Merrily We Live (1938) in Color — Starring Constance Bennett & Brian Aherne

Merrily We Live (1938) — Buy This Classic in Color

Merrily We Live (1938) is a sparkling screwball comedy starring Constance Bennett and Brian Aherne, featuring Billie Burke in her Oscar-nominated performance as the hilariously scatterbrained matriarch of a wealthy family who cannot resist taking in charming tramps. Directed by Norman Z. McLeod, this professionally colorized version brings delightful new life to one of the funniest, most purely entertaining comedies of the 1930s. Buy your colorized copy today for €15.00 and own this wonderfully entertaining classic movie in color.

Plot Summary

The eccentric Kilbourne family is spectacularly wealthy, utterly chaotic, and constantly losing their exhausted, long-suffering servants thanks to the maddening, irresistible behavior of Mrs. Kilbourne — a delightfully, magnificently scatterbrained woman who has an incurable compulsion to invite every vagrant, tramp, and stray who appears at her door into the household as a new member of the staff, regardless of their qualifications, their character, or the mounting despair of everyone else in the house. When the latest apparent tramp, the disarmingly charming and suspiciously well-spoken Wade Rawlins, arrives at the door looking disheveled and hungry, Mrs. Kilbourne immediately and enthusiastically hires him as the new chauffeur — the family’s latest in a long, colorful line of servants recruited from the roadside. The family’s sharp-tongued, sophisticated, determinedly cynical daughter Jerry is furious about yet another stray being dragged into their lives, loudly demanding when her mother will stop treating their mansion like a shelter for wandering derelicts. But Jerry gradually, reluctantly, and then with increasing fascination discovers that Wade is far more intelligent, cultured, witty, and genuinely charming than any vagrant has a right to be — and despite her best efforts to maintain her protective armor of sarcasm, she finds herself falling in love with him. The classic movie builds gloriously escalating comic chaos as the entire household falls completely under Wade’s spell — the servants adore him, the family cannot function without him, Jerry’s resistance crumbles into undeniable romance, and even the crusty, blustering Mr. Kilbourne admits the new man has something. Of course, Wade Rawlins may not be quite the simple vagrant everyone has assumed, leading to a series of brilliantly constructed comic revelations, romantic complications, and a climax of perfectly choreographed screwball pandemonium that leaves every character and the audience breathless with laughter.

Cast & Crew

Director: Norman Z. McLeod

Stars: Constance Bennett, Brian Aherne, Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray, Patsy Kelly, Ann Dvorak, Tom Brown, Bonita Granville, Marjorie Rambeau, Clarence Kolb

Why Buy This Classic in Color?

This colorized version of Merrily We Live reveals the luxurious mansion settings, the elegant 1930s wardrobes, and the comic chaos of the Kilbourne household with vivid, irresistibly charming new detail. The original black and white photography captured the film’s sparkling energy and impeccable comic timing, but the professionally colorized restoration transforms the visual experience — revealing the warm, rich wood paneling and crystal chandeliers of the Kilbourne mansion, the fashionable pastels and jewel tones of the women’s wardrobes, the perfectly manicured green lawns and gardens of the estate, and the contrasting shabbiness of Wade’s initial appearance — all rendered with meticulous frame-by-frame precision. The visual opulence of the settings perfectly complements the screwball energy of the comedy. Now also available in colour.

Buy Merrily We Live in color today for just €15.00. Your DRM-free MP4 download is available for instant access.

Historical Significance

Merrily We Live is a classic film that received an impressive five Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actress for Billie Burke — whose magnificently scattered, irresistibly lovable performance as the well-meaning but hopelessly chaotic Mrs. Kilbourne is one of the great comic turns in 1930s cinema and the role for which she is most fondly remembered alongside her iconic Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz. The film was a major commercial hit for the Hal Roach Studios and is consistently ranked among the finest screwball comedies ever produced, standing alongside My Man Godfrey — to which it bears an acknowledged and cheerfully deliberate resemblance — as a pinnacle of the eccentric-wealthy-family subgenre that 1930s Hollywood perfected. The ensemble cast is uniformly brilliant, with Patsy Kelly providing raucous comic support, Alan Mowbray delivering impeccable deadpan, and Constance Bennett demonstrating the sophisticated comic timing that made her one of the most versatile actresses in Hollywood. The restored colorized version allows modern audiences to watch this gem of 1930s comedy with the visual warmth and elegance that its magnificent mansion settings and glamorous cast have always deserved.

Technical Details

• Format: MP4 digital download
• Resolution: HD restored
• Colorized: Professionally colorized from original black and white
• Audio: Original mono restored
• Runtime: Approximately 95 minutes
• DRM-free: Yes — watch on any device
• Instant download: Available immediately after purchase
• Price: €15.00

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Movie-Specific Questions

Q: Is this a screwball comedy?
A: Yes — Merrily We Live is one of the finest screwball comedies of the 1930s, featuring a wonderfully eccentric wealthy family, rapid-fire comic dialogue, romantic sparring, and the kind of expertly escalating comic chaos that defines the genre at its absolute best.

Q: Is this the colorized version of the full film?
A: Yes, this is the complete 95-minute feature, professionally colorized frame-by-frame from the restored original.

Q: Is this similar to My Man Godfrey?
A: Yes — both films feature a wealthy eccentric family who takes in a seemingly down-on-his-luck man who turns out to be far more than he appears. Merrily We Live was openly inspired by the earlier classic and stands proudly alongside it as one of the great screwball comedies.

Q: How is Billie Burke in this?
A: Burke received an Oscar nomination for her performance, and for good reason — her gloriously scattered, irresistibly lovable Mrs. Kilbourne is a masterclass in screwball comedy acting and one of the most delightful performances of the entire decade.

Digital Download Questions

Q: What format is the download?
A: DRM-free MP4, compatible with virtually any device or media player.

Q: How much does it cost?
A: €15.00 for instant download. The colorization process ensures every scene looks stunning in color.

Q: Can I watch on multiple devices?
A: Absolutely. The file is DRM-free, so you can watch on your TV, tablet, phone, or computer.

Related Colorized Classics

• The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
• Follow the Fleet (1936)
• The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951)
• Paris Underground (1945)
• Carnaval Atlântida (1952)