Merrily We Live (1938)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

I think that people make too much out of the supposed resemblance to "My Man Godfrey", in claiming that it is merely a "copy". "Godfrey" was not original itself. The basic idea was used many times before in books and plays, not to mention other movies. It is virtually impossible to come up with an idea that someone has not used before, nor is that really important. It is what you DO with a basic idea, how well you use it, that is more important.NOthing wrong with a "fresh variant" of an old idea. All of the actors are superbly cast, and succeed very well in making the best of their roles. As a COMEDY, I think that this is actually better than "Godfrey", which is often praised mainly because of its "social comment" aspects, how it looks at victims of the depression. But as pure comedy, I think that "Merrily" works better, non stop laughs. Clarence Kolb was an inspired choice, and is great in every scene, and Brian Aherne plays deftly off of Constance Bennet. And of course Bonita Granville and Billie Burke and Alan Mowbry and Patsy Kelly each contribute their own choice bits. All in all, a really funny movie, and after all, isn't that what you want from a comedy?

"My Man Godfrey", of which this is a virtual remake, was tainted slightly by a strain of silliness that didn't grow out of the plot but seemed inserted later, as an afterthought. "Merrily We Live" is almost all like an afterthought.I don't mean to be too polyphenolic about it. It's an amusing diversion. But it's a whole lot more amusing if you haven't seen "My Man Godfrey" yet.In the earlier film, there was an inherent absurdity in the contrast between William Powell's immaculate, articulate, and super-polite butler and the lunatic family he served. Brian Aherne's newly hired chauffeur isn't a Boston-bred Harvard graduate. He's more of an Everyman. The family springs its nonsense on him with éclat and he responds with aplomb. Instead of being willingly bound in the role of chauffeur, he wanders around the estate at will, making remarks about the diseases of roses and such. The gags aren't particularly funny. One longs for lines like Carole Lombard's, "If others can have children, why can't OTHERS have children?" Let me put it this way. Watch this before you watch "My Man Godfrey," because this compares poorly.

This was a feature film of the screwball comedy variety produced by Hal Roach studios. As others have said, the plot bears a striking resemblance to "My Man Godfrey", but with enough changes in the plot to make it worth watching. Dizzy but well-meaning socialite Emily Kilbourne (Billie Burke) has a mission in life in trying to reform Depression era "forgotten men". However, all of them so far have managed to violate her trust by running off with some of the family's valuable possessions in the middle of the night. Shabbily dressed Wade Rawlins (Brian Aherne), whose car has just rolled backwards of a cliff, shows up at the Kilbourne estate just wanting to use the phone but ends up Mrs. Kilbourne's latest project. Before he can protest or explain his situation, she makes him a sandwich and makes him the chauffeur. However, this guy is not your typical tramp as he is quite articulate and well mannered. Emily's oldest daughter Jerry (Constance Bennett) first dislikes Rawlins as she feels he is just using her mother like the others, but later she finds herself falling for him as he earns her trust and her friendship. Unlike "My Man Godfrey" there is no evil member of the Kilbourne family trying to set up or blackmail Rawlins in order to get rid of him and Rawlins seems to have no inner demons as did Godfrey. Instead Rawlins has the upper hand in every situation and seems to be enjoying the show that is the dysfunctional Kilbourne family. Plus the audience is as clueless as the Kilbournes as to who Rawlins' true identity is up to the last five minutes or so. However, it does seem strange that no member of the family ever wonders what this guy's story really is enough to look into it or even question him about it.Since this is a Hal Roach production, there is plenty of slapstick and sight gags, including a running gag of the dinner chimes that keep falling apart every time the butler rings them and the family trying to use ladles as eating utensils after Rawlins' predecessor has run off with the family silverware.If you have 90 minutes to kill and want to watch a movie that's lots of fun and has little conflict and no bad guys, I'd recommend this one.

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..