IT'S A WONDERFUL WORLD (W.S. Van Dyke, MGM, 1939)

I have a friend who happens to be one of the few people I trust when it comes to film recommendations. If he were to call me and say "you have to see this film" more times than not I see it rather quickly so we can then talk about the film. For the most part we agree. Now, when it comes to films from Hollywood's studio period getting him to watch something I recommend is much like pulling teeth from a rabid dog. An exercise in futility really. I am always telling him there is value in the classics, see them, give them a chance. I cannot make this recommendation for IT'S A WONDERFUL WORLD (W.S. Van Dyke II, MGM, 1939) easily one of the least watchable films I have ever come across from this period. Films of this period are generally not technical masterpieces. There draw to us resides in the stars of the film and in the pairing of great stars as well as the representations those stars make to us as fans and viewers. IT'S A WONDERFUL WORLD pairs Jimmy Stewart and Claudette Colbert together, two stars I have raved about in past write-ups. Yet the chemistry between these two is entirely non-existent. In fact I would rather go to the dentist than to watch these two again. Colbert, who I absolutely adored in DeMille's CLEOPATRA, comes across in this film as needy, whiney and altogether a rather big pain in the ass. Playing Edwina Corday the poetess (umm, okay) she annoyingly screams her way through her first ten minutes on film. Amazingly, after Guy Johnson (Stewart) puts up with this and falls asleep (he's on the run, but hey a nap is always cool) the next morning they awake and Corday has done a 180 on Johnson. Now she wants to help him and the beginnings of a love affair have taken root. Corday proceeds over the rest of the film do as all girls do in screwball comedies; help by making matters worse, driving the object of their affection into worse straits and generally being a total nuisance. Now that I write it up as such, maybe Colbert did an amazing job as she is completely and totally helpless and annoying as Corday. And as the film opened I myself was amazed to see Jimmy Stewart playing a role we do not know him for. Here Stewart plays Guy Johnson, a tough hard boiled and cynical detective along the lines of something Bogart or Cagney would play. As he spits out tough one liners and uses dialogue from the streets I went from being amazed at seeing Stewart play opposite his type to wishing he would stop. There is a reason stars need to stick to their type. WE LIKE to see them that way. Stewart is entirely mis-cast in this role. Try to watch the segment of the film where he dons the thick spectacles and constantly refers to them as "cheaters". Bet you will want to stop. Other than two stars playing roles not suited for their particular attraction and the chemistry between the two being non-existent, the film fails in other areas as well. There are several plot holes, such as Corday waking up overnight and being in love, or her leaving Johnson on a boat and of course showing up the next day having already secured him a job in the theatre he was headed to. Mainly the film tries too hard to mix genres, and sometimes this just doesn't work. Anything with a screwball comedy tends to not mix that well. Screwball comedies should most definitely be left as stand alone genres. I guess I will not be recommending this film to my friend, lest it be harder to get him to watch something good.