This review by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Pioneer Press.
MYRNA LOY AND WILLIAM POWELL COLLECTION
**1/2
The old “Thin Man” mystery-comedies starring Myrna Loy and William Powell as debonair sleuths are the epitome of breezy old-style Hollywood entertainment. Each one feels like a visit with old friends, so it’s natural to want more. As it happens, Loy and Powell shared screen time in an additional eight films, five of which are collected in a new box set from Turner Classic Movies. “Thin Man” fans may be a little disappointed with their other films, however. The movies are diverting enough, thanks to the irrepressible personalities of these witty, charming stars, but the scripts are uneven and, at times, downright stilted or silly. The silliness actually works in “Double Wedding,” a delightfully daft comedy with Powell as a bohemian eccentric wooing Loy as an uptight businesswoman. “Love Crazy” is also fairly amusing, with Powell pretending to be insane to stop Loy from divorcing him. The amnesia plot in “I Love You Again” is forgettable, however, while the less comedic “Evelyn Prentice” and “Manhattan Melodrama” (the movie John Dillinger was watching before he was shot at the Biograph Theatre) are so melodramatic you can almost hear the plots creaking.
