The More the Merrier

One of the greatest romantic comedies ever. The main characters are funny and likable (Joel McCrea is one of the forgotten great romantic comedy leading men of the '30's and '40's), the dialogue is wonderful, and the sense of the period is exact. Two great scenes: 1) McCrea and Arthur on the steps of her apt., he groping her, she fending him off without turning him off--hilarious and sexy; 2) At a factory, a long, long line of women workers is clocking out of work, a male worker (apparently there weren't many) walks toward them, becoming more apprehensive and walking faster as he runs the gauntlet of the women's hoots and hollers (talk about turning the tables)--no revisionism needed here, a primary source for the depiction of the burgeoning of feminism during WWII.

I truly love this wonderful,endearing romantic comedy from Hollywood's golden age. It has a unique setting - Washington D.C. during the housing shortage caused by World War II, and gets great comic mileage out of the various problems caused by the situation. George Stevens handles it all superbly, but what you remember most are the three charming leads. Charles Coburn justifiedly won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his scene-stealing panache as the elderly Cupid who helps steer Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea towards love. McCrea was an unsung but marvelously effective leading man in the 30's and 40's - rather like Jeff Bridges has been in his career. He's very fine here, and also in the movies he made for Preston Sturges. And Jean Arthur is at her very best - another great who doesn't get enough respect nowadays. Its difficult not to fall in love with her in this film - even if you were blind, her voice alone would knock you off your feet! Its ridiculous that this was her only oscar nomination-but then she, along with Carole Lombard and Irene Dunne were Hollywood's screwball comedy queens, and Hollywood was too busy rewarding the likes of Greer Garson and Luise Rainer.

The first half-hour is a triumph of comedic architecture. The screen fairly crackles with madcap antics as Jean Arthur tries to keep an over-crowded national capital from crowding into her bedroom. Coburn may look unthreatening but he's expert at maneuvering. Just listen to him fast-talk his way into her kitchen, her bathroom, and "full speed ahead", where will it stop. Then there's McCrea—an eligible man in a city full of lonely women. He's a definite threat, and if things weren't crowded enough, Coburn has shoe-horned him into what's left. What's a girl to do, living with two men, and engaged to a third. Oh well, it is Washington DC and it is wartime, so stick to the house schedule, and things will work out. Maybe.

Of course, they do, but not the way Arthur thinks. No wonder an unheralded 66-year old actor gets an Oscar for his performance. Coburn steals the show with his amusing and crafty Benjamin Dingle. It seems he's always one step ahead of everyone else, whether arranging housing plans or tearing down romantic walls. It's also an Arthur showcase, proving again what an expert comedic actress she was, while McCrea blends in nicely as the handsome straight man. However, once the romantic phase takes over and Coburn fades, the crackle stretches out into the merely cute.

Sure, some of the material has lost some of the edge to changing mores. Do single, working women still worry about reputation. For that matter, do men. Nonetheless, that first half-hour remains a gem of timing, scripting and staging, unaffected by passing years. If there was a brighter comedic exercise during those terrible war years, I haven't seen it.

I watched this movie without seeing the credits and, immediately, I knew it had to have been directed by a master craftsman. Turns out the master craftsman was George Stevens. Every frame, every angle, every line of dialog is made significant, while retaining a sense of freshness and spontaneity. If you love Jacques Tati, or anything by Sidney Lumet, you will appreciate the precision choreography of The More the Merrier (the title of this movie is the only bad thing about it). Never mind the story-- if you are a movie buff you'll want to watch it like you're finding out how a Swiss watch is made. Even the pauses in the dialog, simple glances the actors give each other, are well-timed and even musical. Nothing seems left to chance... and yet, it's all seamless, fresh, and totally engaging. And Joel McCrea will steal your heart.

What otherworldly power decides what films survive in the public mind decade after decade? And what films don't? 'The More the Merrier' is completely forgotten, although in its time, during WWII, it was a huge hit and was nominated for several of the most prestigious Academy Awards, Best Picture, Director, Leading Actress, Script etc. And deserved every one of those nominations. It is, simply a great film, that time forgot, and one that is finally out on DVD. And it remains a mystery how a sexy, sassy, down-to-earth and abundantly funny film such as this could ever be forgotten.

In the Washington of 1943, with the housing crisis brought on by the war, single working girl Jean Arthur feels compelled to do her bit and let out half of her apartment. Well-to do businessman Charles Coburn, who has arrived in town too early for a conference and cannot find a vacant hotel room, moves in with her, and, wanting to play Cupid, he sublets, unbeknownst to her, his half of half her apartment to a young soldier, Joel McCrea, on town on a mysterious purpose.

Rumour has it that Garson Kanin, of later 'Adam's Rib' fame, wrote the script for 'The More the Merrier', but never took credit. Whoever did it, the premise and even more so the execution of the plot is wonderfully crisp and superbly done. There is not one moment in this film that doesn't work on an extremely advanced level, and as sheer exuberant fun! And the replay value of the DVD is infinite.

George Stevens, one of the truly great American directors, has titles such as 'Gunga Din', 'Penny Serenade', 'Woman of the Year', 'A Place in the Sun', 'Shane' and 'The Diary of Anne Frank' to his credit, and 'The More the Merrier' has won a place in that exalted category of masterpieces in all genres. It is obvious that Stevens got a kick out of directing his actors in this movie, creating a many-colored carpet with all this apparently improvised dialogue, so magnificently stylish and at the same time with a looseness, a naturalness in structure that makes the movie feel like a slice of real life.

But of course real life was never as wonderful as this! Just imagine having known characters like the ones played by Miss Arthur and Mr McCrea, in one respect they are so typical and easily recognizable, and in another they are so immensely attractive, and not just in a physical sense, that you would want them for your best friends. In a strict Hollywood sense, try and imagine two more gorgeous people in the scene near the end when they, almost but not quite, make out on a the quiet street where they share the apartment! The film is great, no two ways about it.