The Marrying Kind (1952)

Florence and Chet Keefer have had a troublesome marriage. Whilst in the middle of a divorce hearing the judge encourages them to remember the good times they have had hoping that the ... See full summary »

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin

Stars:

Judy Holliday, Aldo Ray, Madge Kennedy

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Judy Holliday	...	'Florrie' Keefer
Aldo Ray	...	'Chet' Keefer
Madge Kennedy	...	Judge Anne B. Carroll
Sheila Bond	...	Joan Shipley
John Alexander	...	Howard Shipley
Rex Williams	...	George Bastian
Phyllis Povah	...	Mrs. Derringer
Mickey Shaughnessy	...	Pat Bundy
Griff Barnett	...	Charley

Storyline

Florence and Chet Keefer have had a troublesome marriage. Whilst in the middle of a divorce hearing the judge encourages them to remember the good times they have had hoping that the marriage can be saved.

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | judge | beach | manhattan new york city | central park manhattan new york city | 

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Taglines:

"Shaddup!"

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Mulher Que Deus Me Deu

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the memorable 4th of July picnic flashback, George Cukor relied for inspiration on a production of Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard".

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Goofs

At one point, Mickey Shaughnessy's character refers to his address as being "20-11 35th Avenue, Jackson Heights." Actually, that address would be in Long Island City.

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Quotes

Mrs. Derringer: Oh, I didn't remember he had an 'F' in 'im.

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Crazy Credits

At the film comes to the classical "The End" over the final shot of the two main characters in background, instead of the usual fade-out, Columbia Pictures added the advertisement: "You have just seen our New Personality - ALDO RAY - Please watch for his next picture." In the background, a short sequence of Aldo Ray speaking (no dialogue heard - simply the remaining ending score) in a bedroom setting seen in the movie.

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Connections

Referenced in Growing Pains: The Marrying Kind (1988)

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Soundtracks

"Dolores"
(uncredited)
Music by Louis Alter
Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Performed by Judy Holliday while playing a ukulele

User Reviews

Drastic turns

Chet marries Florence and for a while all is swell. But due to personal tragedy and Chet's inability to hold on to a job, they find themselves in divorce court.

Time has completely forgotten this truly masterful piece of cinema art. 'Marrying Kind' starts out as a screwball comedy, evolves into gentle and then starker realism, takes a drastic turn towards tragedy, only to try and find its way back. Veteran director Cukor invited all sorts of trouble with this extremely challenging format, with a drama very obviously inspired by King Vidor's ground-breaking late silent 'The Crowd'.

It is a virtuosic and deeply, deeply affecting film, as written by Garson Kanin, directed with an almost uncanny ear for dialogue by the underrated Cukor, and acted by newcomer Aldo Ray and the ever-brilliant Judy Holliday. The ending to this film testifies to an unexpected emotional maturity in Hollywood in the early 50's, and the transfer is perfect.

I daresay nobody with an open mind is ever liable to forgot this film, and remember, before you start moaning about the mixing of genres, Life does its own mixing of tears and laughter every day to every single one of us. In that respect no film ever was more organic than this one!