Slightly Married

An undernourished romance, "Slightly Married" clunks along at an uneven pace, milking various gimmicks until its long-delayed but telegraphed conclusion.

The obscure leads are merely competent in roles that required a lot more talent and charm to put over. Of course, the subject matter mocking class distinctions and naughtiness (prostitution, unwed motherhood, etc.) grabs one's attention but is merely a source of sentimentality. Crudest gimmick is to give over the movie almost entirely to the earthy, amusing Marie Prevost for the final reel or so, after introducing her in merely a cameo in the very first scene. It's a glaring sort of "hail mary" pass to try and save a movie that's run out of gas.

Using the Peter Principle, director Richard Thorpe was kicked upstairs to handling impersonal projects with big stars at MGM.