Preston Sturges had signed a deal with Paramount in 1936, and Easy Living was his first assignment for them. Although putatively based on a story by Vera Caspary, Sturges in fact supposedly kept almost nothing of it except the mink coat. When a studio executive rejected the script because “1936 was not the time for comedies”, Sturges took the script directly to Mitchell Leisen, of which Sturges said “going to a director over the head of my producer was not a sagacious move.”
via Easy Living (1937 film) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A reader recently reminded my what a delightful talent Jean Arthur was, this screwball comedy begins when a mink coat is tossed off the roof of Manhattan penthouse, and a completely charming movie ensues.
