IMDb RATING
6.3/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
A willful woman concocts an elaborate scheme to trap a handsome pediatrician into marriage.A willful woman concocts an elaborate scheme to trap a handsome pediatrician into marriage.A willful woman concocts an elaborate scheme to trap a handsome pediatrician into marriage.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
Eddie Albert
- Harry Proctor
- (uncredited)
- …
Jean Andren
- Customer
- (uncredited)
Chet Brandenburg
- Cafe Patron
- (uncredited)
Arnolda Brown
- Customer
- (uncredited)
Helen Brown
- Dignified Woman
- (uncredited)
Rosalie Coughenour
- Model
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This is a sweet little film with a few laughs.. I don't think anyone should worry about Cary Grant being stalked by poor little Anabel, I find her a sweet change from the Gold-Diggers in some of my favorite movies.. such as "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "How to Marry a Millionaire" Instead of being after a millionaire, poor Anabel is just after a husband ... plain and simple. Yes, she may take a few more pains to win her man than most of us.. but that is just part of the humor of the movie. If you are just starting to watch classics like this one.. please give the two films mentioned above a try, and also definately "Bringing up Baby" which also stars Cary Grant as the poor target of another lovesick loony.. this one played by a cute young Kathrine Hepburn. It is a crazy ride.. but give it a chance.
Cary Grant, of course, is always worth watching (Father Goose notwithstanding). Betsy Drake has a great cadence to support her slightly ditsy intonation, and I did not tire of it, as some have said, any more than I do the affectations of July Holiday or Marilyn Monroe.
The plot is not trivial, nor is it totally predictable.
Where this film fails in comparison to others of its era and genre is in the writing. The comedy is amusing enough, and there are some good moments, but the lines do not propel the viewer with the rapid-fire bite that is expected with a setup like this one.
I wanted it to be good enough for a 7, but I will stick with my 6 which in my metrics is still "definitely worth watching".
To those PC reviewers who were "disturbed" by the "stalker" aspect, I say: loosen up, it is a COMEDY! We have all laughed at Lucy being sillier, more extreme and more persistent. Beside, the movie starts by laying out the very sensible premise that a woman should be able to pursue an attractive man in ways similar to a man going after a desirable woman.
eg., Rough paraphrase of girl talk: "What would you do on a date?" "Take him on a drive in the country."
"And run out of gas?" "If I wanted to".
. . . and everything follows from that premise -- logical, consistent and, for me, engaging.
Lastly, I note that the best user ratings, as of this date, are by women of the age of Betsy Drake's character, and not by nostalgic curmudgeons like me.
The plot is not trivial, nor is it totally predictable.
Where this film fails in comparison to others of its era and genre is in the writing. The comedy is amusing enough, and there are some good moments, but the lines do not propel the viewer with the rapid-fire bite that is expected with a setup like this one.
I wanted it to be good enough for a 7, but I will stick with my 6 which in my metrics is still "definitely worth watching".
To those PC reviewers who were "disturbed" by the "stalker" aspect, I say: loosen up, it is a COMEDY! We have all laughed at Lucy being sillier, more extreme and more persistent. Beside, the movie starts by laying out the very sensible premise that a woman should be able to pursue an attractive man in ways similar to a man going after a desirable woman.
eg., Rough paraphrase of girl talk: "What would you do on a date?" "Take him on a drive in the country."
"And run out of gas?" "If I wanted to".
. . . and everything follows from that premise -- logical, consistent and, for me, engaging.
Lastly, I note that the best user ratings, as of this date, are by women of the age of Betsy Drake's character, and not by nostalgic curmudgeons like me.
It's just another day at work for shop girls Betsy Drake and Diana Lynn, who over lunch decide that Every Girl Should Be Married. Especially after Betsy sees just the man she ought to be married to in the person of Cary Grant. Ironically enough that's exactly whom she did marry in real life.
But back to this film, Betsy stalks and pursues him with the charm of an innocent child and as relentless as a jungle cat. These kind of films are kind of hard to pull off because if not done right you do come over like a stalker. Still Drake is successful enough to make you believe in her innocence.
In fact for a film that stars Cary Grant and Franchot Tone, the real lead in the film is Betsy Drake. Grant does get in a few good moments however, the best being when he in his capacity as a noted pediatrician, Drake takes his audience away with her questions about his bachelorhood. Grant's reaction shots are priceless.
Twelve years earlier Grant and Tone co-starred with Jean Harlow in Suzy with the billing completely reversed. It was at MGM and Tone's studio and Grant wasn't as big a name then. In those years their careers had completely reversed and Tone was now usually a second lead, but in this he was his usual rich playboy, the parts now he'd become used to being typecast in.
In those same years Grant left his original studio at Paramount and his career pattern had him going back and forth from RKO and Columbia. Every Girl Should Be Married was Cary Grant's final film at RKO, a studio where he'd done such things as Bringing Up Baby, The Awful Truth, Mr Favorite Wife, and Mr. Lucky to name a few. Every Girl Should Be Married ain't quite up to the standards of these classics, but it has its moments.
But back to this film, Betsy stalks and pursues him with the charm of an innocent child and as relentless as a jungle cat. These kind of films are kind of hard to pull off because if not done right you do come over like a stalker. Still Drake is successful enough to make you believe in her innocence.
In fact for a film that stars Cary Grant and Franchot Tone, the real lead in the film is Betsy Drake. Grant does get in a few good moments however, the best being when he in his capacity as a noted pediatrician, Drake takes his audience away with her questions about his bachelorhood. Grant's reaction shots are priceless.
Twelve years earlier Grant and Tone co-starred with Jean Harlow in Suzy with the billing completely reversed. It was at MGM and Tone's studio and Grant wasn't as big a name then. In those years their careers had completely reversed and Tone was now usually a second lead, but in this he was his usual rich playboy, the parts now he'd become used to being typecast in.
In those same years Grant left his original studio at Paramount and his career pattern had him going back and forth from RKO and Columbia. Every Girl Should Be Married was Cary Grant's final film at RKO, a studio where he'd done such things as Bringing Up Baby, The Awful Truth, Mr Favorite Wife, and Mr. Lucky to name a few. Every Girl Should Be Married ain't quite up to the standards of these classics, but it has its moments.
As a Cary Grant fan, I enjoyed this movie tremendously. The humor was light hearted and the plot sweet, which can now be interpreted as sick, demented and freaky. A nice change from the ritzy movies of the 40s where everyone is wealthy in top hats and tails. This is a down to earth movie and should be taken with the girl meets boy girl gets boy idea in mind. As for the stalking, it seems to me she put a lot of work into getting her man so to speak in a nice way. Never once did I see it as "spook" movie or psycho thriller. However, if there was a remake in 2006, it most certainly would come out to be an R movie with a lot of gore and hype. Enjoy for the era.
Ha ha this movie is great! I've never been a Cary Grant fan, but he won me over in this one. This movie is all around funny. Now of coarse the girl in the movie is kinda a stalker, but that's what makes it so great. Watch it, it's cute!
Did you know
- TriviaThe only film in which Cary Grant and Betsy Drake appeared together before their marriage. They would make only one more film together: Room for One More (1952).
- GoofsWhen the insurance man shows the new car to Anabel on the street, the pole of the microphone is reflected against a window behind the actors.
- Quotes
Dr. Madison Brown: How in the world did Eve ever get Adam when she had no other woman to help her with the subtle little touches?
- Alternate versionsAlso available in a computer colorized version.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Screen Writer (1950)
- How long is Every Girl Should Be Married?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Don Hartman's Production of Every Girl Should Be Married
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 25m(85 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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