Product: The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936)
Rating: 5.0
Delightful Art Deco Romp
Jean Arthur as the ex-Mrs. Bradford is at her absolute zany best in this easy-to-watch romp through the Art Deco, Upper Class Thirties in Los Angeles. Ex-husband Dr. Bradford (William Powell) has both a butler and a chauffeur, and the ex-Mrs. "has about one-third of the money in California." Some of the Art Deco sets are fabulous.The Ex-Mrs. Bradford doesn't have the staying power of the best of Powell's classic Thin Man series, but it's delightful movie you'll watch over and over again.The mystery plot meanders around and is a little confusing, but the snappy dialogue keeps things moving. One of the Arthur's sexiest comments somehow got past the censors: When asked how she takes her coffee, she says with a grin, "Four lumps, that's me."Of course the Bradfords get back together, and they solve the murders, and it all ends happily.I used to watch this on VCR, and I'm pleased this is now available on DVD, even though the Archive Edition (made-to-order DVDs) doesn't show the title on the intro screen, so if you have a multidisc player and several Archive discs in it, you don't know which movie is which.