- Actors: Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn, Richard Gaines, Bruce Bennett
- Directors: George Stevens
- Writers: Frank Ross, Garson Kanin, Lewis R. Foster, Richard Flournoy, Robert Russell
- Producers: George Stevens, Fred Guiol
- Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Release Date: Nov 2 2004
- Run Time: 104 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B0002XNT08
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#6,950 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #1 in DVD > Classics > Classic Directors > George Stevens
- #51 in DVD > Classics > Comedy
- #51 in DVD > Comedy > Classic Comedies
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Product Description
Amazon.com Essential Video
Portly Charles Coburn makes a cute if unlikely cupid in George Stevens's smart 1943 romantic comedy. Jean Arthur is girl next door and big-city sophisticate rolled up in one bubbly package as Connie Milligan, a single woman in Washington D.C. who sublets a room in her small apartment during the wartime housing crisis. Her new roommate, the deadpan eccentric Mr. Dingle (Coburn, who won an Oscar for his rascally performance), dislikes her stiff, bureaucratic beau and takes it upon himself to find her an appropriate boyfriend, namely the soft-spoken industrial engineer Joe Carter (Joel McCrea), whom Dingle puts up in his half of the apartment. Stevens takes a measured approach to comedy: The first morning with all three in the cramped kitchen turns a painstakingly organized schedule into a chaotic free-for-all that just gets funnier as the anarchy builds. Even more effective is the contrast between the charmingly effusive Arthur and McCrea's sauntering style, which creates not so much sparks as a slow simmer as they continue to spend time together. One of the finest craftsmen of Hollywood's Golden Age, Stevens shapes this lightweight screenplay into one of the most delectable romantic comedies of all time. --Sean Axmaker
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some brilliant moments, flawed but still classic,
By Great Movie Addict (New York City) - See all my reviews
This review is from: More the Merrier 93 (VHS Tape)
Too bad there's no way to post half-star ratings here, or mine would be 3-1/2 instead of 4. But I give a very, very skilled cast and good direction the benefit. Set along the lines of 30's screwball comedies, this film has the formula right but lacks inspiration after the first 30 minutes, mainly because the writers abandoned earlier plot premises along with any semblance of character consistency. Still, the first third is crackling good fun. It soon fizzles and most of the plot devices just don't work, starting with Coburn's out-of-character dirty trick (which was not at all amusing). Near the end look for a flirting and kissing sequence that stands out all the more brilliantly amid comedy routines that not only don't work but don't make any sense. Its flaws are mostly due to poor plotting and writing, not to mention weird turnarounds in character development -- but this remains a keeper because of a truly wonderful cast and skilled direction. It's also a great look at wartime living in Washington DC, which was pretty much the same zoo it is today. Jean Arthur is almost breathlessly cute, and she and the cast do as well as could be expected with some flawed writing. The movie was remade as "Walk, Don't Run" (Cary Grant's last film), which was a disastrously lame effort at "improving" the flawed original. The actor who comes off best here is McCrae, who managed to keep his character consistent and whose talent for comedic underplaying is pure genius.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Swerving round the Hays Office,
By
This review is from: More the Merrier 93 (VHS Tape)
Not quite the best of Jean Arthur and Joel McCrae, but amusing none the less. The sit in the com is the accomodation shortage in Washington after Pearl Harbour, when the New Dealers hadn't moved out, but when FDR was drafting in all available expertise, regardless of party, to hit the Pacific running. Arthur sublets to Charles Coburn, who further sublets to McCrae, reckoning that Arthur needs a husband, and that McCrae fits the bill admirably.The pair drive a coach-and-four through the Hayes Office's one-foot-on-the-floor rule by occuping parrallel beds visible from the foot through two adjoining windows, allowing viewers to ighore the wall between the two bedrooms. Many pertinent cracks at politicians - times have not changed. Only the pork barrel's got bigger - and the politicians smaller.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Swerving round the Hays Office,
By
This review is from: More the Merrier 93 (VHS Tape)
Not quite the best of Jean Arthur and Joel McCrae, but amusing none the less. The sit in the com is the accomodation shortage in Washington after Pearl Harbour, when the New Dealers hadn't moved out, but when FDR was drafting in all available expertise, regardless of party, to hit the Pacific running. Arthur sublets to Charles Coburn, who further sublets to McCrae, reckoning that Arthur needs a husband, and that McCrae fits the bill admirably.The pair drive a coach-and-four through the Hayes Office's one-foot-on-the-floor rule by occuping parrallel beds visible from the foot through two adjoining windows, allowing viewers to ighore the wall between the two bedrooms. Many pertinent cracks at politicians - times have not changed. Only the pork barrel's got bigger - and the President's brain smaller.
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