Easy Living

Easy Living, directed by Mitchell Leisen and written by Preston Sturges from a story by Vera Caspary, opened on July 16, 1937, as a screwball comedy. The film follows Mary (Jean Arthur), who ends up living in a luxury penthouse after being mistaken for a banker's mistress when his wife's sable coat lands on her from a balcony; its famous sequence sees an automat restaurant's machines go haywire into a choreographed chaos. Leisen's handling of the script frustrated Sturges so much that the experience is credited with pushing Sturges toward directing his own screenplays; this was one of the last scripts Sturges wrote for another director. Who it's for: anyone curious about a classic screwball comedy whose writer was frustrated enough by another director's handling of his script to start directing his own films. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a calm, grounded pace, since the film builds to chaotic set pieces like its runaway automat sequence.