I saw that in a theater when it came out. I realized DDL had tremendous potential when he stole a scene that he only appeared in in the background. It was an interior scene with that lovely lady actress and someone else. DDL was outside the window in the backyard, holding his teacup, ever so properly, while swatting away flies. In my humble opinion, he stole that scene and completely distracted from the main event.
That is so funny that neither of us can remember what the main event was where DDL was balancing teacups in background .. and I just saw it this weekend! But, I recorded it and have a good excuse to watch again. Actually I think that scene might be where George is professing his love for Lucy in the Library and Lucy is stubbornly putting him off... while her fiancee, Cecil, is out on the patio. I never read the book and wonder if the humor comes across there as well as it does on screen.