Janie Gets Married

Bouncy, underrated little comedy about post-war newly-weds adjusting to marriage and civilian life. The mix-ups among a stellar cast fly fast and furious as old romantic relationships and new family rivalries straighten themselves out in sparkling comedic style. I love the scene where the incomparably droll Robert Benchley explains the facts of married life to son Robert Hutton in Benchley's typical fractured fashion. Director Sherman keeps things moving expertly with many nice touches—note how he has Erdman amusingly nuzzle a starched shirt to end a scene that could have lapsed in conventional style.

And what an appealing cast—from harrumphing dad Edward Arnold to wide-eyed bride Joan Leslie to Jimmy Stewart-like groom Robert Hutton. And what a clever use of sly little Donald Meek as the nosy newspaper tycoon. Of course, there are also hawk-nosed Margaret Hamilton as the ambidextrous housekeeper and little Clare Foley as the bratty Elspeth to fill- in the comedic niches. All in all, it's a lively little celebration of post-war life and adjustments and a fine example of B-movie comedy at its topical best.

Several points in passing. Notice the bathroom scene where Benchley and Hutton seat themselves to talk. Now, most bathrooms are not designed for casual conversation, so logically a closed toilet seat should appear. But it doesn't. Instead, sitting stools conveniently appear courtesy the Hollywood Production Code. To my knowledge, the first actual sighting of a toilet on screen was courtesy that sneaky old fox Alfred Hitchcock in Psycho (1960). Speaking of the Code, notice the subtle compromise reached with the newly-weds' sleeping arrangement—twin beds (Code), pushed closely together (reality).

Also worth noting are two harbingers of trends to come. Dorothy Malone's returning WAC is not only a take-charge gal, but she's also wise and knows when to speak up. Notice how it's she who pulls Hutton' fat out of the fire at movie's end and not the man himself—a portent of what would become women's changing role in American life. Then too, diminutive Donald Meek may look insignificant, but what he represents for the future is anything but. His newspaper chain is buying out Arnold's local ownership, which means one of the town's most important institutions will be absorbed into a much bigger and presumably more impersonal corporation. No need to expand on the eventual significance of this. Anyway, for me, this sprightly little programmer turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining glimpse into an America poised for change.

American soldier Dick Lawrence (Robert Hutton) returns home to his small town and marries sweetheart Janie Conway (Joan Leslie). He starts working at his father-in-law's newspaper and she's struggling behind the scene. His war buddy makes a surprise visit. Only, his war buddy turns out to be gal pal Sgt. Spud Lee (Dorothy Malone).

It's an old fashion comedy with all the old fashion family values and dynamics. It's fun. It is all about the chaos rolling around Janie. I wish that Dick isn't as clueless and more considerate to Janie. It wouldn't be as funny or old fashion as it is. Apparently, this is a sequel to Janie (1944) although I haven't seen that. This is similar to a TV sitcom in modern terms.

Joan Leslie is appealing as the tile character. Robert Hutton is likable is her fiancé and then husband. Complications develop when a buddy from the service turns up. The buddy happens to have been a WAAC. She is played by that beautiful, wily second-level star Dorothy Malone.

Janie's parents are the always appealing Edward Arnold and Ann Harding. I am no fan of Harding in her peak days: She was a pale, hand-wring women's-picture heroine in the 1930s. Her return in the forties was most auspicious. She and Arnold worked together in one of his excellent movies about the guide dog-using blind detective.

I'm not familiar with the actress who plays Hutton's mother, but she is good. No less than the great Robert Benchley plays his father.

Margaret Hamilton is also very funny as an inept yet dictatorial cleaning woman. And the versatile Donald Meek puts in an appearance as an out-of-towner who's interested in buying Janie's father's newspaper.

The plot veers toward silliness, with such grave issues as whose parents' draperies to hang in the couple's new apartment. But it's a nice study of young married life and a better cast could scarcely have been found.

Poster Mkilmer gets it.

This movie by the way underrated Vincent Sherman is a sequel to the 1944 Michael Curtiz picture, Janie, which was about a high-spirited bobby-soxer and the havoc she inadvertently causes for her family and her town. I thought the Curtiz was at best fitfully amusing but contrived, sit-comy and slight. The Sherman is something else entirely. As the title indicates, the eponymous character is now wed (to a returning G.I. she fell for in the first film) It's rather grim for a comedy, and much of the thrust of the film is a portrayal of marriage as a stultifying and unrewarding condition, hardly what one would expect in a 1940s comedy about newlyweds. There are intimations of adultery, and Janie and her husband even have a contract, which is to be renewable each month at each spouse's option if he and she want to remain married. One can certainly see the pair 20 years down the line having become the couple in Sherman's 1947 masterpiece, Nora Prentiss.

Despite the dark undertones, the film is also quite funny. And as a story of G.I.s returning from World War 2, it's more effective and empathetic than Wyler's pompous The Best Years Of Our Lives, and spares us the self-seriousness (it also has the same deep focus cinematography that was celebrated in the Wyler film).

This is a sweet, fun movie with some depth added to place above the many other films in the genre. I don't know why we have a different actress playing Janie but Joan Leslie is a pleasure to watch. The movie does an excellent job of showing the overwhelming challenge of veterans returning only to be faced with the challenge of fitting in with the very families, friends, and communities they fought to protect. Many found it nearly impossible to put their experiences behind them and be the same boys they were when they went away. In response to the review by Poster MKilmer, to compare it to William Wyler's Best Years of Our Lives is akin to comparing Monty Python and the Holy Grail to Ben Hur! Enjoy all three of the movies. Each has entertainment value and redeeming messages. If you want to understand what returning GIs faced at the end of WWII, Wyler's film is the quintessential movie.