It's Love I'm After
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It's Love I'm After is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Archie Mayo. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the story Gentlemen After Midnight by Maurice Hanline. The film was the third on-screen pairing of Leslie Howard and Bette Davis, following Of Human Bondage and The Petrified Forest.
Basil Underwood and Joyce Arden are an egotistical acting team known for their romantic scenes on stage and fiery temperaments off. Although they deeply love each other, their frequent spats over the years have kept them from tying the knot. Comic complications ensue when Basil attempts to diminish the ardor of star-struck heiress Marcia West by seducing her and Marcia proves to be all-too-willing to submit to his charms.
The film's script allows Howard to draw on his classical background by quoting lines from Macbeth, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, and Romeo and Juliet.
The film was adapted into a musical comedy, Madly in Love.
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[edit] Principal cast
- Leslie Howard ..... Basil Underwood
- Bette Davis ..... Joyce Arden
- Olivia de Havilland ..... Marcia West
- Eric Blore ..... Digges
- Patric Knowles ..... Henry Grant, Jr.
- George Barbier ..... William West
- Spring Byington ..... Aunt Ella Paisley
- Bonita Granville ..... Gracie Kane
[edit] Principal production credits
- Producers ..... Harry Joe Brown, Hal B. Wallis
- Original Music ..... Heinz Roemheld
- Musical Supervision ..... Leo F. Forbstein
- Cinematography ..... James Van Trees
- Art Direction ..... Carl Jules Weyl
- Costume Design ..... Orry-Kelly
[edit] Critical reception
Time described the film as "refreshing, impudent fun: a buoyant cinema making faces at its precise old aunt, the theatre." [1]
In his review in All Movie Guide, Craig Butler called the film "unjustly neglected" and "a delightful romp that provides an excellent showcase for the often equally neglected comedic talents of its trio of stars. While Love falls just shy of true classic status - the screenplay is slightly off the mark in a few places and its dialogue occasionally lacks the effervescent sparkle that is a requirement of the genre - it's still a little gem of a picture with an abundance of laughs . . . a great pick-me-up and well worth searching out."[2]
[edit] Video Release
The film has never been released in any home video format (VHS, Beta or DVD).
[edit] Stage Musical Adaptation
It's Love I'm After was adapted into a musical comedy called Madly in Love, interpolating theater songs by Vernon Duke with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, E.Y. Harburg, John LaTouche, Sammy Cahn, Ted Fetter, Martin Charnin and Howard Dietz. The show has had staged readings by the Goodspeed Opera Company in East Haddam, Connecticut, and the York Theater Company in New York City. A demo recording of the score was created with Karen Ziemba (Joyce Arden), Jay O. Sanders (Jeffrey Underwood), Brent Barrett (Henry Grant, Jr.), Paul Amodeo (Charlie), Tia Speros (Marcia West), Denise Nolin (Aunt Ella Paisley) and Stuart Zagnit (Digges). Sam Davis was the musical director.[3] The show has not yet had a full production.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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