Regan MacArthur Writes

  TOO MANY HUSBANDS (1940) A nice little glass of champagne. Jean Arthur's first husband is lost and presumed dead. A few months into her second marriage, the first husband turns up alive. Hijinks ensue. If Howard Hawks had directed this, it would have been faster and funnier but he didn't have enough of a heart to be sympathetic to such an imperfect woman. Jean Arthur is excited about having two men vying for her even though she knows that makes her a jerk. This movie is often compared to MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940) but the gender flip isn't the crucial difference. It's a question of category. MY FAVORITE WIFE is a story. TOO MANY HUSBANDS is a situation. Stories have endings. Situations merely stop. Don't get me wrong. I liked TMH, but stories are always better than situations, no matter how many laughs you can squeeze out of them.

LADY ON A TRAIN (1945) Neither a noir nor a musical nor a screwball, but a fun little mix of all three. The old movie studio system had a lot to recommend it. I discovered this one from a list of top 25 screwball comedies. So far, so good. Tip of the hat to: https://thatsallsiknow.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-10-best-screwball-comedies.html

  𝐻𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝐺𝑢𝑛 and 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑟𝑜𝑛 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙 by Louis L'Amour Published over 20 years apart, but you would never be able to tell. For good or ill, L'Amour had the same strengths and weaknesses from beginning to end. I enjoyed the first half of these books better than I did the second half, but I'll keep coming back.

 Sing it, sister!

A story idea I can't seem to crack... The Chosen One had fled this place screaming and he hadn't been seen since. The Beast still needed killing but she didn't care about any of that. She wasn't brave. She had never been brave, but before the Chosen One had ever been chosen he had been her brother and she had loved him and she always would. She needed to know what it was about this place that had shaken him so badly. What awaits anyone who dares to enter this place? It is where you meet your double, but not your exact double. It is where you encounter your better self, the version you always hoped you'd become and yet never managed to achieve. You meet this person and you learn the awful truth: Only one of you can leave here alive...  

"We were sentimental men, but that was our secret, for an enemy who knows your feelings is an enemy who has a hold on you. Not all poker is played over a card table." -Louis L'Amour, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑀𝑒𝑛

  A film review of CAUGHT STEALING (2025) There are plot twists after the halfway mark that were so damned perfect that I almost stood up and saluted the television screen. The movie is based on a novel by Charlie Huston. I got read me one of those.

  Did Walter Hill name Nick Nolte's character in 48 𝐻𝑟𝑠. after the hero of 𝐿𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑃𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑜 𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑠 by Louis L'Amour? I wouldn't be a bit surprised.

Of the twenty novels by Louis L'Amour I've read so far, I think FALLON might be my favorite.