Hahaha! You've labeled the two major downfalls of
What a Way To Go! What was charming egoism in Gene in the early films becomes something kind of ugly later on. And Robert Cummings has a fussiness later that can be a real turn off, though I don't really mind him that much.
Moving back to Nils Asther, I think quite possibly there was never a more beautiful man in movies. He's excellent, perhaps even brilliant as Yen. One of the few portrayals of an Asian by someone of a different culture that works. He respects the culture he portrays which is why the movie remains one of my favorite Capra films. It's a shame he couldn't have escaped his leading man good looks, because I think he's far better as a character actor.
And yeah, he was smokin' hot!
I like Capra early on, when he was a bit of a tough guy. In this film and in
Flight, plus a few others, I felt there was a different Capra at work, an adventurous one with a cleaner, more concise tale to tell. A director not afraid to cut to the bone, more like Wellman, making tough choices. This helped Capra's stories immensely, as least for me.
I should have given it a chance.
