While Evelyn Prentice (1934) may be one of William Powell and Myrna Loy's least-remembered vehicles, it's far from the dud that its reputation seems to suggest. Sure the script and direction are a bit labored, and certainly it takes some far-fetched plot turns, but then so do lots of movies of that era. Seen in a fine DVD transfer in Warner Home Video's new TCM Spotlight: Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection, it's beautiful to look at and boasts solid dramatic performances from one of the all-time great screen couples.

And it is a drama, one of only two full-fledged dramas the pair made together. (The other, Manhattan Melodrama, 1934, is also in this set.) Powell plays a workaholic lawyer whose time away from home is ruining his marriage to Loy, with whom he has a young daughter. The pair start to drift apart. Rosalind Russell (in her film debut) seduces Powell after he wins her acquittal in a murder case, and Loy falls under the charms of a shady, mysterious stranger played by Harvey Stephens (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Warren Beatty!). Stephens turns out to be an utter cad who seduces married women only to blackmail them for cash. Tragedy ensues, and Powell finds himself defending his wife in court.

Una Merkel is on hand with her usual sassy dialogue, playing Loy's confidante, as is popular character actor Edward Brophy as one of Powell's assistants. But it's Powell and Loy's totally convincing chemistry that makes Evelyn Prentice work and remain reasonably compelling. Loy especially shows fine range as she registers despair and increasing guilt.

The two stars had just made The Thin Man (1934), and they are still urbane and sophisticated as husband-and-wife in Evelyn Prentice - they just don't get as much witty banter. After this picture, Powell and Loy's pairings pretty much alternated between Thin Man films and non-Thin Man films, while each continued to work on other movies, too. Loy later recalled, "I never enjoyed my work more than when I worked with William Powell. He was a brilliant actor, a delightful companion, a great friend and, above all, a true gentleman."

Ultimately, Evelyn Prentice is far from the best of the five titles in this new set, but it's also far from bad. It comes with three extras: a short subject, Goofy Movies #3, a cartoon, Discontented Canary, and a trailer. The other four movies on hand are all non-Thin Man movies: Manhattan Melodrama (1934), Double Wedding (1937), I Love You Again (1940) and Love Crazy (1941).

For more information about Evelyn Prentice, visit Warner Video. To order Evelyn Prentice (available only as part of the Myrna Loy/William Powell Collection), go to TCM Shopping.

by Jeremy Arnold