We're Not Married! (1952)

In separate stories, five wedded couples learn that they are not legally married.

Director:

Edmund Goulding

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screenplay), Dwight Taylor (adaptation),

Stars:

Ginger Rogers, Fred Allen, Victor Moore

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ginger Rogers	...	Ramona Gladwyn
Fred Allen	...	Steven S. 'Steve' Gladwyn
Victor Moore	...	Justice of the Peace Melvin Bush
Marilyn Monroe	...	Annabel Jones Norris
David Wayne	...	Jeff Norris
Eve Arden	...	Katie Woodruff
Paul Douglas	...	Hector C. Woodruff
Eddie Bracken	...	Wilson Boswell 'Willie' Fisher
Mitzi Gaynor	...	Patricia 'Patsy' Reynolds Fisher
Louis Calhern	...	Frederick C. 'Freddie' Melrose
Zsa Zsa Gabor	...	Eve Melrose (as ZsaZsa Gabor)
James Gleason	...	Duffy
Paul Stewart	...	Attorney Stone
Jane Darwell	...	Mrs. Bush
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter Brennan	...	Handsome (scenes deleted)

Storyline

A Justice of the Peace performed weddings a few days before his license was valid. A few years later five couples learn they have never been legally married. Annabel Norris, already Mrs. Mississippi and ready to enter the Mrs. America contest, is now free to enter the Miss Mississippi contest.

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | marriage | soldier | episodic structure | double exposure effects | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 1952 (France)

Also Known As:

Wir sind gar nicht verheiratet

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The archive background footage showing New York City's Broadway at night is vintage May-June 1935, judging from the film titles prominently displayed on various theatre marquees.

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Goofs

In the scene where Zsa Zsa Gabor is laughing hysterically at how much money she is going to take her husband for, the abrupt cut shows her sullen for about ten seconds before she starts to laugh again.

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Quotes

Ramona Gladwyn: Say one thing about our marriage. If there's such a thing as an un-jackpot, I've hit it!

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Connections

Featured in Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Sweet and Lovely"
Written by Gus Arnheim, Harry Tobias and Neil Moret (as Jules LeMare)
Played during the bathing beauty contest

User Reviews

Five couples learn they're not legal

Back in the '50s, a common sitcom episode was the married couple finding out that they're not legally married.

"We're Not Married," a 1952 film, has five such couples, including Fred Allen and Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe and David Wayne, Eve Arden and Paul Douglas, Eddie Bracken and Mitzi Gaynor, and Louis Calhern and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

There were several episodic, anthology-type films from this period. "We're Not Married" deals with five very different couples and what the notice of non-marriage means to each couple. There's a wealthy man (Calhern) married to a gold digger (Gabor), a bickering husband and wife radio couple (Allen and Rogers), a couple in a slump (Paul Douglas and Eve Arden), an ambitious young woman and her husband (Monroe and Wayne) etc.

The best is the Calhern-Gabor, and Allen and Rogers make a good team and give bright performances. There are some funny sequences throughout.

Mores have changed a lot since this film, but it makes for pleasant watching with good direction by Edmund Goulding.