I Married a Woman

Last updated

I Married a Woman
I Married a Woman.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Hal Kanter
Written by Goodman Ace
Produced byWilliam Bloom
Starring George Gobel
Diana Dors
Adolphe Menjou
Cinematography Lucien Ballard
Edited byKennie Marstella
Music by Cyril Mockridge
Production
company
Distributed by Universal-International
Release date
  • May 14, 1958 (1958-05-14) [1]
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

I Married a Woman is a 1958 American comedy film made in 1956, directed by Hal Kanter, written by Goodman Ace, and starring George Gobel, Diana Dors, and Adolphe Menjou. The picture was produced by Gobel's company, Gomalco Productions. I Married a Woman also features John Wayne in a cameo role as himself. It was filmed in RKO-Scope and black and white except for one of Wayne's two scenes, which was shot in Technicolor. The film's original title was So There You Are. [2] The film was a box-office disappointment, which hurt the careers of Dors and Gobel. [3]

Contents

Plot

Advertising executive Mickey Briggs is given 48 hours by his boss, Sutton, to come up with a campaign for client Luxemberg Beer, and save the company from ruin. Mickey neglects his wife, Janice, who once had been a "Miss Luxemberg" in a successful advertising campaign featuring various attractive models. Janice has just discovered she is expecting a baby, but is unable to inform Mickey, who is too distracted by work. Even when they find time to go to a movie, John Wayne is on screen, being considerate to his screen wife (Angie Dickinson), which makes Janice weepy, but Mickey finds unrealistic.

It does give Mickey an idea, however, for a campaign in which "Miss Luxemberg" is now "Mrs. Luxemberg", enjoying family bliss. Sutton loves it, then rejects all the applicants until he decides that Janice herself must return to be "Mrs. Luxemberg". Film footage of their real life is shot without Janice's knowledge. All goes terribly wrong, with Janice instead suing Mickey for divorce and Sutton's company for $100,000. After flirting with Mickey's wife, best pal Bob Sanders breaks the news that she is pregnant, which makes Mickey try harder to win her back. On a cruise and in love again, the couple is startled to spot John Wayne on board, arguing with his wife.

Cast

Diana Dors in I Married a Woman film trailer Diana Dors in I Married a Woman trailer.jpg
Diana Dors in I Married a Woman film trailer

Production

The film was based on an original story by New York radio writer and producer, Goodman Ace. In September 1950, the screen rights were bought by Norman Krasna and Jerry Wald, who had a production deal at RKO. [4] They wanted to cast Cary Grant and Betsy Drake. [5] In October, Richard Fleischer was assigned the job of directing. [6] In November, Celeste Holm was announced as star. [7] Ace was brought to Hollywood to work on a script, which Krasna wanted to aim at the female audience. [8] In December 1950, RKO announced the film would be made the following year. [9]

Production, however, kept being put back. In February, Wald and Krasna said the film would be made in August, with Stanley Rubin as producer, but the film had no star or director. [10] In September 1951, Wald and Krasna said they had a script, and wanted to cast Cary Grant but wanted to get the casting right. [11] Wald and Krasna eventually left RKO.

The project was reactivated a number of years later. In April 1956, Diana Dors signed to play the female lead opposite TV star George Gobel. [12] Her fee was $75,000 plus expenses. [13] It was Gobel's second leading role after The Birds and the Bees , in which Gobel had top billing above Mitzi Gaynor and David Niven.

Dors arrived in the US in late June. [14] The job of directing was given to Hal Kanter, who worked with Gobel in television. Filming took place in July 1956. Kanter called the film "light and frothy. It gave Goodman Ace... the chance to unload a lot of witty barbs he's been saving up over the years." [15] Gobel called Dors "a fine performer". [16] During filming RKO signed Dors to make a second film, The Lady and the Prowler, which became The Unholy Wife. [17]

Critical reception

A contemporary review by Howard Thompson in The New York Times reported that the film was a "thin little comedy" that "laboriously widens one running gag to feature length." Describing Dors as "pouting [and] blank-faced," Thompson also noted that "the task of stretching what might have made a pretty good fifteen-minute television sketch into eighty-four minutes just about licks everybody." [18] Writing in AllMovie, film critic Hal Erickson described the film as "tailored by top comedy writer Goodman Ace to the peculiar, low-key talents of TV comedian George Gobel," and noted that it "was lensed in black-and-white, except for the Technicolor [unbilled] John Wayne sequences." [19] Film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote that "mediocre director Hal Kanter [...] is clueless how to draw comedy out of the unfunny screenplay," that "George Gobel and Britain’s sexpot answer to Marilyn Monroe, Diana Dors [...] lacked chemistry together," and that "even for TV comedy this stuff is awful." [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Gobel</span> American comedian and actor (1919–1991)

George Leslie Goebel was an American humorist, actor, and comedian. He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, The George Gobel Show, on NBC from 1954 to 1959 and on CBS from 1959 to 1960. He was also a familiar panelist on the NBC game show Hollywood Squares.

