Consolation Marriage

New York reporter Steve "Rollo" Porter (Pat O'Brien) returns to find his longtime girlfriend Elaine had married someone else. Shopkeeper Mary Brown (Irene Dunne) is heartbroken with her beloved marrying a rich woman. The two left-behind souls encounter each other in a restaurant.

The meet-cute needs to be cuter. Getting arrested is actually a pretty good turn. They get to bond over some fun banter. The other two don't have enough screen time to matter to the audience. The movie is trying for a love quadrangle. Those are hard to pull off at the best of movies. I do like Steve and Mary together. The romance gets bumpy and I am disagreeing with them as much as agreeing. I really don't like the pulling apart after they had the baby. It's hard to pick sides in this one.

Irene Dunne and Pat O'Brien marry each other on the rebound after each of their true loves marry someone else. It is agreed to be an "open" marriage, where each can leave at any time with no questions asked. The film tries to answer the question: what happens if either of their former loves came back and want them? That is exactly what happens in duplicate - both loves, Myrna Loy and Lester Vail, return almost at the same time and want their former sweethearts back. I enjoyed watching the stars perform even though the story was routine and the final outcome was never really in doubt. The supporting cast, especially John Halliday, was all very good. Myrna Loy was still stuck in her "bad girl" roles.

Watch for the scene where Dunne and O'Brien drive by New York's RKO Mayfair. Its marquee is emblazoned with lights heralding two RKO features shown earlier in 1931, A Woman of Experience and Millie. You can even pick out ZaSu Pitts on the marquee, but a large screen TV and a VCR in the slow motion mode will help.

Pat O'Brien and Irene Dunne seem distinctly not made for each other in this odd romance, where she, a coffee shop proprietress, and he, a sports writer, are jilted by their respective fiances, meet cute, get a nice friendship going, and decide to get married. The open-marriage conceit feels daringly modern for 1931, but the dialog's pat and the plot coincidences are hard to swallow. Their respective true loves, Myrna Loy and Lester Vail, each come back from failed marriages at about the same time, and Dunne and O'Brien each leaves his/her spouse to pick up the pieces. It's hard to see why, when Loy is playing such a vain bore, and Vail such a needy weakling, and Dunne has an uncomfortable speech where she says goodbye to her baby daughter--her baby daughter!--to run off with an old lover. We all know the leads are going to discover they really love each other, but it's done so perfunctorily, with O'Brien just remarking to Loy, "Wouldn't it be funny if we turned out to be just friends?" and bolting upstairs to Dunne just in time for the happy fadeout. That's another thing--she can't make a great deal of money running a coffee shop, and he's unemployed more often than not, yet they have a gorgeous New York townhouse. Dunne's skill is somewhat evident, and O'Brien's fast talk is always entertaining, but he's not an ideal romantic lead, and this is not a credible romance.

I had never heard of this film. The plot is very different and modern for the time.

Irene Dunne and Pat O'Brien have both been dumped by the loves of their lives. They are both sure they could never love anyone else. After meeting and realizing how much they have in common, they joke about getting married to each other. And then they do! It is all with the agreement that if someone else comes along, they will part ways, wish each other luck, and have no hard feelings. It sounds like an odd setup but as the movie plays out, it all seems to make sense and be a very natural and modern way of viewing their marriage.

They enjoy the relaxed relationship and each others companionship. However, neither one of them can completely forgot their first loves. They even talk about them openly. No secrets. They even have a child and it is all taken in stride.

The real plot comes along when, almost at the same time, the old loves come back into their lives. Each one is unsure what to do and unsure of what the other one is going to do. It sounds like the story for a comedy or farce, but this is not played for laughs. It is acted out as a real believable story and it actually works.

Irene Dunne is perfect in her part and Pat O'Brien is boyish and charming. Myrna Loy plays O'Brien's first love. Her part is moderate (only really seen in the beginning and then the end of the film), but I have never seen Myrna Loy looking more stunning!!

The ending is satisfying and, overall, it is a good film worth watching. It is not too heavy nor too tedious. It is just the right film to watch when you are not sure what you are in the mood for. This will be a perfect choice.

Check out this classy classic.

Shopkeeper Irene Dunne (as Mary Brown) is in love with pianist Lester Vail (as Aubrey). Sports writer Pat O'Brien (as Steve Porter) expects to marry his high school "Juliet" Myrna Loy (as Elaine). Alas, Ms. Dunne and Mr. O'Brien lose their lovers to more well-heeled partners. Then, Dunne and O'Brien meet, get drunk, and bond in friendship as a cut-rate "Bonnie and Clyde" during a wild evening. Thinking any reconciliation with their true loves is impossible, Dunne and O'Brien decide to get married. Their "Consolation Marriage" is agreed to be an "open" one, but a child keeps O'Brien home and sober more often. Then, the marriages of Mr. Vail and Ms. Loy end - and, they want Dunne and O'Brien back... Predictable and unattractive, with some emphasis on the latter.

**** Consolation Marriage (10/13/31) Paul Sloane ~ Irene Dunne, Pat O'Brien, John Halliday, Myrna Loy