Starring Don Ameche, Gene Tierney, Charles Coburn, Eugene Palette, Marjorie Main

(6-Good Film)

Outlandish. Witty. Lavish.

Not to be confused with Warren Beatty’s ’70s film, this comedy starts with Henry Van Cleve (Ameche) descending to hell where he must explain to the head honcho why he belongs there. The film then flashes back as he tells his life story from his days as a precocious kid to meeting his wife to his tenth wedding anniversary when she walks out and he has to win her back. It’s a unique comedy, and a perfect example of the “Lubitsch touch,” the quality this film’s director gives his comedies that make even the darkest of material seem light and charming. Don Ameche, remarkable for the matinee idol type, has an incredible comedic range and a very expressive face. He’s fantastic, and the aging process he goes throughout his story is rendered better than many modern films.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(544)