Hard To Get

Almost, but not quite, a musical, HARD TO GET came about as the result of Powell's wanting to get out of the mold he'd been placed in by Warner Brothers, of silly stories that were just there so Powell could sing. He wanted to show that he could also act, something he proved many years later in a series of hard-boiled roles for various studios. Here, Powell is an architect who has been reduced to managing a gasoline station. De Havilland (his co-star in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM), a wealthy heiress, drives her spiffy Mercury convertible into the gas station-motel, fills it up, and then, like so many rich folk, realizes she doesn't have a penny with her. Her diffide...