Eso que llaman amor

Before the opening credits begin to role, one knows that the plot premise of this comedy is not going to work. A three-month trial period of living together without making love is the hot idea of Ann Winters. She's one of the top brass of an insurance firm that has been losing its shirt from so many divorces. It never explains how the divorce rate affects the company, but it's most likely because of policies being cancelled with divorces. So, she thinks that if couples marry and abstain from sex for three months, they will get to know one another better, and there will be fewer divorces. (And more insurance policies won't be canceled?)

Ann wants to test her theory with her own marriage. When her fiancé, Tice Collins, returns from three months away on a mining venture in South America, she springs the plan on him. At first, he's outraged (a very funny scene in the courtroom for her sister and brother-in-law, Ruth and Tom Howland's divorce hearing). But then, his company attorney, Harry Bertrand, tells him to go for it, get married, and then romance Ann into giving up on the plan and being a normal newly married couple.

The humor begins to roll after Ann and Tice tie the knot in "This Thing Called Love." Rosalind Russell and Melvyn Douglas play the leads and the film has a good supporting cast that include Lee J. Cobb, Binnie Barnes, Don Beddoe, and Allyn Joslyn. It's not a riotous comedy but it has a mix of funny dialog, antics and situations - most of the latter.

As an aside, the basis for Ann's plan got me to wondering about the marriage and divorce situation in 1940; and how it would compare to more recent times. I couldn't find data for marriages that end in under one year. But some data is maintained by the U. S. Census bureau and other sources. One way to consider the divorce picture is the ratio of the numbers of divorces to marriages. In 1940, there were 264,200 divorces in the U. S. and 1,595,879 marriages. That's a ratio of 1 to 6. But, in 2010, the ratio of divorces to marriages was 1 to 2 (estimated 1,055,120 divorces to 2,096,000 marriages). And that's with millions more people cohabiting before marriage and/or never marrying.

One sad note about the cast is that Gloria Dickson, who plays Florence Bertrand, would die at age 27. She was 23 when this movie was released in January 1941. She struggled with three marriages and had an alcohol problem. She died in a Hollywood house fire in 1945.

The silly idea for this film plot provides for a silly movie. It's doesn't rate with the best of the stars' comedies by any means. But, with Russell and Douglas, it's a film that most movie buffs should enjoy. Here are some favorite lines.

Ruth Howland (Leona Maricle), Ann's sister, before the divorce judge, "Your honor, my husband is a psychiatrist. All of his patients are crazy. He spends most of his time trying to keep nuts from making faces at each other. He began to handle me with the same effect." Tom Howland (Don Beddoe), "That's a lie."

Tice Collins, "Ann, once a piece of mining machinery hit me over the head. That's just the way I feel now." Ann Winters, "That's the most beautiful speech."

Tice Collins, "Darling, I've waited all my life for you." Ann, "Darling, I didn't wait for you. I went out and found you."

Tice Collins, after the phone rings, "If Mr. Bell had to invent something, why couldn't it have been a cigar lighter. They never work."

Tice Collings, "From now on, let's be jealous... hot-tempered... suspicious... irrational - but human. In other words, let's just be an average couple, and live like one."

Tice Collins, "I travel 6,000 miles by foot, by dog cart, by jackass, by plane by ship. I couldn't' get her fast enough. And what do I find? A shoulder that'd make dry ice feel like a, well, like a bed warmer."

Harry Bertrand, "Either you've had too much to drink, or I haven't had enough."

Harry Bertrand, "Listen to me, you prairie pixie. You spent five years up to your hips in mud, snakes and jungle, and yet when we're that close to success, you throw everything out of the window. And what for?" Tice Collins, "For love. Ever heart of it?" Harry, "Yes - before I was married."

Ruth Howland; Ann, you seemed sane enough as a child." What happened to you? What sort of lightning struck you?

The same year Rosalind Russell made the funny "marital" comedy Hired Wife and Melvyn Douglas made the hilarious "marital" comedy Third Finger, Left Hand, they teamed up for another "marital" comedy: This Thing Called Love. With a plot that's both dated and timeless, Roz stars as a magazine writer with a theory she wants to write about. Her editor will only allow it if she puts into practice, and the only way to put it into practice is to implement it in her own life. What's the theory? That marriages end in divorce because couples haven't put in the time of getting to know each other outside the bedroom. She argues that if newlyweds spent the first three months of their lives together without having sex, the foundation will be much stronger in the long term. What's the catch? Her fiancé Melvyn Douglas has no idea of her plan! And he's been anxiously awaiting their wedding night.

