Marry Me! (1949 film)

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Marry Me!
Marry Me film 1949.jpg
Original British cinema poster
Directed byTerence Fisher
Written byLewis Gilbert
Denis Waldock
Produced byBetty Box
StarringDerek Bond
Susan Shaw
CinematographyRay Elton
Edited byGordon Pilkington
Music byClifton Parker
Production
company
Distributed byGeneral Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
7 June 1949
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£117,941[1][2]
Box office£63,000 (by 1953)[1]

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]

The film 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, as romance is one of the subjects he identifies as being of particular interest to the Gazette's readership.

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 film has elements of dark drama and self-pity which refer to lost love; but it is primarily a romantic comedy. The gentle romances are successful, even if they take a little "slapstick" to achieve.

All but three people redeem themselves, are redeemed, or reform; those exceptions being the hardened murderer; the smug 'Gentleman's Gentleman'; and the forlorn, melancholy Hostess, who resigns herself to despair.

Cast[]

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[]

  1. ^ a b c Spicer, Andrew (5 September 2006). Sydney Box. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719059995 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Spicer, Andrew. "'The Apple of Mr. Rank's Mercatorial Eye': Managing Director of Gainsborough Pictures". Academia.edu.au. p. 106.
  3. ^ "Marry Me (1949)". BFI.
  4. ^ "Marry Me! (1949) - Terence Fisher | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie" – via www.allmovie.com.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ Vagg, Stephen (23 September 2020). "The Emasculation of Anthony Steel: A Cold Streak Saga". Filmink.
  7. ^ 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.

External links[]

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