The Marrying Kind

From 1952 director George Cukor (A Star is Born/The Philadelphia Story) directs Judy Holliday (who he reunites w/after her Oscar winning turn in his Born Yesterday) & Aldo Ray (in his screen debut) in this drama about a marriage fraying at the edges. Opening up at a divorce hearing at court, a judge takes the feuding couple into an office & there they lay out the genesis of their union & what led up to where they are now. We see their blue collar straits, he works at the post office while she's a stay at home Mom rearing a boy & a girl. She wants to move ahead & yearns for a chance to do so (in one episode she calls into a radio show to answer a question & Ray feeds her the wrong answer) while he seems to be happy at his status quo. Things take a turn when their son dies in a freak accident at a lake which causes all the recriminations & regrets to boil over into constant arguments which culminates when she receives a check from a deceased boss which stirs Ray to think the worst of Holliday figuring she was romantically linked to him. Will the union give up the ghost or save itself in the final moments? Cukor was wise to cast these earthy actors (in the heated throes of argument you can almost hear your neighbors going at it in any big city) dig into these meaty roles (a turning of the tide was on the horizon for the accurate portrayal of real people, working class American accents & all, to be seen on the big screen). Co-written by Ruth Gordon (the some time actress) & Garson Kanin, this yarn set in the boroughs of the Big Apple crackles w/authenticity & heart.

THE MARRYING KIND gave movie-goers a first glimpse of ALDO RAY and he proves to be every bit a match for the comic talent and dramatic abilities of JUDY HOLLIDAY. The two of them are a sheer pleasure to watch, totally good chemistry and always believable as a husband and wife on the verge of divorce.

The story is told in a series of well-staged vignettes in flashback as they recount the facts of their troublesome marriage to a divorce court judge (MADGE KENNEDY), who ends up believing that the two of them still love each other and can be taken off the docket for the next day's hearing.

The ups and downs of the marriage are mostly due to the financial strain and the macho behavior of a man who has the need to be the breadwinner but feels he can't support his wife and children the way he'd like to on his post office salary. Ray is excellent at suggesting the moods of a man who misunderstands many a situation because he can't see beyond the money angle. A very revealing scene at a butcher shop where the butcher talks common sense about the realities of life, is a fine piece of writing and beautifully played.

Both Holliday and Ray shine in what is almost a two-character film, especially in the second half--and their arguments have the ring of truth in them, with money and temperament being the strain that seems to be the root cause of their problems.

A touching film, serious at times but basically a romantic comedy directed with great skill by George Cukor (who said he could only direct women?). Ray does a masterful job in his breakthrough film.

Summing up: Highly recommended. Clever screenplay by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin.

The story follows a young couple through courtship, honeymoon, parenthood and breakup.

The movie looks like a worthy experiment that doesn't quite work. The problem—as others point out—lies with the abrupt change of tone in the movie's middle that causes a radical re-adjustment on the viewer's part. To that point, the style is generally charming and light-hearted, appropriate to the couple's courtship and honeymoon period. I love the way each remembers the past the way he or she wants it to be, while the camera in flashback shows quite the opposite. It's pretty funny. This early part also provides Holliday with opportunity to show off her inimitable comedic style.

But then the tone goes deadly serious, befitting, I guess, the tragedy and troubles that enter the Keefers' life, eventually leading to a breakup. Note in this half how much of the staging has the couple in various stages of unglamorous undress while yelling at one another. Clearly, the idea is to show the other non-cute, deglamorized side of marriage that old Hollywood in its preoccupation with escapism didn't often show. In that sense, the movie's a rather daring stab, for its time, at marital reality.

The trouble, however, is that the two halves clash with one another in both style and content, creating the impression of two movies instead of one. I wish director Cukor had tried shaping the second-half material to the entertaining style of the first half. That might have worked, given his legendary level of expertise. But the way things stand, not even Holliday's talent can paper over the mis-match. Also, I noticed that the actress's comic book voice, so well adapted to comedy, becomes shrill and annoying in the heated exchanges with movie husband Ray. From that standpoint, she was wise to stick to laughs in what remained of her tragically short career.

This is not to say the movie's without compensations. It certainly has its funny moments, while actor Ray's boyish appeal looks just right for an engaging average guy. However, the central problem remains, despite the talent and gutsy stab at reality.

The dizzy title of this film might suggest a screwball comedy, but it's deceptive. Despite claims to the contrary, this is definitely not a screwball comedy. It starts with plenty of jokes and humorous moments, but among other things, the pacing is all wrong. Also, screwballs often involve moneyed folk with big houses and good accents, and these are working-class characters in a small and under-furnished apartment. Knocking a few drinks back is an amusing foible in screwballs: here it usually complicates the lives of the characters. Instead of driving places, they take the bus or feel guilty about spending money on cabs. Screwball couples may have a pet dog or a leopard in tow; how many of them have small children (as here) whose sleep is interrupted by the bitter arguments of their parents? This might even be called anti-screwball.

The unevenness of tone certainly disconcerted me the first time I saw it, and it has clearly worried several of the other people who've commented on the film. Though Judy Holliday is great (as usual), it helps an appreciation of the film if one does not expect a replay of Born Yesterday's raucous laughter or even the gentler-paced humour of Bells Are Ringing.

Scenes of the discordance and trials of married life are played for laughs, but with an increasingly harder edge until the comedy has very nearly been wrung out of the whole thing. Slowly, the humour departs from the story and we're left with a very watchable study of a marriage spiralling into crisis, even if the treatment does become rather soapy at times.

After several viewings of this strange film, I'm still not sure if I've enjoyed the experience, though I constantly feel that I've been watching something significant. I can't give it a score, as I really don't know how to estimate an accurate score. It's worth seeing, even if you don't expect to like it: that's the only way I can summarise it.

Some reviewers note that any couple thinking divorce should see this film and while that is good advice, the truth is few husbands about to leave are as conflicted as this one who really never wants to go and whose affection is demonstrated by the jealousy that is the last straw. I agree with those who say Judy is a charmer. That is a fact with which no one should even quibble. By the way, the accent was exaggerated here and elsewhere and could easily have been tamed had it not been in keeping with her roles. Aldo on the other hand is a revelation. He is natural, impressive and very believable. More's the pity that his career was so uneven but here he happens to be perfect. He is blond (not unusual in Hollywood's past, think Steve McQueen) but rare now for a macho star. It turns out that his look is perfect for this part and his manliness comes through just fine. In this role this reviewer thinks he was perfect and the facial expression when buying the whirly-gig is proof that had his career and persona been better managed he would have been a far bigger star. That said, watch, enjoy and remember how much love can survive and endure when people understood that divorce was the cowardly way out and usually bad for all concerned. Again, highly recommended.