Marry Me! (1949 film)
Marry Me! (alternative title: I Want to Get Married[3]) is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Terence Fisher, and starring Derek Bond, Susan Shaw, Patrick Holt, Carol Marsh and David Tomlinson.[4]
| Marry Me! | |
|---|---|
 Original British cinema poster | |
| Directed by | Terence Fisher |
| Produced by | Betty Box |
| Written by | Lewis Gilbert Denis Waldock |
| Starring | Derek Bond Susan Shaw |
| Music by | Clifton Parker |
| Cinematography | Ray Elton |
| Edited by | Gordon Pilkington |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | General Film Distributors (UK) |
Release date | 7 June 1949 |
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £117,941[1][2] |
| Box office | £63,000 (by 1953)[1] |
The movie was formerly known as I Want to Get Married.[5]
Plot
David Haig (David Tomlinson) is a newspaper journalist who is instructed by his editor to go under cover at a popular matchmaking service to get the scoop on whether there are true cupids or not.
The film covers several relationships between various couples, including a French woman running from her abusive boyfriend and seeking citizenship; a butler, his master and a schoolteacher; and an attractive girl in a restaurant who falls for a priest. The central plot revolves around Haig's disastrous encounters with various poor match-ups and an ideal match, a young waitress.
The film has elements of dark drama and self-pity leading to lost love, but it is primarily a romantic comedy. Most of the gentle romances are successful, even if they take a little "slapstick" to achieve. In the end the only relationship that fails is the one between the priest and the alluring girl, as she sees herself as unworthy of his love and rejects him.
Cast
- Derek Bond as Andrew Scott
- Susan Shaw as Pat Cooper
- Patrick Holt as Martin Roberts
- Carol Marsh as Doris Pearson
- David Tomlinson as David Haig
- Zena Marshall as Marcelle Duclos
- Guy Middleton as Sir Gordon Blake
- Nora Swinburne as Enid Lawson
- Brenda Bruce as Brenda Delamere
- Jean Cadell as Hester Parsons
- Denis O'Dea as Saunders
- Alison Leggatt as Miss Beamish
- Beatrice Varley as Mrs. Perrins
- Albert Lieven as Louis Renier
- Cyril Chamberlain as PC Jackson
Production
Anthony Steel has a small role, in one of his first appearances on screen.[6]
Reception
The film was a box office flop, recording a loss of £67,600.[1] Bosley Crowther in The New York Times found the first third of the film "a delight to watch," but, despite convincing dialogue and an "excellent cast", "the film as a whole is a disappointingly contrived package job". Crowther thought that the best story, with Guy Middleton, "rates inclusion in one of the Somerset Maugham showcases", but he concluded that the writers "have blunted their ingenious stories with some melodramatic and whimsical resolutions. Terrence Fisher's direction is strictly assembly-line."[7]
References
- Spicer, Andrew (5 September 2006). Sydney Box. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719059995 – via Google Books.
- Spicer, Andrew. "'The Apple of Mr. Rank's Mercatorial Eye': Managing Director of Gainsborough Pictures". Academia.edu.au. p. 106.
- "Marry Me (1949)". BFI.
- "Marry Me! (1949) - Terence Fisher | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie" – via www.allmovie.com.
- "Irish Actor "Choosy"". The Argus. Melbourne. 15 February 1949. p. 3 Supplement: The Argus Woman's Magazine. Retrieved 17 December 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- Vagg, Stephen (23 September 2020). "The Emasculation of Anthony Steel: A Cold Streak Saga". Filmink.
- T, Bosley Crowtherh H. (14 March 1952). "THE SCREEN: TWO NEW FILMS ON LOCAL SCENE; "The Marrying Kind," With Judy Holliday and Aldo Ray, Has Premiere at Victoria British Film, "Marry Me," Comes to Art Theatre -- Patrick Holt and Susan Shaw in Cast" – via NYTimes.com.