I Love You Again (1940)

People are voting emotionally.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The acting in this movie is really good.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The first William Powell/Myrna Loy film I've seen that lives up to the tremendous screen chemistry they established in "The Thin Man," and that even includes the "Thin Man" sequels.The film begins with Powell as a self-righteous do-gooder, who gets bonked on the head and discovers that he's had amnesia for years and is actually a sketchy playboy. This could be good news for his wife, played by Myrna Loy, who's ready to divorce the boring do-gooder. She just has to figure it out, which Powell makes difficult as he pretends to be the do-gooder so that he can get his hands on the do-gooder's money. As you can imagine, all sorts of complicated hijinks ensue.Loy is the adorable straight man (or woman) she always was, but this is Powell's show all the way. He gets to show off his flair for delivering droll one-liners, but he also gets to display his knack for physical comedy, something not all of his roles allowed him to do.This one is a winner.Grade: A

Despite the classic Powell-Loy pairing, the results are only fitfully funny. The premise is a good set-up for comedy—stuffed shirt Wilson (Powell) gets conked on the head and reverts to con-man persona Carey. Now Carey sees an opportunity to fleece big-wig Wilson's all- American town by pretending to be Wilson. This creates a number of amusing situations as Carey-Wilson tries to bluff his way through the impersonation. But will the con-man be able to withstand the basic goodness of the townspeople and Loy's endearing qualities. The droll Powell bumbles his way along in typically artful fashion. However, Loy is largely wasted in a secondary role as Wilson's rather dour, estranged wife. Unfortunately, the role gives Loy little opportunity to show her own comedic style. Too bad that the pairing fails to live up to its proved potential. Then too, the direction lacks snap, likely the result of a spotty script with too little room for pacing. I guess sidekick McHugh was added for plot reasons, but it's really he, not Loy, who gets to play comedically off Powell. Anyway, it's an okay time passer, but still a distance from the elegantly droll Thin Man series.

Ironically, as I sat down to watch this film I had never seen -- a film about amnesia -- I had the sense of deja vu (all over again!). That's because the opening scenes were so much like some other old movie I had watched -- the drunk walking on the rail of the ship and falling into the ocean. Yet, once past those opening minutes, the film was all new to me. So, one way or another, one film-maker borrowed from another.In my view there is a huge flaw in this film, which I imagine most film-goers didn't even notice. If you do (and now you will), you'll have to overlook it...but that's okay...after all, this is a screwball comedy. At the start of the film, William Powell is a prim and proper teetotaler. He is then struck on the head and amnesia sets in. But instead of just not knowing who he is, he knows who he is...in his other persona. Then he goes back to his hometown and he is the prim and proper teetotaler he clearly always was. That's just not the way amnesia works. Although, others interpret this film as portraying a man who had amnesia for a decade, becoming someone else -- sort of a double or triple amnesia. It just doesn't quite work.But okay, other than that, this is a delightful film, and I think one of the very best of the William Powell - Myrna Loy pairings...yes, even better than the Thin Main series! It's genuinely funny! William Powell is wonderful, as usual...and Myrna Loy is delicious, as usual. For a change, Frank McHugh is bearable...in fact rather enjoyable...as the crooked "Doc". The rest of the cast does their jobs, but aren't standouts. It is nice to see Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer here as a child; he was 13 here.Although I think the amnesia plot is shaky, this film is definitely a treasure. Watch it and enjoy a masterful acting team!

I wonder if this might be the great granddaddy of all amnesia films. If it's not, it's sure one of the first and has inspired countless sitcom episodes. William Powell is bonked on the head and suddenly he's a completely different person--one who apparently disappeared nine years earlier. Who he was during the last nine years is uncertain, but what IS certain is that the new personality is a crook. When this shady guy figures out that during the last nine years he's become a pillar of the community and has access to gobs of other peoples' money, he wants to steal everything he can and run. The problem is, he discovers he has a wife (Loy) and can't bring himself to leave--even when he finds out she hates him. Well, much of the movie is spent trying to win her back, though he still wonders whether or not to rob his "friends". What he does and how the entire mess is resolved is brilliant and a lot of fun. This isn't wacky fun like his other film, LOVE CRAZY, but is a little more sophisticated and deliberately paced. A wonderful old film with excellent acting, writing (aside from the dumb plot device) and direction. One of Powell's and Loy's best.