Name that movie: William Powell shaving on a train, singing Ohio?
February 21, 2016 1:50 PM Subscribe
My mother-in-law remembers seeing a movie where William Powell was shaving on a train, singing the Ohio State song ("It's round on the ends/ and high in the middle/ It's O-hi-O.") She thought it was in one of his Thin Man movies (with Myrna Loy) but she recently rewatched them and didn't see it. What movie is she thinking of?
This search says Third Finger, Left Hand (1940), but William Powell isn't in that movie.
posted by dilaudid at 2:30 PM on February 21, 2016
posted by dilaudid at 2:30 PM on February 21, 2016
I have no idea but the question brought to mind the show My Sister Eileen, in which we had the song: Why oh, Why, Ohio...why did I ever leave Ohio.
posted by Postroad at 2:45 PM on February 21, 2016
posted by Postroad at 2:45 PM on February 21, 2016
She could have watched an edited version that omits that scene.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:38 PM on February 21, 2016
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:38 PM on February 21, 2016
I am 80% certain that the movie she's thinking of is Double Wedding. If not, it is in I Love You Again or (much less likely) Libeled Lady. It is not in Love Crazy, though I believe that is the only movie where he appears without his moustache (autheniticity in drag!).
Ok, I'm reminded that I haven't watched them recently enough, so 50/50 Double Wedding or I Love You Again. If I can dig out the DVDs, I'll tell you tomorrow.
posted by monopas at 10:00 PM on February 21, 2016
Ok, I'm reminded that I haven't watched them recently enough, so 50/50 Double Wedding or I Love You Again. If I can dig out the DVDs, I'll tell you tomorrow.
posted by monopas at 10:00 PM on February 21, 2016
Ok, not Double Wedding. I'll try I love you again next.
posted by monopas at 11:32 PM on February 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by monopas at 11:32 PM on February 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
Again, my memories of these movies has proven faulty. Not in I Love You Again. I'm sorry if I had your hopes up, I'm usually better at this. Ovewhelmed by William Powell's amazing power of whimsy, I suppose. I'll try to watch Libeled Lady tomorrow, as it at least supposedly has a shaving scene in it. I have all but 2 of the William Powell & Myrna Loy films (The Great Ziegfeld and The Senator was Indiscreet), and may now have to watch them all to see if I can find said scene.
That being said, dilaudid probably has it right, if the reviewers on TCM are a reasonable source. Third Finger Left Hand is very likely the movie you're looking for. I suspect that the IMDB soundtrack credit for "The Riddle" might be refer to the song she's thinking of and that they are referring to. I can totally understand memory-blending it into a William Powell bit.
According to the Songs of The Ohio State University website and other sources, the song probably in question was adapted from another originally from a 1922 musical show. Powell could have been familiar with it, but unless he sang it in Shadow of the Tin Man or The Senator was Indiscreet (the two co-Myrna Loy films for which I could find no music information), it probably wasn't him. There is no soundtrack credit listing his use of either The Riddle or Round on Both Ends on IMDB, which seems to have tracked every time he even uttered a recognizable line from a song in any of his movies.
Hope this helps. Also, Third Finger Left Hand is currently up on youtube in parts. Here is part one.
posted by monopas at 2:38 AM on February 22, 2016
That being said, dilaudid probably has it right, if the reviewers on TCM are a reasonable source. Third Finger Left Hand is very likely the movie you're looking for. I suspect that the IMDB soundtrack credit for "The Riddle" might be refer to the song she's thinking of and that they are referring to. I can totally understand memory-blending it into a William Powell bit.
According to the Songs of The Ohio State University website and other sources, the song probably in question was adapted from another originally from a 1922 musical show. Powell could have been familiar with it, but unless he sang it in Shadow of the Tin Man or The Senator was Indiscreet (the two co-Myrna Loy films for which I could find no music information), it probably wasn't him. There is no soundtrack credit listing his use of either The Riddle or Round on Both Ends on IMDB, which seems to have tracked every time he even uttered a recognizable line from a song in any of his movies.
Hope this helps. Also, Third Finger Left Hand is currently up on youtube in parts. Here is part one.
posted by monopas at 2:38 AM on February 22, 2016
No train & no shaving (rather calisthenics outside a bedroom while settling into sleeping on the patio furniture), but the song is here, in Third Finger, Left Hand.
posted by neda at 6:07 AM on February 22, 2016
posted by neda at 6:07 AM on February 22, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by noloveforned at 2:20 PM on February 21, 2016