You can imagine the hilarity of this battle of the sexes as Mel tries to get her into bed and Roz tries to get out of bed, all within the strict confines of the Hays Production Code. There's also a fantastic sequence that's straight out of a Fraser episode, in which a dinner party goes drastically wrong at the newlyweds' honeymoon cabin. Roz's sister is mad at her husband for having an affair with his secretary, and when all three arrive, it's chaos. Melvyn's prospective client, Lee J. Cobb (in another over-the-top Italian role), will only sign on the dotted line if Mel proves himself to be an established family man. So, in a moment of panic, Mel, his business partner (Roz's brother-in-law) and secretary (the femme fatale), lie and say that Roz is pregnant - hence the sudden marriage. Only, they warn Lee not to let on that he knows, since Roz has to hide her pregnancy from her boss (also coming to dinner) since he doesn't like children. Upon meeting the boss, Lee doesn't bother with formalities. Instead of, "Nice to meet you," he blurts out, "And what do you think the world would be like without children?" If you have the time to catch your breath in between bouts of laughter, you can absolutely imagine this story played out on the stage in its original form.

I absolutely recommend this one, especially if you like old-fashioned sex comedies that say a lot without saying anything. It's thoroughly entertaining, and a perfect example of the escapism humor of the time period. With two actors with impeccable comic timing in the leads, it's a cinch they'll keep you laughing from start to finish.

Statistician Rosalind Russell is a statistician for an insurance company. She's just published an article in the firm's magazine about how to improve the survival of marriages by starting off with three months of celibacy. When she marries mining engineer Melvin Douglas, he reluctantly agrees to give it a try, despite misgivings. His friend Allyn Joslyn convinces him he can sweet-talk her out of the idea, despite Joslyn's marriage to Gloria Dickson falling apart. Meanwhile, Douglas has to get a loan from South American millionaire Lee J. Cobb, by convincing him that he and Miss Russell are expecting.

It's one of those screwball comedies in which the wife comes up with a screwball idea and the husband has to live with it; after her success in His Girl Friday, Columbia liked to hire her back for these nitwit comedies. And a nitwit comedy it is, despite Alexander Hall directing, with a series of further misconstructions delaying matters further, despite Miss Russell showing up in something frilly in reel four. All the players try very hard, and while they manage the comedy timing very well, there isn't very much to do. Binnie Barnes shows up with poison oak dermatitis, and Sig Arno is given very little to do as the couple's manservant.

Rosalind Russell and Melvyn Douglas star in "This Thing Called Live" from 1940, also starring Bonnie Barnes, Allyn Joslyn, and Leo J. Cobb.

Russell plays Ann Winters, who writes for an insurance supplement. She wonders why, given the high cost of divorce, there is really nothing in place to prevent it.

Her idea is the couples should live together platonically for a period of time before actually committing to marriage. Since she has known her intended (Douglas) for a very short time, and he is dying to marry her, she manages to get him to accept this plan.

This is the 1940s, and I love the way they had to talk around everything. The movie has so many funny scenes, some slapstick, and some funny situations. The best is Douglas, trying to keep the fact that he has poison oak from Russell, and dancing as he scratches, telling her it's a new dance.

It's hard to miss with too such delightful talents. Russell, who could be tailored and efficient and tough, is very feminine and lovely here.

Highly enjoyable.

Sparkling and funny romantic comedy about a wife who has written an article for insurance companies on "steps to preserve a marriage" - her idea is for the married couple to remain celibate for the first three months of marriage thus giving them a tighter bond or something, before starting on a family. By coincidence she is about to be married herself, so decides to try out this radical concept on her new husband, much to his chagrin. Hubby agrees thinking she will "change her mind", then spends all his time trying to seduce his wife into bed by using such tricks as champagne (Wife: "I can drink glasses and glasses of champagne and never feel a thing" - oops there goes one of his schemes), mood music, etc.

This film is highly amusing, great light entertainment. Rosalind Russell and Melvyn Douglas are so good in this, portraying the newly married couple. By the way, Rosalind gets to wear lots of gorgeous dresses and jewelry in this film - oh what pins! There is a very funny dinner party scene where, for business reasons Melvyn Douglas and his business partners have misled a party guest and his wife, a couple with many children of their own, to believe that Rosalind's character is pregnant. Thus follows all kinds of comedy in pursuit of keeping this couple from spilling the beans to her that they believe she is going to have a baby - and, of course, she is constantly jumping around and lifting heavy chairs and the like. Lots of fun.