458 The Lady Is Willing

[MichaelB]

THE LADY IS WILLING
(Mitchell Leisen, 1942)
Release date: 23 September 2024
Limited Edition Blu-ray (World premiere)

Pre-order here

Hollywood legends Marlene Dietrich (Blonde Venus) and Fred MacMurray (Pushover) collide in the screwball comedy classic The Lady Is Willing.

Eccentric Broadway star Liza Madden (Dietrich) longs to become a mother but has no need for a husband. When she stumbles across an abandoned baby, she resolves to adopt it, entering into a marriage of convenience with child-hating, rabbit-obsessed divorcé Dr McBain (MacMurray).

Directed by Mitchell Leisen (Remember the Night) and scripted by James Edward Grant (Bullfighter and the Lady), The Lady Is Willing also includes memorable supporting turns from Stanley Ridges (An Act of Murder), Aline MacMahon (One Way Passage), and Arline Judge (An American Tragedy).

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian Adrian Martin (2024)
• Richard Dyer on ‘The Lady Is Willing’ (2024): the academic and author discusses the film and Marlene Dietrich’s work as a comedy performer
• Lux Radio Theatre: ‘The Lady Is Willing’ (1943): radio play adaptation of the film’s screenplay, starring Kay Francis and George Brent
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Iris Veysey, an archival interview with Marlene Dietrich, an archival profile of director Mitchell Leisen, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• World premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK

All extras subject to change

#PHILE458B
BBFC cert: U
REGION B
EAN: 5060697924039

[domino harvey]

I am admittedly not as wild about Leisen as some, but this is a pretty dire movie, though Indicator's brief plot summary makes it sound a lot funnier than it is!

[Godot]

Did the commentary change? Peter Tonguette was listed above, but both Powerhouse site and Amazon now list Adrian Martin. That's a "buy" signal for me.

[MichaelB]

Clearly a misprint originally. Peter Tonguette did You'll Never Get Rich, while Adrian Martin was always down for The Lady is Willing (and did a great job).

[therewillbeblus]

I am admittedly not as wild about Leisen as some, but this is a pretty dire movie

Yes, this was abysmal. There's some promise in MacMurray playing a pediatrician who detests children, but this -like most of its ideas- aren't actually utilized, and the film continuously pivots itself away from screwball opportunities into trite dramatics. I know Leisen is all about trying to balance these tones, but this one is a failure. Genuinely curious what Adrian Martin has to rave about

[MichaelB]

Genuinely curious what Adrian Martin has to rave about.

Plenty! It's a very enthusiastic commentary, and he has a lot to say.

To quote him directly, about a minute in:

Now, this is a very unusual film in many ways. I'm not going to try to fool you by saying that it's one of the very greatest Mitchell Leisen films. It's not. But it's a good film. It's a very enjoyable film. It's a film with many intriguing details and layers that we'll work through. And it's fascinating as a Hollywood film, as a Hollywood entertainment film of 1942, in so many ways. And it's fascinating as a Mitchell Leisen film. So this is a film that, in a way, using the parlance of the 1980s, 1990s film industry, is a kind of a high concept movie.

[MichaelB]

Final specs:

[Furstemberg]

Mr Dyer’s fingernails were very distracting

[Jonathan S]

Mr Dyer’s fingernails were very distracting

In what respect? Long, chewed, pointed, painted? (I'm curious partly because he was my tutor 40+ years ago...)

[Furstemberg]

Each a different length, all too long. Enjoyed his enthusiasm for this one, though.

[MichaelB]

The Beaver is Willing.