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Drama in the House: On Approval

Clive Brooks’s restored 1944 comedy On Approval caused a sensation at the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival in L.A., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Film Curator Marian Luntz says. “[When] it became available on 35mm…we just had to [get it on our schedule]!” The film, which has Brooks pulling double duty as director and star opposite actress Beatrice Lillie, follows two cash-poor aristocrats hoping to wed wealthy widows. When one of the women demands a one-month trial period with her wannabe intended to ensure their compatibility, hilarity ensues. Historian and award-winning filmmaker Jeremy Arnold described the comedy of manners as “a crazy combination of the Marx Brothers and Oscar Wilde, delivered in a deadpan style.” On Approval is one of a number of films that represent the English country house being shown in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibition, “Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English Country House.”

It screens at 5 p.m. August 17 and 7 p.m. August 21. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet. For information, call 713-639-7515 or visit mfah.org. $9.
Sun., Aug. 17, 5 p.m.; Thu., Aug. 21, 7 p.m., 2014

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