Most classic movies star young, glamorous actresses as their leading ladies. “The Model and the Marriage Broker” from 1951 is a rare exception, since it focuses on a middle-aged female character played by veteran supporting actress Thelma Ritter. Although Jeanne Crain, who plays a young model, could be considered the leading lady because she receives top billing, the story is really about Ritter’s character of the marriage broker. It’s a rare opportunity for this talented character actress to shine in a featured part. In fact, this was the only movie in which Thelma Ritter was the main character.
This is a charming classic movie whose subject matter is very out of the ordinary. There aren’t many stories about matchmakers, especially in the modern era. It’s really interesting to see how this woman brings people together and helps them fall in love, sometimes even when they aren’t her clients!
A Story About Two Women
There are a lot of interesting characters in this movie, but it really is the story of two women who meet by chance and form a deep friendship under unlikely circumstances. When the movie begins, we see Mae Swasey (Ritter) running her business as a New York marriage broker. With a sarcastic, no-nonsense wit, she helps old maids, confirmed bachelors, and other misfits find potential spouses—coaching and prodding them every step of the way to the altar. Mae’s only social activity outside of her job is playing cards in her office with her advertising man and friend, Doberman (Michael O’Shea). Despite her newspaper ad claiming success is guaranteed for shy and lonely people, Mae’s business is struggling because of a shortage of eligible men, and she is deep in debt.One of her successful pairings is Ina Kuschner (Shirley Mills), a young woman with wealthy parents, and a handsome young X-ray technician, Matt Hornbeck (Scott Brady). Matt doesn’t know about Mrs. Swasey’s business, so he has no idea his impending marriage to Ina was arranged. Mae realizes Mrs. Kuschner (Kathryn Card) is trying to avoid paying her $500 commission by claiming it was a love match, so she shows up at the wedding. The same can’t be said for Matt, though, so Mae goes looking for him and ends up finding him in a bowling alley. When Mrs. Swasey reveals the Kuschners were clients of her marriage brokerage business, Matt feels totally justified in his decision to leave Ina at the altar and vows to play the field. The two remain friends, and Mae clearly still has the young bachelor on her list of prospects for future clients.
Before Dating Apps
One of this movie’s original taglines was, “Sometimes even Cupid needs a little help!” This concept is nothing new, since families have hired matchmakers to arrange marriages for their children for ages. Today, Cupid has been put out of business by countless dating apps and the social media platforms which unofficially act as such, too. Although notoriously incapable of arranging lasting relationships in most cases, dating apps continue to be revered by younger generations as a safer alternative to meeting a special person in, well, person!“The Model and the Marriage Broker” comes from that time between the eras of the matchmaker and the dating app, when American society considered it abnormal to find love any way besides the natural process of fate, family, or mutual friends. In the movie, you can see there is a stigma surrounding Mae’s business, which she vaguely calls “Contacts and Contracts.” Even some people who are anxious to use her services are ashamed they have to go to one of “those places.” There isn’t anything disreputable about her office or her business, though. She’s just a real-life fairy godmother with a New York accent who helps lonely people find companionship, because she knows what it’s like to be lonely. If Cupid does need some help, I’m sure he’d rather get it from an experienced, caring woman like Mae Swasey than some electronic system.
“The Model and the Marriage Broker” is an example of that delightful spontaneity and authenticity which one finds in movies directed by George Cukor. The realistic dialogue, delivered very candidly by the ensemble of offbeat actors, is so believable that it’s hard to believe it was scripted. Minimum background music during scenes with dialogue adds to the realism of the overall effect. You probably won’t recognize the names of most of these actors. You may not even recognize some of their faces. The fact that many of the players are rather obscure character actors makes it even easier to suspend disbelief and get caught up in this heartwarming, poignant story about a professional matchmaker in mid-century New York.
Worth Discovering
Today’s movies have an undeniable agenda, centered around attacking the family which results from traditional marriage. They do so with coarse scripts, filled with profanity, blasphemy, and vulgar language. Costumes are not only indecent but classless and ugly. Besides all this, they aren’t even entertaining! It’s no wonder most patriotic Americans have turned away from mainstream Hollywood in search of better entertainment from alternative sources.Old movies are one of the best alternative sources, since they were made with a set of standards that is completely opposite of the media’s current agenda. From 1934 to 1954, Hollywood followed the guidelines of the Motion Picture Production Code, commonly called the Hays Code. The standards were common sense rules for film content which any conscientious viewer would want his family’s entertainment to follow. The result was twenty years of clean, entertaining, patriotic movies, and no rating system was needed. In addition, the fashion was stylish, traditional, modest, and flattering. Women looked like ladies, and men looked like gentlemen.
“The Model and the Marriage Broker” is a beautiful Code film. It includes all the wholesome standards the Code required, and it’s an especially good example of how the Code encouraged Hollywood to support and glorify marriage. The costumes are exceptionally beautiful, earning designer Edith Head an Academy Award nomination for Best Black-and-White Costume Design. This is a delightful story anyone can enjoy, but it’s an especially refreshing story about two women in the big city who know their lives aren’t complete without a loving marriage.
