Search - We're Not Married on DVD

Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1952 DVD Release: 04/20/2004 Format: DVD Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 25 mins Studio: 20th Century Fox Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Screwball Comedy

Having supped full of success with the multi-storied O. Henry's Full House, 20th Century-Fox assembled another all-star "omnibus" film, We're Not Married. The unifying factor of this enjoyable seriocomedy is provided by justice-of-the-peace Melvin Bush (Victor Moore), who learns to his horror that his license is invalid. Bush and his wife (Jane Darwell) feverishly track down the five couples whom he has married "illegally" to inform them of the fact and invite them to renew their vows. Couple #1 is Fred Allen and Ginger Rogers, a husband-and-wife radio team whose huggy-kissy behavior on the air conceals the fact that they'd dearly love to cut each other's throats. Couple #2 consists of David Wayne and his contest-happy spouse Marilyn Monroe, who's just won the "Mrs. Mississippi" pageant. Couple #3, Paul Douglas and Eve Arden, ran out of things to say to each other long ago. Couple #4 is millionaire Louis Calhern and his avaricious young bride Eva Gabor, who intends to jilt the old coot and make off with his millions. And Couple #5 is young GI Eddie Bracken and his pregnant wife Mitzi Gaynor. When Bush delivers the news that these unions aren't legal in the eyes of the state, the results range from poignant to hilarious: particularly satisfying is Calhern's puckish revenge on his gold-digging wife. And yes, that is Lee Marvin as Eddie Bracken's army buddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ginger Rogers - Ramona Gladwyn
Fred Allen - Steve Gladwyn
Victor Moore - Melvin Bush, Justice of the Peace
Marilyn Monroe - Annabel Norris
David Wayne - Jeff Norris

We're Not Married (1952) is a genial, episodic comedy based on a good idea; it is adapted from a story by Jay Dratler (best known for his thrillers) and Gina Kaus, and was directed by Edmund Goulding. It's also something of a history lesson for pop-culture mavens, as it co-stars Victor Moore and Fred Allen, stars (actually a mega-star in Allen's case) of a bygone entertainment age. The movie involves five couples -- played by Fred Allen and Ginger Rogers, Eddie Bracken and Mitzi Gaynor, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Louis Calhern, Eve Arden and Paul Douglas, and David Wayne and Marilyn Monroe -- who discover two and a half years after the fact that the ceremonies at which they were married were invalid. Monroe is a supporting player in the movie; the main focus is the radio-star couple played by Allen and Rogers, who find that they can't afford not to be married. The 85-minute black-and-white movie has been well transferred in full-screen (1.33:1) from an extremely clean source that is rich in contrast and detail. The film has been divided into a more than adequate 16 chapters, and has been supplemented with the original trailer, which looks good and makes the movie seem more briskly paced than it actually is. The only real problem is the audio, which has been mastered at such a low level that it may be necessary for viewers to drastically boost the volume on their televisions to get reasonable sound levels. The disc opens automatically on a two-layer menu that includes easy access to the trailer and individual scenes. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide