How happy we live!
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | How happy we live! |
| Original title | Merrily We Live |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1938 |
| length | 88 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Norman Z. McLeod |
| script |
Jack Jevne , Eddie Moran , Ed Sullivan |
| production |
Hal Roach , Milton H. Bren |
| music | Marvin Hatley |
| camera | Norbert Brodine |
| cut | William H. Terhune |
| occupation | |
| |
How happy we live! (Original title: Merrily We Live , TV title: Uns geht's ja gorgeous ) is an American comedy film from 1938 based on the novel The Dark Chapter; a Comedy of Class Distinctions by EJ Rath and the play They All Want Something by Courtenay Savage.
action
The Kilbournes are a wealthy and eccentric family. Mother Emily in particular sometimes behaves strangely when she pursues her hobby - helping tramps and hobos . Even setbacks, such as the theft of silverware by one of their protégés, do not prevent them from continuing to help the helpless. One day, a filthy man named Rawlins appears at the Kilbournes house, his old car crashing down a cliff nearby. Rawlins only wants to ask to use the phone, but Emily sees him as a person in need. She makes him her new chauffeur, despite the protests of her daughter Jerry. Rawlins is amused and soon he has the women of the house on his side. Only Mr. Kilbourne and the butler Grosvenor remain skeptical.
Mr. Kilbourne tries to get a deal with Senator Harlan. For this he gives a dinner party, at which Rawlins is also present and is accidentally passed off as a gentleman. Harlan's daughter Minerva as well as the senator himself are very taken with the man. At first, Mr. Kilbourne is concerned that Minerva's crush on Rawlins is putting the business at risk. But he soon realizes that Rawlins supported the negotiations and urges the chauffeur to continue going out with Minerva. This in turn makes Jerry jealous, who has since fallen in love with Rawlins.
Police have now found Rawlins' car that fell off the cliff and believe that he was killed in the accident. The next morning, when the newspapers reported that noted writer E. Wade Rawlins was killed in a car accident near the Kilbourne Estate, Emily, Jerry and the maids passed out from the hoax. Mr. Kilbourne and his younger daughter Marion try unsuccessfully to bring the ladies back to themselves. Only the joining Rawlins succeeds in waking Jerry up. It is clear to both of them that they love each other. Grosvenor, who thinks Emily's drifter will be treated better than himself, packs his rucksack and walks to the street.
background
The film premiered on March 4, 1938. In the German Reich, How do we live happily ever after? in cinemas at Christmas 1938. The film was shown for the first time in Germany on March 8, 1992 as part of a television broadcast by the station Sat.1 under the title Uns geht's ja gächtig .
The novel and the play are not named in the credits as a template. A film from 1930, What a Man , by George J. Crone, which tells the same story and has the same role names, on the other hand, lists the templates mentioned as the basis for the script.
Leading actress Constance Bennett had recently started a comeback thanks to the success of the comedy Topper - The blonde ghost . Producer Hal Roach wanted to take advantage of the new level of awareness and was able to engage Bennett and director McLeod as well as Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray, Norbert Brodine, the Jevne / Moran team of authors and the film editor Terhune.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films described the film as "a technically perfect, fast-paced screwball comedy that is entertaining". Variety praised the director's ability to make the gags rock up each other, with most of the laughs coming from Billie Burke's performing arts.
Awards
At the Academy Awards in 1939 , the film was nominated for five Academy Awards, but couldn't win any. The nominations were in the categories of Best Supporting Actress (Billie Burke), Best Cinematography (Norbert Brodine), Best Production Design ( Charles D. Hall ), Best Sound ( Elmer Raguse ) and Best Song ( Merrily We Live by Phil Charig and Arthur Quenzer ) .
Web links
- How happy we live! in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ How happy we live! In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed June 10, 2019 .
- ↑ See Merrily We Live . In: Variety . 1938.