The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951)

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Charles Brackett (writer)
Richard L. Breen (writer)

Release Date:

November 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Sometimes Cupid needs a little help!

Plot:

Marriage broker Mae Swasey, who somewhat cynically arranges her loser clients' affairs, meets model...

Plot Keywords:

Radiologist | Model | Marriage Broker | Modeling | Canceled Wedding

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Jeanne Crain	...	Kitty Bennett
Scott Brady	...	Matt Hornbeck
Thelma Ritter	...	Mae Swasey
Zero Mostel	...	George Wixted
Michael O'Shea	...	Doberman
Helen Ford	...	Emmy Swasey
Frank Fontaine	...	Mr. Hjalmer Johannson
Dennie Moore	...	Mrs. Bea Gingras
John Alexander	...	Mr. Perry
Jay C. Flippen	...	Dan Chancellor

Also Known As:

The Marriage Broker (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

In the original script, the model's name was Christina Brady. It was changed to Kitty Bennett for the movie. Then, when this movie was adapted for the "20th Century Fox Hour of Stars" presentation in June 1957, the character's name was changed back to Christina Brady.

Quotes:

Kitty Bennett: Oh, I didn't realize - you've got people in there, haven't you?
Mae Swasey: About 50-50.

Movie Connections:

Version of "The 20th Century-Fox Hour: The Marriage Broker (#2.19)" (1957)

Absolutel Beautiful

George Cukor may well have directed more good movies than anyone else. Not to say that he was the greatest director of all time. Orson Welles was no slouch. Neither was Sam Fuller. But look at the list of movies Cukor directed and you will see an extraordinary oeuvre.

"The Model and the Marriage Broker" is one of the lesser known of his very good movies. It has beautiful shots of New York. The ensemble cast is uniformly superb. The story is appealing, thanks to Charles Brackett. And Thelma Ritter -- the great Thelma Ritter -- gets to play a title character! (She is the marriage broker -- two words and more letters -- rather than the model, of course.) She could light up a movie the same way Shirley Booth could. Some say she stole movies from others. Here that was not necessary, as she is the star. (Her best performance, for me, is still in "Pickup On South Street." But that is a supporting role.) Shirley Booth did so few. She must have been great on the stage. What a shame for posterity that she made only a handful of movies.

Ritter, however, made loads of them. And this is one of her best. It also is one of Cukor's best. Who could say which is his best? Probably there is no single best. I do feel he was generally better with black and white than in his color outings. And I have a particular fondness for "The Marrying Kind." But who knows? The Judy Holiday and Aldo Ray characters might originally have been brought together by the character Ms. Booth plays so beautifully in this story.