Jan 25 movie: The Last of Mrs. Cheyney. Romantic comedy set during a weekend party in an English country manor, starring Joan Crawford and William Powell. This movie was okay, a pleasant enough way to kill a couple of hours. But Joan Crawford isn't my favorite, there's something a little too fake and mannerly about her performance when she's trying to play a character with class. Or maybe she was always like that, I don't know. William Powell is always great, but he's better with someone like Myrna Loy or Carole Lombard, with whom he has actual chemistry. Also this movie commits a (to me) unpardonable sin: everyone but Crawford is supposed to be British, but almost all of them speak with their normal American accents. It's really confusing. Accents or no, there's good supporting work by Robert Montgomery and Frank Morgan.
The movie was shown on "guest programming night" featuring Bill Cosby, of all people. Robert Osborne seemed surprised that Cosby had chosen this movie, and the Cos couldn't really provide a reason beyond "I saw it once and liked it." Cosby also looked totally slovenly: wearing U Mass sweats and cap, Birkenstocks with white socks (ugh!) and dark sunglasses, and slouching so deep he was practically lying down in his chair. What a jerk.
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