Merrily We Live

This may well be the funniest movie ever made. My wife and I laughed out load dozens of time while watching it. Clarence Kolb steals the film with his pratfalls - at 64 years old! Alan Mowbray comes close to matching Kolb with his chimes and resignations. The rest of the family are superb. Bonita Granville shines as the hyper active teenager. Billie Burke was never dizzier. Aherne and Bennett make a great couple, fighting hard not to fall in love. The byplay among this great cast is funny and silly but also rings true. I guess there's a little of them in every family. My only regret is that Marjorie Rambeau, a personal favorite, must have had something to say at the party but her lines must have wound up on the cutting room floor. This is a film to enjoy frequently, particularly when you're feeling a bit down. A forgotten treasure.

This movie is priceless. Too bad it got caught up in a time where it wasn't recognized as it should have been. It is my and my husband's favorite movie of all time. Would love to purchase a DVD or VHS but, don't know where to get it. The story line is terrific! The characters are proficient! Wonderfully written. Brilliantly directed. If you ever have the chance to watch this movie, don't pass it up!

Unlike "Ninotchka" (1939), with its witty innuendos and tight screenplay, "Merrily We Live" is a wacky, completely irreverent screwball comedy, similar to the style of "Philadelphia Story" (1940)or "Bringing Up Baby" (1938). I laughed through the whole movie, sometimes so hard I couldn't even breathe! It is a tongue-in-cheek look at philanthropy, and thoroughly joyous. Billie Burke is brilliant, Brian Aherne a handsome and charming rogue, and Constance Bennett lovely and amusing. I too wonder why this has not been released on DVD. After all, it did garner five Academy Award nominations (but won nothing). What does it take to get MGM to release this on DVD?

I really enjoyed "Merrily We Live", because it really made me laugh. It's light hearted and the ending really had me in stitches... It's so refreshing to watch these old movies and not see the violence and bad language that seems to be a must in the movies of today.. The Kilbourn family might not be typical, but they sure do remind us that all families have their own problems. Jerry and Marian make a great sister act and Tom Brown that plays their brother, holds his own too. And let's not forget the one and only Billie Burke, she goes on to play Glinda the good witch in the Wizart of OZ. The cast seems like they had a good time making this movies and Hal Roach had a knack for producing these almost slap stick movies, with just enough flare to keep them funny and not stupid, as so many are in the 90's and 2000's. I would highly recommend this move for family watching..

As has been noted before (often), this is a brilliant screwball comedy and yet somehow "a lost movie." How do such things happen? Fate, I suppose - which is no answer at all. Do, however,seek out this film when you can find it. I saw it on Turner Classic Movies (God Bless Them), and I will make it my business to gather a crowd when viewing its next showing. Considering how across-the-board dazzling the film is, I hate to single out anyone, but Clarence Kolb, who plays the always exasperated "pater familias," and whom we have all seen in dozens of movies, here displays a mastery of physical comedy that is singularly impressive and downright hilarious.

...that it's basically a remake of "MY MAN GODFREY"? I can't be the only person to have noticed this. It's a screwball comedy about a hobo taken in as butler for a wealthy but eccentric family. There's the exasperated father, airhead mother, two daughters each with ulterior motives, wisecracking other servants, and the handsome young man who seems a little too polished to be a tramp. Even right down to the closing water-splashing payoff involving the leading man and the ingénue. But to this film's credit, it's worthy of viewing in its own right. The gags are clever, the dialogue is sharp, and the plot is well-structured and fast paced. Solid screwball comedy with a great cast: Constance Bennett, Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray, Patsy Kelly, and young Bonita Granville. It's a forgotten classic only because people remember MY MAN GODFREY better.