George Stevens directs Cary Grant, Jean Arthur and Ronald Colman in this screwball comedy where a distinguished law professor finds himself sharing a holiday let with a death row inmate on the run when his scatty landlady hides the condemned innocent there.

An unlikely but very pleasing romantic triangle ensues. One where you’d be happy with any eventual outcome. Jean Arthur is fantastic value in this, she always seems to add to these flicks with her light but accurate comedy performances. The going gets pretty heavy in the second half… as is often the case with this genre. And I agree with its politics so I don’t mind the drastic shift from farce to polemic.

7

Perfect Double Bill: A Foreign Affair (1948)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/