''We're Not Married!'' is a 1952 American

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically cate ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by Edmund Goulding. It was released by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson, while the story was adapted by Dwight Taylor from

Gina Kaus Gina Kaus (born Regina Wiener; 21 October 1893, Vienna, Austria – 23 December 1985, Los Angeles, California) was an Austrian-American novelist and screenwriter. Life and career Regina Wiener, the daughter of money broker Max Wiener, attended ...

's and

Jay Dratler Jay Dratler (September 14, 1910 – September 25, 1968) was an American screenwriter and novelist."Jay Dratler, Screenwriter, Dies in Mexico" (8 Oct 1968) ''Los Angeles Times''"Jay Dratler Dies; Wrote for Screen" (October 16, 1968) ''New York Tim ...

's unpublished work "If I Could Remarry". The film stars

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

, Ginger Rogers,

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

David Wayne David Wayne (born Wayne James McMeekan, January 30, 1914 – February 9, 1995) was an American stage and screen actor with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life and career Wayne was born in Traverse City, Michigan, the son of Helen M ...

Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 ...

, Paul Douglas, Eddie Bracken, and Mitzi Gaynor. Co-stars include Louis Calhern, Zsa Zsa Gabor, James Gleason, Paul Stewart, and Jane Darwell.

Plot

When elderly Mr. Bush (

) is appointed

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

, he starts marrying couples on Christmas Eve. However, his appointment takes effect on the first of January. Later, this issue becomes known when one of the six couples he married files for divorce. To avoid a bigger scandal, the remaining five couples are informed that they are not really married. The film then shows how the other couples react to the news. Steve (

) and Ramona Gladwyn ( Ginger Rogers) are a husband-and-wife radio team whose on-air loving behavior on their show "Breakfast with the Glad Gladwyns" conceals the fact that they cannot stand each other. However, they do not want to lose their large salaries. When they arrive outside the marriage license bureau, they encounter a happy couple leaving. The sight makes Steve reconsider his relationship with Ramona, then she does too. The second couple is Jeff (

) and Annabel (

) Norris. Annabel has just won the "Mrs. Mississippi" pageant. Jeff is fed up with taking care of their child, while Annabel and her manager Duffy ( James Gleason) are out preparing to compete for the title of "Mrs. America". Jeff is delighted at the prospect of getting Annabel back when he learns they are not married. He sees to it that she loses her title, but in the end is pleased when his now-fiancée wins the "Miss Mississippi" contest. Bush remembers Hector ( Paul Douglas) and Katie Woodruff (

) talking constantly, but they have now run out of things to say to each other. When Hector gets the letter from the Governor's office, he imagines seeing all his gorgeous girlfriends again, then burns the letter before Katie sees it. Kind millionaire Freddie Melrose ( Louis Calhern) is married to a young gold-digger named Eve ( Zsa Zsa Gabor). When Freddie goes on a business trip, she suggests she'll fly that evening to meet him at his hotel, but instead sets him up. Another woman shows up instead, followed shortly afterward by three men who witness his fake adultery. Eve and her attorney, Stone ( Paul Stewart), inform Freddie that while Eve is entitled by law to half his assets in a divorce, they want much more, threatening him with criminal charges. Bush's letter arrives just in time to save him. Young soldier Wilson "Willie" Fisher ( Eddie Bracken) is about to be shipped out to Hawaii and the "Asiatic-Pacific Theater." At the train station, his wife Patsy ( Mitzi Gaynor) arrives late and just has time to tell him she is pregnant before his train leaves. He is unable to tell her that they are not married. He sends her a telegram, urging her to meet him at the port. There, he goes AWOL in order to try to marry her, while dodging two MPs. However, he is caught and thrown in the brig, and his ship sets sail. Fortunately, a military chaplain notices an upset Patsy and manages to extract the story from her. He then arranges for her and Willie to get married by radio.

Cast

as Melvin Bush, Justice of the Peace * Ginger Rogers as Ramona Gladwyn *

as Steve Gladwyn *

as Annabel Jones Norris *

as Jeff Norris *

as Katie Woodruff * Paul Douglas as Hector Woodruff * Eddie Bracken as Willie Fisher * Helene Stanley as Mary * Mitzi Gaynor as Patricia 'Patsy' Reynolds Fisher * Louis Calhern as Freddie Melrose * Zsa Zsa Gabor as Eve Melrose * James Gleason as Duffy * Paul Stewart as Attorney Stone * Jane Darwell as Mrs. Bush * Lee Marvin as Pinky * Gloria Talbott as Girl in dream sequence * Richard Buckley as the radio producer Mr. H.D. Graves

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote: "it must be said for Mr. Johnson and Mr. Goulding that they cut their capers well and came forth with a tailored entertainment that is one of the snappiest of the year." Crowther's favorite segment “most particularly because of the droll demonstration of confusion and beaming triumph that Louis Calhern gives—(is) the little drama in which a Texas millionaire confounds a scheming wife and her attorney who are trying to skin him with the old Army game. In this one, Mr. Calhern is delicious as he helplessly blinks and squirms through the obvious embarrassments of a frame-up and the subsequent bludgeonings of the kill. And then he is beautifully nimble as he finds his ace card and turns upon his relentless harassers…” However, Crowther errs in stating that “it's the only item of the lot in which the slight accident of manumission from matrimony is permitted to stand.” He overlooks Hector Woodruff's burning the letter and saying nothing to his wife.

Soundtrack

References

External links

* * * * * {{Edmund Goulding American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1952 films 1952 romantic comedy films 20th Century Fox films Films directed by Edmund Goulding American romantic comedy films Comedy of remarriage films Films with screenplays by Nunnally Johnson American anthology films Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge 1950s American films