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Four Screwball comedies starring Jean Arthur and Rosalind Russell.

If You Could Only Cook stars Jean Arthur as an unemployed girl during the depression who meets a millionaire, James Buchanan (Herbert Marshall). Thinking he’s out of a job too (he’s actually just depressed with his upcoming engagements and a fight he had with the board at his business), she convinces him to pretend to be her husband so they can answer an ad to get jobs as a butler and cook. James/Jim goes along with it and the two get jobs from a mobster who starts to fall for Joan. James/Jim finds himself happier as a butler than he ever was in his old life, but soon gets talked into going back to his old life. Meanwhile, Joan who had seen his car designs, tries to help him get his idea sold. She’s arrested and her boss informs her who James really is hoping it’ll make her fall for him instead. Things get crazy when the mob shows up at James’s wedding with the intent to kill.

This movie was one of the cutest black and white comedies I’ve seen.  Marshall is perfect as the auto exec looking for true happiness and Arthur plays a girl down on her luck perfectly. She manages to be both vulnerable and tough and the two have great chemistry together. My only issue with the film is that it wasn’t longer. I would have preferred to see what happened with the cast after the final scene. Fans of Carole Lombard will enjoy Arthur’s performance.

In Too Many Husbands, Jean Arthur finds out her presumed dead hubby (Fred McMurray) isn’t dead after all, but found refuge on a tiny island and is back in town. Too bad she married his best friend (Melvyn Douglas)! Both Fred MacMurray and Melvyn Douglas shine as the two husbands, but the script doesn’t offer Arthur enough. She acts more as if she wants the two men to vie for her affections than a woman who just found out her presumed dead husband is back from beyond the grave. She doesn’t go out of her way to reassure either man that he will continue to be her actual husband and instead resorts to giggling and being flattered by the attention.

In My Sister Eileen, Ruth (Rosalind Russell) and her younger, prettier sister, Eileen (Janet Blair), move from Columbus, Ohio to pursue their dreams. Eileen wants to be an actress and Ruth wants to be a writer and against their father’s better wishes, their grandmother encourages them to go to New York City. The first day they arrive they spend their time trying to find an apartment that they can afford. They find a dishonest landlord/artist who provided them with a place that has a subway tunnel underneath (that shakes the room when it goes by) and a window to the street where animals can come in and people passing by can see in. The two girls find out being on their own isn’t easy and Eileen soon finds men falling over themselves to get to her as well as having to fight off unwanted advances (she even starts a riot with the Portuguese military). Ruth gets her foot in the door, but it’s a tougher than she imagined. In the end, the girls’ troubles end up being the inspiration that helps them to stay in the city and tough it out.

She Wouldn’t Say Yes is the last film in the set and also stars Rosalind Russell. In this film, Russell plays a military psychiatrist who is an independent career woman who doesn’t need a man. Then she meets a patient (Lee Bowman) who is a cartoonist who finally gets her to lower her guard. Russell spends most of the movie denying advances (as well as denying the fact being shell shocked exists) until the final minutes of the movie. This is not new territory for Russell, but she handles the script well. I wonder if when casting directors saw the terms, “career woman” or “independent woman who doesn’t need a man,” if they automatically just called Russell up. While in many of the films you see recognizable faces (ones you might not be able to place, but realize you’ve seen before), this film has mostly anonymous actors. Russell does her best with the material, but this film is the one that is lacking the most.

This set contains movies you are unlikely to see on AMC or TCM, so for fans of Arthur or Russell this is a worthwhile DVD set to buy. There is also a short feature with the Three Stooges. Fans of Carole Lombard’s comedic style and Barbara Stanwyck’s dry wit will appreciate both Arthur and Russell’s performances. While She Wouldn’t Say Yes is the weak link of the three, If Only You Could Cook and My Sister Eileen more than make up for it. This is a fun set of films that is perfect for escapist viewing.

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