I Live My Life

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I Live My Life

MGM's desperation for new Crawford ventures wafts over this overstuffed and un-funny 1935 production. The gowns are beautiful, she looks fantastic ... but look for no chemistry between Crawford and Aherne. "Fun" and "silly" escape Crawford's abilities. Yes, she rides a runaway mule, slips down a hill, and falls on her backside ... but all done with a grimly painted on smile. Her discomfort spans the decades.

Bored socialite Kay Bentley (Joan Crawford) is on vacation in Greece. On one of the island stops, she falls for archaeologist Terry O'Neill (Brian Aherne). At the last minute, she has second thoughts and gives him the name of her father's secretary. He goes to visit her in New York City and finds that he's been fooled. The second meeting is the meet-cute or maybe it's counted as the third meeting. It's a funny move to keep pushing her down into the chair. It may be too pushy for today but for its time, it's terribly cute. It's not the most compelling rom-com but it has all the parts. It also has Joan Crawford. I don't mind the chemistry but I do need more comedy. The basic premise is that he has trouble living in her world. It's not that funny and I don't see why she couldn't live in his. The worst thing that could happen is that he goes back to Greece and she could live on the yacht.

Misfire MGM comedy that might have worked better with two different leads. Rich brat Joan Crawford meets archaeologist Brian Aherne. Brian's got a thing against rich people so Joan lies and says she's a secretary. Later when he finds out the truth, sparks fly and they yell a lot. But oh those clever writers -- turns out they're just yelling because they're in love. Well they must love each other to the depths of their souls because there's a lot of yelling and fighting in this. It gets worse. The rich people are on the verge of losing everything. So, instead of getting jobs they decide to * Joan out and force her to marry a rich guy. Anyway, it's all rather unpleasant and not the least bit funny. I didn't really like anybody and the romance was completely forced as Crawford and Aherne had no chemistry.

I have never been a big fan of Joan Crawford, this movie clarifies why. I like comedy and Ms. Crawford is NOT a comedian. I would not attempt to understand why. Like other reviewers I wonder if this movie would have faired better in the hands of a Carole Lombard. BUT unlike other reviewers I feel Brian Ahearne could have been appreciated had he been cast opposite another actress. I have seen him in other comedic movies and he handled himself well. I am of the opinion that Ms. Crawford is the wet blanket in this movie. That said, the shining grace of this movie is the plethora of the much known and loved character actors: Frank Morgan, Jesse Ralph, Eric Blore, Arthur Treacher we never get tired of watching any or all of their antics. This is not the only movie their presence has saved.

After having watched this movie for the third time on TCM, I find a nostalgic and enjoyable quality to this film because of its co-stars. Brian Aherne and Joan Crawford were just wrong for the lead roles. Aherne simply lacked comedic skills and Crawford, who was in her 30's, did not fit the role of a spoiled rich teenager. However, the co-stars were a joy and the reason to watch this movie. Granted this might and probably would be a classic with Gable and Lombard as the leads, but the joy with this film is spending time with Arthur Treacher, Frank Morgan, Eric Blore, and the wonderful Jessie Ralph. It would have been nice to see more of Ms. Ralph as she was terrific in her few scenes as the overbearing and inimitable grandmother. I simply enjoyed my time spent with Treacher and Blore bringing me a whiskey, Morgan trembling around the females, and Ms. Ralph ordering me about. Perhaps, like me, you too will enjoy time well spent with some of filmdom's greatest character actors.

Crawford is very funny in this follow up to the trend started by It Happened One Night. Brian Aherne is miscast, but the are a good looking couple and there is some chemistry there, although not as much as there would be with Tracy or Gable. None-the-less, Crawford added a nice comedy to her dossier and it wears well even today.