[Dr. Sivana]

The hook up mentality killed the romantic comedy.

Yup. We rarely watch newer movies. My wife wanted to watch an older "light" movie, and we liked the "Thin Man" movies so I looked for something free on YouTube. I cam across "Double Harness" with William Powell. Turns out it was pre-Hayes Code, and some strategic "hooking up" happened, and ruined everything for a good chunk of the movie. After we determined that ALL the characters were selfish twits, we decided not to watch to the end, as we didn't care about their fates.

[greene66]

“Double Harness” was a really rare film for many decades, often considered lost. Always wanted to see it, due to the cast. But, it was like you said. Akin to things like “Biography of a Bachelor Girl” which came out at the very same time, also with Ann Harding. Part of that whole hoity-toity, uppercrust, stage-play fare that inundated the early-talkie era, often exuding jadedness and questionable moral tone. Another in that vein, “Our Betters,” at least countered that with a scathing condemnation of high-society immorality, although it too was a pretty unappetizing item in many ways.