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| Wedded bliss? Fred Allen and Ginger Rogers |
WE'RE NOT MARRIED (1952). Director: Edmund Goulding.
"I'll say one thing about our marriage. If there's such a thing as an unjackpot, I've hit it!" -- Ramona
Five couples who were married by a dithering Justice of the Peace (Victor Moore) discover that the man's license only went into affect after the new year, so that their marriages are invalid. Those affected include radio show hosts Ramona and Steven Gladwyn (Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen), who hate each other and only speak during the show; Katie and Hector Woodruff (Eve Arden and Paul Douglas), who have gotten into a rut; Annabel and Jeff Norris (Marilyn Monroe and David Wayne), who have an adorable baby boy; Patsy and Wilson Fisher (Mitzi Gaynor and Eddie Bracken), who are expecting a child; and Eve and Fred Melrose (Zsa Zsa Gabor and Louis Calhern), who are facing an expensive divorce -- for Fred.
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| Gabor, Louis Calhern, Paul Stewart |
Although there are a few laugh-out-loud moments,
We're Not Married has a very insufficient screenplay. Some of the stories have such flat endings that you wondered why anyone even bothered. It also makes no sense to team the adorable Marilyn Monroe -- whose appearances virtually amount to a cameo! -- with the bland and utterly sexless David Wayne; they hardly set the screen on fire. The best episode has lawyer Paul Stewart dictating divorce terms to Louis Calhern, then a certain letter arrives in the mail, but even this segment is completely predictable. For me it doesn't help that Eddie Bracken happens to be one of my least favorite actors ever, although his typically whiny performance is adequate. Calhern, Rogers and others are wasted in this piffle, which could have been a really strong picture with a much, much better screenplay. Fred Allen was once a very popular comedian, although he's virtually forgotten today. Movies like this didn't help.
Verdict: A lot of good actors with generally disappointing material. **1/2.
Much as I like Fred Allen, his movies left a lot to be desired. I may seek this one out just to see Ginger Rogers, but if it's anything like "It's in the Bag" it's going to be a tough watch.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was an Allen curse, the one spin off film I'm aware of from Fred's show was "It's a Joke Son" starring Kenny Delmar as his signature character Senator Claghorn.
It's hard to sit through too, but it's interesting to see a very young June Lockhart in it.
I always thought it was mildly ironic that Delmar's character was later parodied in Warner Brothers cartoons as "Foghorn Leghorn" and voiced by Mel Blanc, who was a major costar on Jack Benny's program.