 'Larry' Wilson / George Carey
