And So They Were Married

Widowed Melvyn Douglas and son Jackie Moran (in his screen debut) show up at a ski resort just before Christmas. So do divorcee Mary Astor and daughter Edith Fellows. Adults wrangle and then fall in love, to the chagrin of the children, who decide to sabotage the romance.

This wan romantic comedy is not without its attractions, particularly the adult leads. However, the comedy set pieces don't seem to come off. At the beginning, for example, because of excessive snowfall, these are the only guests in a place fully staffed for hundreds. Activity directors and waiter descend on them in their efforts to be doing their jobs, and we are supposed to find this funny. I found it annoying.

Mine, of course, may well be a minority reaction, but there is something about the dogged delivery of lines, situations, and changes of heart that results in a purely mechanical movie.

I must qualify my rating of this picture - I am a pure unadulterated Mary Astor fan, and I must ask myself, 'Would I have given this film the same rating if another actress were playing the part?' Honestly, no. I cannot say that the story isn't a bit trite. Here are two children, played by Edith Fellows and Jackie Moran, who, wishing to keep widowed and divorced parents to themselves, plot to thwart the blossoming romance between Mom (Mary Astor) and Dad (Melvyn Douglas). With predictable results. Douglas was a fine comedic actor, and his presence certainly helps lift the picture over some of the rough spots. The kids were pretty fair actors in their own right, and do not at all detract from what could have been a pretty dismal effort. In her biography, Ms. Astor confirmed that she rarely argued over the quality of a script. She went to work and did the best she could with the material given her. This is one she may have been better off choosing to be difficult about.

And So They Were Married (Elliot Nugent, 1936) is a fun romantic comedy set over the Christmas season, with divorcée Mary Astor falling for widower Melvyn Douglas at a snowbound hotel as their boisterous children (Edith Fellows and Jackie Moran) plot to keep them apart. Though the production values are a bit low - and there's little utilisation of the festive setting - the kids are great value and Douglas shows the deft comic touch and ability to subtly evoke emotion that saw him spread his screen success to stage and the small screen. There's a lovely moment where he shrugs off his broken heart by ruffling his son's hair and murmuring: "I just need a little time, son."

The film is more realistic, and therefore less escapist, than Columbia's usual sparkly fare, as it effectively paraphrases the difficulties of single parenthood. There's a slight over-reliance on visual humour and the title is shamefully generic, but you can't fail to enjoy a film that features both Donald Meek as an exasperated hotel manager and Douglas Scott (young Hindley in Wyler's Wuthering Heights), scene-stealing as a breakaway mummy's boy. Once you've explored the more obvious genre gems from Columbia (It Happened One Night, A Night to Remember, Together Again), it's worth giving this one a go.

And So They Were Married (1936)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A man hating divorcée (Mary Astor) goes to a snow lodge where she meets a woman hating widow (Melvyn Douglas) and the two quickly hit it off but their children decide to make sure they don't get married. This romantic comedy has a lot going for it but the screenplay starts to go off in all directions and it doesn't go after the most appealing aspects of the film. Astor and Douglas are both terrific in their roles as they manage to be quite charming, romantic and endearing. The two have wonderful chemistry together and they shine whenever they're together. The problem comes when the children (Judith Fellows, Jackie Moran) start to take over the picture. Their fighting and bickering works for a while but when it starts to take the story away from the adults it becomes rather annoying. There's one hilarious sequence where the kids feed a dog soap and when it takes off through the hotel it sets off a panic that the dog is rabid.

Both Astor and Douglas had been in films for years by this time, so we know it'll be a good film. And with Donald Meek, there should be some good antics coming ahead. Too bad they didn't give him a larger part. Blake (Douglas) and Farnham (Astor), and Farnham's daughter are the only guests in a hotel locked in by snow. SO much talking.. this one MUST have started out as a play. According to IMDb, the snow scenes were done at Donner Pass. That is just west of Reno, about 7 hours north of Burbank, so that would have made for a fun winter outing for the actors. Mr. Snirley and Miss Peabody are hotel employees, determined to accompany the only two guests every second, much to their (and OUR !) annoyance. Then Blake's son shows up, and the rest of the film is about the plotting between the two children. Kind of a fun note to hear them talk about esperanto, which has actually been around since 1887. It's okay. No big surprises. Mildly entertaining. Pretty whitewashed and bland for the film code. Astor and Douglas would also make "There's always a Woman" together, as well as a couple television episodes. Directed by Elliott Nugent.