<i>With a Song in My Heart</i> (film) 1952 film by Walter Lang

With a Song in My Heart is a 1952 American biographical musical drama film that tells the story of actress and singer Jane Froman, who was crippled by an airplane crash on February 22, 1943, when the Boeing 314 Pan American Clipper flying boat she was on suffered a crash landing in the Tagus River near Lisbon, Portugal. She entertained the troops in World War II despite having to walk with crutches. The film stars Susan Hayward, Rory Calhoun, David Wayne, Thelma Ritter, Robert Wagner, Helen Westcott, and Una Merkel. Froman herself supplied Hayward's singing voice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donna Reed</span> American actress (1921–1986)

Donna Reed was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her portrayal of Mary Hatch Bailey in Frank Capra's fantasy holiday film It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Reed won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Fred Zinnemann's war drama film From Here to Eternity (1953).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Mature</span> American actor (1913–1999)

Victor John Mature was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include One Million B.C. (1940), My Darling Clementine (1946), Kiss of Death (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), and The Robe (1953). He also appeared in many musicals opposite such stars as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Wald</span> American screenwriter and producer (1911–1962)

Jerome Irving Wald was an American screenwriter and a producer of films and radio programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Dors</span> English actress and singer (1931–1984)

Diana Dors was an English actress and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Malone</span> American actress (1924–2018)

Dorothy Malone was an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting role in The Big Sleep (1946). After a decade, she changed her image, particularly after her role in Written on the Wind (1956), for which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Cummings</span> American actor (1910–1990)

Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and Princess O'Rourke (1943), and in dramatic films, especially two of Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers, Saboteur (1942) and Dial M for Murder (1954). He received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Single Performance in 1955. On February 8, 1960, he received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion picture and television industries, at 6816 Hollywood Boulevard and 1718 Vine Street. He used the stage name Robert Cummings from mid-1935 until the end of 1954 and was credited as Bob Cummings from 1955 until his death.

<i>The Devil and Miss Jones</i> 1941 film by Sam Wood

The Devil and Miss Jones is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Sam Wood and starring Jean Arthur, Robert Cummings, and Charles Coburn. Its plot follows a department store tycoon who goes undercover in one of his Manhattan shops to ferret union organizers, but instead becomes involved in the employees' personal lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Egan (actor)</span> American actor (1921–1987)

Richard Egan was an American actor. After beginning his career in 1949, he subsequently won a Golden Globe Award for his performances in the films The Glory Brigade (1953) and The Kid from Left Field (1953). He went on to star in many films such as Underwater! (1955), Seven Cities of Gold (1955), The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956), Love Me Tender (1956), Tension at Table Rock (1956), A Summer Place (1959), Esther and the King (1960) and The 300 Spartans (1962).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tay Garnett</span> American film director and writer (1894–1977)

William Taylor "Tay" Garnett was an American film director and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Farrow</span> Australian film director (1904–1963)

John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for Wake Island, and in 1957 he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Around the World in Eighty Days. He had seven children by his wife, actress Maureen O'Sullivan, including actress Mia Farrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Agar</span> American actor (1921–2002)

John George Agar Jr. was an American film and television actor. He is best known for starring alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. In his later career he was the star of B movies, such as Tarantula!, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Revenge of the Creature, Flesh and the Spur and Hand of Death. He was the first husband of Shirley Temple.

<i>The Unholy Wife</i> 1957 film by John Farrow

The Unholy Wife is a 1957 Technicolor film noir crime film produced and directed by John Farrow at RKO Radio Pictures, but released by Universal Pictures as RKO was in the process of ceasing its film activities. The film features Diana Dors, Rod Steiger, Tom Tryon and Beulah Bondi. The screenplay was written by William Durkee and Jonathan Latimer

Norman Krasna was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year career in Hollywood. He garnered four Academy Award screenwriting nominations, winning once for 1943's Princess O'Rourke, which he also directed.

