Private Lives (MGM)

True wit meets marital grit in this timeless Noel Coward comedy about two bon vivants who can't live without -- or with -- each other. Having barely survived the warefare of their wedlock, Amanda (Norma Shearer) and Elyot (Robert Montgomery) decide the play it safe, choosing dull mates to marry the second time around. But pedestrian is no match for passion, especially when mixed with proximity -- as in adjourning honeymoon suites! Off they go, leaving stunned new spouses to console each other. But it isn't lomg until the brawls begin again. Montgomery was never more suave and Shearer never more slinky than in this pinnacle of the sophisticated comedy. A true classic regularly produced on stages everywhere, this was Coward's personal favorite of all his plays.