Acteurist oeuvre-view – Jean Arthur – Part 11: THE MORE THE MERRIER (1943) and A LADY TAKES A CHANCE (1943)

Our penultimate Jean Arthur Acteurist Oeuvre-view episode features a couple of sexy romantic comedies, George Stevens' The More the Merrier and William A. Seiter's The Lady Takes a Chance (both 1943), that Arthur made at the height of her stardom and glamour, when she was in her early 40s - at which point she retired from movies. (Though not quite yet, or permanently, as we'll see in the final episode.) We discuss the different ways Arthur smolders with co-stars Joe McCrea and John Wayne; George Stevens' way with smutty comedy; the effect of the Production Code on onscreen eroticism; and Arthur's particular brand of comedic sex appeal. How did we end up talking about sex so much in a Jean Arthur episode, after establishing that she's "not that kind" of star? That's one of the mysteries of her persona!  Time Codes: 0h 1m 00s:        THE MORE THE MERRIER (1943) [dir. George Stevens] 0h 53m 33s:      A LADY TAKES A CHANCE (1943) [dir. William A. Seiter] +++ * Listen to our guest episode on The Criterion Project – a discussion of Late Spring * Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s * Intro Song: "Sunday" by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive) * Read Elise's piece on Gangs of New York – "Making America Strange Again" * Check out Dave's Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist's 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!  Follow us on Twitter at @therebuggy Write to us at [email protected] We now have a Discord server - just drop us a line if you'd like to join!