Charles Schnee was a screenwriter and film producer. He wrote the scripts for the Westerns Red River (1948) and The Furies (1950), the social melodrama They Live by Night (1949), and the cynical Hollywood saga The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), for which he won an Academy Award.

<i>Thunder in the East</i> (1951 film) 1952 film

Thunder in the East is a 1952 American war film released by Paramount Pictures, and directed by Charles Vidor. It was based on the 1948 novel The Rage of the Vulture by Alan Moorehead; the book title was the working title of the film.

<i>The Ambassadors Daughter</i> (1956 film) 1956 film by Norman Krasna

The Ambassador's Daughter is a 1956 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Krasna and starring Olivia de Havilland, John Forsythe and Myrna Loy. It was also produced and written by Krasna, and was distributed by United Artists. It was shot at the Joinville Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Léon Barsacq.

<i>Bride by Mistake</i> 1944 film by Richard Wallace

Bride by Mistake is a 1944 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Wallace, and starring Alan Marshal and Laraine Day.

<i>Flame of Araby</i> 1951 film by Charles Lamont

Flame of Araby is a 1951 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Charles Lamont starring Maureen O'Hara and Jeff Chandler. British film star Maxwell Reed made his American film debut in the picture. Locations were shot at three famous film locations: Vasquez Rocks, Bronson Canyon, and the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, California.

References

  1. ↑ "I Married a Woman: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Helen Hayes to Perform in Film of 'Anastasia'". The Montreal Gazette. May 5, 1956. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  3. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (September 7, 2020). "A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee". Filmink.
  4. ↑ "MONOGRAM LISTS 40 FILMS FOR YEAR: Rod Cameron to Star in Two Gold Banner Productions in Cinecolor at Studios Wald, Krasna Buy Ace Story". New York Times. September 6, 1950. p. 48.
  5. ↑ "FILMLAND BRIEFS". Los Angeles Times. September 21, 1950. p. B13.
  6. ↑ THOMAS F. BRADY (October 17, 1950). "SCREEN DIRECTORS WILL MEET ON ROW: Members to Hear Mankiewicz Give His Views on Sunday-- Recall Count Is Pending". New York Times. p. 39.
  7. ↑ Hopper, Hedda (November 16, 1950). "Celeste Holm to Leave Play and Do a Movie: Looking at Hollywood". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. c6.
  8. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (October 29, 1950). "HOLLYWOOD IN REVIEW: 'When I Leave World' Was Jolson Song in '14". Los Angeles Times. p. D6.
  9. ↑ "RKO TO MAKE 32 TOP-BUDGET FILMS: One-Third of Scheduled 1951 Productions to Be Shot in Color, Executive Announces". Los Angeles Times. December 5, 1950. p. A7.
  10. ↑ "RKO Prepares to Start Films Costing 10 Million". Los Angeles Times. February 5, 1951. p. 22.
  11. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (September 23, 1951). "Pair Cite Need for Film Flair: Krasna and Wald See Showmanship, Exciting Personalities as Essential". Los Angeles Times. p. D1.
  12. ↑ Louella Parsons (May 28, 1956). "British Monroe Accepts U.S. Job". The Washington Post and Times-Herald. International News Service. p. 19.
  13. ↑ "Drama: 'Old Yeller' Will Be Walt Disney Picture". Los Angeles Times. July 16, 1956. p. 26.
  14. ↑ "Diana Dors, England's Reply to Monroe, Here: Calls Marilyn 'Greatest Thing That Ever Happened;' Plans Film With George Gobel". Los Angeles Times. June 30, 1956. p. 3.
  15. ↑ OSCAR GODBOUT (July 22, 1956). "HOLLYWOOD CANVAS: A JAPANESE BOY AND HIS HORSE AND COMIC COWBOYS ON VIEW THIS WEEK". New York Times. p. X5.
  16. ↑ Thomas, Bob (August 19, 1956). "LONELY GEORGE TOO BUSY NOW TO GET LONELY". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. n8.
  17. ↑ OSCAR GODBOUT (July 19, 1956). "DIANA DORS SIGNS PACT WITH R.K.O.: British Actress Will Appear in 'Lady and the Prowler' --Aldrich Picks 2d Film Of Local Origin". The New York Times. p. 31.
  18. ↑ Thompson, Howard. "The Screen; 'I Married a Woman' Stars George Gobel". The New York Times. The New York Times Company, Inc. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  19. ↑ Erickson, Hal. "I Married A Woman (1958)". AllMovie. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  20. ↑ Schwartz, Dennis. "I Married A Woman". Dennis Scwartz Movie Reviews. Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.