Easy Living


 
 
Easy Living

Easy Living is a 1937 film, specifically a "screwball comedy." made by Preston Sturges and starring Jean Arthur.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Arthur plays a female clerk at a boys' pulp magazine publishing house (the fictitious Boys' Constant Companion) who can easily be fooled by installment payment scams, but through a sequence of wildly fortunate events interspersed by slapstick gets mistaken for the mistress of the third richest banker in America. Overtopping the norms of the genre, everything in her new life is fantastically stylish and expensive. And her presence in, absence from, or mistaken decisions concerning real estate and the stock market have satirical consequences to these institutions in the film. The film is noteworthy for several period references.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The film contains scenes which serve to record the workings of the obsolete American restaurant form called the Automat. This was a predecessor to the fast food restaurant with no waiters or cashiers, being a wall-to-wall vending machine whose slots were filled by cooks from behind. Being in the era before disposable styrofoam cups and plastic utensils, it had to hire people to wash the cups, dishes, and cutlery. It was also before closed-circuit television to spy on the workers — actually employing a periscope manned by another employee to do so.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One of the references in the film which has since been lost to the general public concerns the "Sixteen-Cylinder" automobile which a firm in the film offers to give her due to her notoriety. Only three firms offered such a car in this time period, and by the time of the film, only Cadillac did so. One of the body styles unique to this set of running gear was designed by Harley Earl. He called it the "Madame X," a phrase used to refer to mistresses from the late Victorian period to his time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


 

1937: 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar)....

Film: :This article is about motion pictures. For other uses of "film", see photographic film or film (disambiguation)...

Screwball comedy: Screwball Comedy is an album by the Japanese band Soul Flower Union. The album found the band going into a simpler, harder-rocking direction, after several heavily world-music influenced albums....


Easy Living related Images and Photos (experimental)

Easy Living DVD (Full Frame)
Easy Living DVD (Full Frame)
Easy Living  Victor Mature  Lizabeth Scott  Lucille Ball  Sonny Tufts  Lloyd Noaln  1949
Easy Living Victor Mature Lizabeth Scott Lucille Ball Sonny Tufts Lloyd Noaln 1949
Easy A
Easy A
Living Earth
Living Earth
Living Single
Living Single
Living Corpse
Living Corpse
Easy Rider
Easy Rider
Hard Easy, The (DVD)
Hard Easy, The (DVD)
So Easy
So Easy
Living Green II
Living Green II
Living Room I  c.1980
Living Room I c.1980
Living Room Terrace
Living Room Terrace

~ Table of Content ~

Introduction
 


 

~ Related Subjects ~

Television (1) - Periscope (1) - Plastic (1) - Fast food (1) - Styrofoam (1) - Cadillac (1) - Photographic film (1) - Film (disambiguation) (1) - Victorian period (1) - Harley Earl (1) - Madame X (1) - Automat (1) - Preston Sturges (1) - Jean Arthur (1) - Screwball comedy (1) -
 

~ Community ~

History Forum
Come and discuss about History, Civilizations, Historical Events and Figures
History Web-Ring
A community of sites, blogs and forums dedicated to History. Do not hesitate to submit your site.