Arizona (1940)

With Jean Arthur playing a MILF who knows how to use a gun AND how to bake a pie AND how to get the younger William Holden (in a very early role) as her husband, Arizona might be the first pre-feminist feminist western. The film does an excellent job of conveying the rough and ready 1800s.

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Arizona (1940)

I'm not a fan of westerns but Arizona is a a high-falutin', scootin', rootin', tootin shoot 'em up with an involving plot about civilizing the Tucson territory and two excellent performances by Jean Arthur and her very young (1940!) and very handsome love interest, William Holden. The black and white photography (shot on desert locations) is stunning and the action scenes (including wagon train attacks and a cattle stampede) are thrilling. And the lead character (Phoebe Titus as portrayed by Ms. Arthur) who uses her wits to build her businesses (and the territory) surely makes this the first post-modern feminist western - years before Johnny Guitar.


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The More the Merrier (1943)

You can't go wrong with a picture starring Jean Arthur but The More The Merrier adds the handsomely hunky Joel McCrea and the obligingly ornery Charles Coburn to create an adult (pre-Three's Company) comedy about roommates and love. The classic George Stevens directed the picture (about a housing shortage in World War II era Washington, DC) which, despite its age, still works. Watch for the rooftop scene and the scene where Jean and Joel walk home from their first date - if only they made movies this naively erotic and oddly romantic today!

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Easy Living (1937)

Easy Living is a genuinely daffy, Preston Sturges-written, Mitchell Leisen-directed laugh riot. Jean Arthur as the girl who gets bonked on the head by a sable (or is it kilonsky?) fur coat (starting a chain of events that leads to a stock market meltdown) demonstrates why she is one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history. Edward Arnold and Ray Milland round out the triumverate exquisitely in this screwball classic that finally gave auteur Sturges enough clout to direct the next screenplay he wrote and Hollywood was never the same.

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Party Wire (1935)

Party Wire is pure, unadulterated Jean Arthur as illustrated by her line to the bank president upon being fired from her job: Don't worry. Christmas is coming. Maybe your wife will give you a dog collar. The story concerns small town gossips (who get their information from the telephonic party line) and, surprisingly, apes the much later written and produced Harper Valley PTA. The movie is well made and somewhat unusual with a cautionary conclusion that is still relevant today.

Public Hero #1 (1935)

Cutie (especially when his hair is messed) Chester Morris is Public Hero #1 after he goes undercover to stop the Purple Gang from marauding the country. The exquisite Jean Arthur enters the melee as the sister of the gang's leader and G-man love interest. The movie is very dated but it is interesting how they made the criminal a hero post motion picture code - and, of course, I do love me some Jean Arthur!