Together Again (1944)

Anne Crandall, the mayor of a small town (Irene Dunne) goes to the city to contract sculptor George Corday (Charles Boyer) to replace the lightning-damaged statue of her defunct husband.

An ill-advised visit at a nightclub (it might make sense as a bohemian hangout, but it is clearly not as a place to bring a female on a dinner date, especially as the artist states that the food and service are terrible; that there’s illegal gambling in the premises, and that the only real highlight is the star of the strip show,) and a police raid result with her mistaken for a stripper, arrested and spending a night in jail in just her underwear under a fake name.

Seeking to avoid further embarrassment she returns home as soon as she can, only to find out she’s been followed by the artist who blackmails her into changing her mind about hiring him and into giving him guest quarters to live in.

It’s not surprising for studios to reuse plots, but this is loosely disguised (loose adaptation? rip-off?) script of the award-nominated Theodora Goes Wild (1936), a previous Columbia hit, is easily recognized as such even if, after a point, the stories have clearly diverged.

What’s surprising is that for a post-Code film, even by the first act, it has already ramped up the raciness.

I am aware of his reputation, but I’d never truly witnessed it first-hand. I’ve not seen prime Charles Boyer in that many films: Gaslight (1944), How to Steal a Million (1966), Barefoot in the Park (1967) among them. One, atypical because it is a thriller and the others, late vehicles.

I am frankly more familiar with second-hand impressions of Boyer, but I’d never seen him being this funny or this charming. Others might not see this as a revelation, but it was to me.

This film also has hints of ghostly, supernatural intervention; at the very least some of the characters believe they are so even when they might all simply be coincidences. What’s undeniable is that lightning, rainstorms starting or suddenly stopping (supernatural or not) are the meteorological events propelling Anne into an unwanted (or so she claims) romance. The film ends on a phenomenon that can't be construed as a sign or a message but which is still utterly inexplicable.

Also with Charles Coburn, Mona Freeman, Jerome Courtland, Elizabeth Patterson, Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer, and Shelley Winters as a fleeing nightclub patron.

Directed by Charles Vidor.