Grounds for Marriage

In Grounds For Marriage the burning question of whether opera and operations form the basis of a successful marriage. When they were married Van Johnson didn't think so, but Kathryn Grayson is willing to give it another try.

The plot of The Barkleys Of Broadway is shifted over to the grand opera as opera star Grayson tries to win back Dr. Johnson. Not so easy because Johnson is now engaged to Paula Raymond who happens to be the daughter of his boss Lewis Stone. Another complication is that Johnson's older brother Barry Sullivan, a toy manufacturer and a lady's man always has had a thing for Grayson and now that she's free....?

The opera sequences are performed nicely and Reginald Owen is in the cast giving a great performance as the Metropolitan Opera Empresario, a caricature of the real life Rudolf Bing.

A real fixture of the Metropolitan Opera was also in the cast. Milton Cross whom I well remember as a lad who hosted the Met broadcasts on radio narrates a dream sequence of Carmen as the film plot is played against the background of Carmen. Grayson of course sings for herself, but the rest of the cast is dubbed in these exaggerated operatic voices. The whole thing is quite hilarious.

Grounds For Marriage is not one of Kathryn Grayson's more well known films, but she acquits herself in the comedy demanded of the part. Van Johnson is as good as he always is in these parts and he has his best moments giving a lecture to Paula Raymond's women's club about the common cold as a real cold overtakes him gradually.

After 59 years Grounds For Marriage holds up well, but with no sopranos on the screen today, I doubt if the film will ever be remade, so catch this version.

Lincoln bartlett (van johnson) has been divorced from ina (kathryn grayson) for years, but she wants him back. And they are both performers in an orchestra. So they will be seeing lots of each other! Bartlett is seeing agnes (paula raymond), and wants no part of ina romantically. Co-stars reg owen, lewis stone, and richard anderson... he was oscar goldman in the six million dollar man. This is a small, early role for him. Ina seems to be a psychotic stalker, and ignores bartlett's advice to take a break from singing, for medical reasons. She's madly jealous that he has another girlfriend. Nowadays, he would probably take out a restraining order to keep her away. So much singing in the ridiculously high octaves. And the good doctor has so many hobbies... he plays in the orchestra, goes to football games, dances with the ex wife, for some reason. Gives lectures to community clubs. Even owns a toy company with his brother. How does he have time to be a doctor? This one is just okay. It's pretty over the top. Directed by bob leonard. He was nominated for two oscars in the 1930s. This one just gets silly.

I watched this on TCM because I am a huge Van Johnson fan and I hadn't seen it. The convoluted story is silly and the chemistry between Johnson and Kathryn Grayson is non-existent so it doesn't come off, but there are a few merits to make it worth watching anyway.

Dr. Bartlett AKA Link (Johnson) is engaged to socialite Agnes Oglethorpe-Young (Paula Raymond), and life is peachy. However, his divorce from his first wife, opera-singer Ina Massine (Grayson), has only just gone through, and it has prompted her flame for him to reignite. She is an eccentric woman and decides she will stop at nothing, including breaking and entering, to get Link back. Against doctor's orders, she performs in La Boheme, and afterward loses her voice. Oglethorpe-Young's father (Lewis Stone) is a doctor and suggests Massine's ailment is mental and a result of her desire for Link. Therefore, Link takes it upon himself to court her with the help of his brother (Barry Sullivan) in hopes she will fall for his brother instead and be cured, solving both his and her problem in one fell swoop.

This film is dated in many ways, especially in an exchange with a taxi driver. "Hey bud, take my advice. Stick to this chick. She can't scream!"

If you're a fan of classic Hollywood, Grounds for Marriage features quite a cast. The music is also impressive. It varies between classical pieces to jazz in a memorable cameo of the Firehouse Five Plus Two. Johnson dances the Charleston in an amusing way that hearkens back to his days on the musical stage prior to appearing in films. Although he was a tall man, he achieves a certain amount of grace in this scene, and a lightheartedness that encompasses his appeal on the screen. His acting in the scene where he catches a cold is hammy and overdone, but I can't help but love him anyway.

I wonder why there had been quite a few negative reviews on this movie. It is a predictable rom com, with nice opera musics thrown in. And Grayson's may not be Callas, but her talent is beyond question.

Especially brilliant was the Carmen's L'amour est un oiseau rebelle or rather the spoof of Carmen, where the characters - the male ones- change their role based on situation, or rather how Van Johnson thinks of the fluid - double triangle - between his brother, his fiancee, himself and the ex-wife. Once he is Jose to his brother's Morales, taking Carmen away from him and then he changes place and makes Jose of the brother Chris, and himself becoming Escamillo to seduce Carmen away, and then in the end becomes again Jose, to finally possess Carmen to her end. It is a fascinating way to show the want that on subconscious became the dream, and like real dreams, it modified the characters to suit the dreamer's subconscious wants. Of course the poor Van Johnson didn't have much to chose from, between fire and frying pan, both the women in his life were bent on dominating, or rather crushing him like a worm, and he had to chose one, naturally choice wasn't much of his, but of the two women, who would, in addition to him, dominate the other. Grayson was cute and musical, Johnson has pictured the steady, though quite helpless, guy, and Sullivan suited the play-boy brother's role fair enough. The movie didn't have much of dull moments and I still wonder the reason of its far below average rating.

This film is the usual comedy from MGM - simple set-up and obvious ending, but it's still a charmer. The beautiful Kathryn Grayson plays Ina, who is trying to win back her ex-husband, played by Van Johnson. Kathryn is a singer (surprise surprise) and Van is a doctor. There are a few musical numbers, most notably the dream sequence, where the production does some famous selections from CARMEN. Kathryn sings them beautifully and Van Johnson is very obviously dubbed.

The big surprise is that Kathryn's character actually looses her voice throughout a good part of the film. This is simply criminal, considering the woman's vocal talent. However, she gets it back and still has plenty of songs. Van and Kathryn have great chemistry together, too bad they never made another film together. I love this movie, it's sweet and very funny, even if it is predictable.