We're Not Married

Amazon.com

Anyone who thinks everyone in the 1950s held marriage sacred hasn't seen We're Not Married, one of the more gleefully cynical snipes ever aimed at that fundamental institution. Five couples discover that their marriages aren't legal--Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen as a bickering pair of beloved radio personalities; Marilyn Monroe as a beauty contestant with her oppressed house-husband, David Wayne; Eve Arden and Paul Douglas as a chatty pair who've run out of conversation; Louis Calhern as a kindly tycoon married to gold-digging Zsa Zsa Gabor; and Eddie Bracken as a soldier who's just learned his not-quite-wife Mitzi Gaynor is pregnant. Into their lives comes a letter from the government revealing the truth about their unions, and suddenly everyone considers what their lives might be, if only... We're Not Married spins five variations on a theme, with smart, sly, and sardonic results. --Bret Fetzer

Description

A fun-loving comedy about a judge (Victor Moore) who unknowingly marries a number of couples before his appointment is official. Years later, when the couples discover their vows aren't valid, the results vary from hilarious to heartbreaking. Marilyn Monroe stars as a young mother on the beauty pageant circuit whose husband (David Wayne) wishes she would stay home. Finding out that they're not legally hitched, they wonder whether it's wise to stay together. Other couples questioning their vows include a pair of eternally bickering radio performers (Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen) and a pregnant bride (Mitzi Gaynor) whose husband (Eddie Bracken) is going off to war. Along with Zsa Zsa Gabor as a fortune-hunting shrew trying to take her tycoon husband (Louis Calhern) for everything he's got, in this classic comedy explores the true meaning of marriage.

Customer Reviews:

A romantic comedy.......2006-12-16

The invalid marriage license must be a hot topic in those years. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" by Alfred Hitchcock dealt with a similar theme. Even to this day, given the option of remarrying or going on separate ways, a couple will find the idea both exciting and terrifying.This movie is more interesting and romantic than I thought.

The rich and successful radio show hosts Ginger Rogers-Fred Allen pair was the first non-compatible couple who would have seized this opportunity to break up. Their marriage had nothing to hang on to except that both their careers were at stake. Marilyn Monroe pair was the one who would fall apart because her prospect was so glamorous that as a beauty queen she'd better remain single than be a married mother. The ironic couple was the super rich Freddie Melrose who really loved his wife Zsa Zsa Gabor. This was the funniest of all. Witness the face-off of the husband and wife-lawyer team. The wheel of the fortune was really spinning fast.

The story ended with such a romantic note. With or without a license, it is this sense of crisis that gives the couple a rare opportunity to reflect upon the relationship and make the most of it. A lesson told in the context of fun and laughter.

This disc is NOT in color.......2004-07-23

The movie is good but the format listed is false. This is a black & white version. I do not believe that it has been out in color on DVD. Amazon has B&W only.

anull & void.......2004-04-30

What a waste of a powerhouse cast! Dated, unfunny & plodding--for Monroe completists only.

Why no deleted sequence?.......2004-04-12

This is a funny movie, especially the Fred Allen and Ginger Rogers section, with a great cast but why didn't Fox include the deleted sequence with Walter Brennan and Hope Emerson as an extra? It's included on the Hidden Hollywood Fox DVD and it's been shown on AMC. It should've been included on this disc.

"...to inform you that you are not legally married.".......2003-08-31

"In one week, he laid six time bombs. ... He jumped the gun. The appointment was for 1 January. This clown began marrying people before he had the authority!" That's what the attorney general tells the Governor Bush (!!!) of (I presume Louisiana), as the story opens in Gretna Green. That clown is Judge Melvin Bush (Victor Moore), a doddering but well-meaning old man. His daughter-in-law, the governor's wife, proposes that they write the couples of the mistake and let them take it from there.

The first couple, Steve and Ramona Gladwyn (Fred Allen and Ginger Rogers) have the funniest moments of all five. However, two and a half years after their marriage, they live in a totally hostile atmosphere, and they don't need help from that thunderstorm outside in the opening waking up segment. Avoiding each other, slamming doors, not saying a word--imagine what this couple think about each other. They are hosts of a radio breakfast program that mentions products of their latest sponsors. As Steve puts it, we're "having a bit of good, clean, nauseating fun over the bacon in eggs in the morning." We actually get a sample of their show, the Glad Gladwyns, and it's funny: "I did what so many society women do these days. I went to Madame Yvonne's Hairdo Heaven Madame Yvonne uses the Sensational Hairdresser. It contains that new mystery ingredient... chicken fat!"

The second involves Jefferson and Annabelle Norris (David Wayne and Marilyn Monroe) of Senatobia, Mississippi. Mrs. Norris has just won the Mrs. Mississippi beauty pageant, and I would definitely have voted for her. While she's out winning contests, her husband is stuck feeding the baby and doing the kitchenwork. However, Annabelle's agent has bigger plans, to expand this to the national level, which means more stay-at-home for the increasingly disgruntled Jefferson. That is, until he opens the letter. It's interesting to see the view of house-husbands in the 1950's compared to today.

Couple number three are Hector and Katherine Woodruff (Paul Douglas and Eve Arden). Despite the judge describing them as talkative, "yakkety yak yak", it's quite the opposite. Their situation is similar to that of the Gladwins, except that they get along slightly better. Thing is, there's an air of boredom. There's hardly anything to talk about and Hector seems to remember the days when he used to party, to the displeasure of his wife.

Frederick and Eve Melrose (Louis Calhern and Zsa Zsa Gabor)--ah yes, that couple. Mr. Melrose, an oil tycoon is pleasantly surprised when his wife suggests she meet him at his usual hotel where he retires to when conducting business in New Orleans, and she particularly asks, "don't forget to register for me." What follows is a show of deceit, until the letter shows up. It's the registration form showing 5 June 1951, which if I do the math, reveals that the first marriage by the judge was done Christmas Eve 1948.

Wilson and Patricia Fisher (Eddie Bracken and Mitzi Gaynor) have a trying time. Wilson, called up for the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre, presumably Korea, is not only shocked to know his wife is pregnant, but he has already gotten the letter, and he is being shipped overseas. His sergeant is totally unsympathetic to the problem, saying that he should try not to get shot. The view of 50's morality of illegitimacy is interesting when seen from today's eyes.

There is one goof that is seen only once. When Mr. Norris gets the letter, we see that there is just his name, city and state--no street address. Either Senatobia is small enough that the mailman knows everyone by name, or he is telepathic. And one wonders if all the letters were like that.

Product Description

Interactive Menus / Scene Selection / Classic Black and White

DVD:

DVD

DVD