If you could get out of your marriage with no divorce, no legal fees, and no complicated settlement, would you do so? Five couples are presented with this question in “We’re Not Married!” from 1952. The trouble starts two years before the events of the film take place, when a justice of the peace marries the couples in question during the week before his authority to do so becomes official. The results are varied and hilarious!
The most interesting thing about this movie is its big cast of well-known actors. The stars include Ginger Rogers, Fred Allen, Eve Arden, Paul Douglas, Marilyn Monroe, David Wayne, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Louis Calhern, Mitzi Gaynor, and Eddie Bracken. Two of the most recognizable names in this cast, Monroe and Gaynor, were budding starlets at the time who had not yet achieved stardom.
The Stories
When Justice of the Peace Melvin Bush (Victor Moore) finds out that the five marriages he performed during his first week of business were not legal, he realizes he must inform the couples immediately. As he and his wife (Jane Darwell) discuss whether he should return the marriage fees, Justice Bush remembers each couple, and we see where they all are now. Ramona (Rogers) and Steve Gladwell (Allen) are the only couple whose wedding we see. It’s obvious that they didn’t love each other; they barely even liked one another. They just got married so they could star in a husband-and-wife radio show, “Breakfast with the Glad Gladwells.” After two years, their marriage is no happier than we would expect. They ridicule each other every minute at the studio they aren’t on the air, convincing America they are the happiest married couple while pushing their numerous sponsors’ horrible products every other sentence. Will they take this escape, even if it means the end of their radio fame?
Justice Bush describes Katie (Arden) and Hector Woodruff (Douglas) as a very talkative couple. After two years of marriage, they barely have anything to say to each other, although they don’t seem unhappy. However, Hector recalls his days as a playboy before their marriage. Will he want to return to that lifestyle when he learns he’s free?
Annabel (Monroe) and Jeff Norris (Wayne) have an infant son. The beautiful young mother is working with an enterprising promoter (James Gleason) to become Mrs. America in an upstart beauty competition for married women. Jeff is getting tired of his wife’s constant absence, leaving him to care for their son alone. Meanwhile, Annabel wishes she could enjoy the perks and privileges Miss America gets. Could finding out that they aren’t married change this young couple’s life?
Frederick Melrose (Calhern) is a Texas oil tycoon who married a beautiful European woman, Eve (Gabor). Mr. Melrose thinks they have a happy marriage, but a frame-up in New Orleans makes him realize that his wife just married him for his money. Can the news in Justice Bush’s letter change things for the Melroses?
The Holy State of Matrimony
When this movie was made, marriage was taken a lot more seriously by society at large than it is today. Everywhere you look nowadays, the holy state of matrimony is mocked, ridiculed, and degraded by the media. Hollywood paves the way in this as with most anti-social agendas plaguing American culture; movies have flaunted and made fun of marriage for years in the name of entertainment. However, there was a time when Hollywood movies had to treat marriage as a sacred institution. “We’re Not Married!” is a product of that time.
From 1934 to 1968, the Hollywood film studios were governed by the moral guidelines of the Motion Picture Production Code. Commonly called the Hays Code, this collection of rules on proper film content included instructions on the depiction of marriage in movies. The main principle was that the sanctity of marriage had to be upheld. If you’re thinking that you can think of movies made before 1968 which don’t live up to this standard, there’s a reason for this. Although the current Rating System wasn’t implemented until 1968, the Code’s heyday ended much earlier. It was enforced by the Production Code Administration (PCA), which was a very effective organization as long as Joseph I. Breen was its director (1934-1954). However, after he was succeeded by Geoffrey Shurlock in 1954, the PCA let the Code fall into figurative disrepair, as movies no longer had to follow its guidelines to receive the necessary PCA Seal of Approval.
Because it was made during Mr. Breen’s tenure at the PCA, “We’re Not Married!” is respectful of the marriage estate. It’s a comedy, since it features some funny scenarios, but it’s based on a pretty sticky situation, which really is no laughing matter. These five couples have technically been living together out of wedlock, something which could not be condoned in Code films. However, the relationships aren’t immoral, since the people involved believed they were married. Nevertheless, delicacy was still needed in the handling of these situations, since such topics could easily have been depicted suggestively or indelicately. After all, one of these couples is expecting a baby, and another already has a child. Thankfully, with the PCA’s help, this movie’s makers kept it clean and, as a result, cleverly entertaining.
A Talented Cast
This movie has a unique, funny story, which is depicted in an engaging episodic style. The script by Nunnally Johnson, with Edmund Goulding’s direction, is excellent. However, it’s the great cast of actors which really puts this movie over and makes it memorable. The thing which is interesting about any film with an ensemble cast is the way many characters from very different backgrounds are connected by one common circumstance, even if they never meet. It only works, however, if the right actors are used to bring the characters to life.
Ginger Rogers, the film’s biggest star, displays the biting sarcasm and dynamic screen presence which made her an Academy Award-winner. Radio star Fred Allen certainly isn’t her handsome leading man, but he is well-suited as a radio personality and Ginger’s comedic foil and sparring partner. Marilyn Monroe plays against type in the role of a young wife and mother, but she’s refreshingly down-to-earth in this film. David Wayne is very funny as her exasperated husband, although not as hilariously crazy as in some of his other roles. Eve Arden shows her famous blend of acid wit and comedic indolence which made her great as the beloved “Our Miss Brooks” on radio, television, and film. Paul Douglas is his usual charming lug in this film, somewhere between suave and oafish. Zsa Zsa Gabor exudes the glamorous coquettishness which characterized her onscreen image as well as her offscreen fame. Louis Calhern is endearing as the wealthy man who loves his wife but doesn’t realize the truth about his marriage. Young Mitzi Gaynor is unusually sincere and cute in this non-musical role, lacking the brashness she displayed in later performances. Eddie Bracken is amusingly befuddled as the luckless young soldier, proving that he’s an unfortunately forgotten comedic talent.
I highly recommend “We’re Not Married!” It will make you laugh, warm your heart, and perhaps introduce you to some talented performers you’ve never seen before, all in under ninety minutes.
