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Merrily We Go to Hell

  • 1932
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Fredric March and Sylvia Sidney in Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
ComedyDramaRomance

A drunken newspaperman is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.A drunken newspaperman is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.A drunken newspaperman is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.

  • Director
    • Dorothy Arzner
  • Writers
    • Edwin Justus Mayer
    • Cleo Lucas
  • Stars
    • Sylvia Sidney
    • Fredric March
    • Adrianne Allen
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.9/10
    1.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Dorothy Arzner
    • Writers
      • Edwin Justus Mayer
      • Cleo Lucas
    • Stars
      • Sylvia Sidney
      • Fredric March
      • Adrianne Allen
    • 23User reviews
    • 41Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos54

    Fredric March in Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
    Fredric March in Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
    George Irving and Sylvia Sidney in Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
    Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher and Esther Howard in Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
    Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
    Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher and Esther Howard in Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
    Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
    Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
    Fredric March and Sylvia Sidney in Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
    George Irving and Fredric March in Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
    Sylvia Sidney in Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
    Adrianne Allen and Fredric March in Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sylvia Sidney
    Sylvia Sidney
    • Joan Prentice
    Fredric March
    Fredric March
    • Jerry Corbett
    Adrianne Allen
    Adrianne Allen
    • Claire Hempstead
    Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher
    Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher
    • Buck
    • (as Skeets Gallagher)
    George Irving
    George Irving
    • Mr. Prentice
    Esther Howard
    Esther Howard
    • Vi
    Florence Britton
    Florence Britton
    • Charlcie
    Charles Coleman
    Charles Coleman
    • Richard Damery
    Cary Grant
    Cary Grant
    • Charlie Baxter
    Kent Taylor
    Kent Taylor
    • Greg Boleslavsky
    Ernie Adams
    Ernie Adams
    • Reporter
    • (uncredited)
    Mildred Boyd
    • June
    • (uncredited)
    Edna Callahan
    Edna Callahan
    • Bridesmaid
    • (uncredited)
    Leonard Carey
    Leonard Carey
    • Prentice's Butler
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Cording
    Harry Cording
    • Fred
    • (uncredited)
    Milla Davenport
    • Prentice's Housekeeper
    • (uncredited)
    Neal Dodd
    Neal Dodd
    • Minister
    • (uncredited)
    Jay Eaton
    Jay Eaton
    • Friend
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Dorothy Arzner
    • Writers
      • Edwin Justus Mayer
      • Cleo Lucas
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The word "Hell" could not be used in the UK as part of a title, so the UK version was simply retitled "Merrily We Go to ____".
    • Quotes

      Jerry Corbett: I always said you were swell.

      Joan Prentice: Perhaps you won't think so much longer because if being a modern husband gives you privileges, then being a modern wife gives me privileges.

    • Connections
      Featured in Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      On the Banks of the Wabash Far Away
      (uncredited)

      Words and Music by Paul Dresser

    User reviews23

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Excellent performances and daring subject matter
    Clever dialogue, fantastic acting, and several great scenes made this film a delight for me, but be forewarned, its main character may have you saying 'grrr', and reduce your enjoyment. Frederic March plays a newspaper reporter / playwright who has a drinking problem, and it's while he's drunk at a party that he meets a charming young lady, played by Sylvia Sidney. The two hit it off and despite the concerns of her rich father (George Irving), get married. Things get complicated when his ex-lover (Adrianne Allen) re-surfaces and he struggles to control his problem.

    It's a very strong cast all around, and Sidney in particular turns in a great performance. She ranges from a sweet, naïve, and trusting soul, loving unconditionally, to hurt and confused, to woman whose solution is to give her husband a taste of his own medicine, in a rather shocking development. The scene with her partying with her own young lover (Cary Grant no less) and his friends and quipping "Gentlemen, I give you the holy state of matrimony, modern style: single lives, twin beds and triple bromides in the morning" is sad, empowering, and a little thrilling all at the same time. As they're in a bar that's practically a den of iniquity, it's all clearly pre-code, but there is an intelligence and honesty in this scene, and throughout the movie.

    March is also strong as this affable but flawed man, and in early scenes we smile at his partying, at one point yelling "Is there a baritone in the house?" until he finds a barman to fill out a quartet with his friends so that they can break out in song. The warning signs are there in his tardiness and even at his wedding, as he and his best man (Skeets Gallagher) fumble for the ring, which he's forgotten. That scene is one of several that are well directed by Dorothy Arzner, as she cuts to guests making observations and the facial reactions of March and Sidney as they say their vows.

    There is a lot of partying and revelry which may put some viewers off, but I found that allowed for some fantastic moments. In one, March asks Sidney to shut the door and hold him back from going to the other woman, and in a strong way she opens it wide and says "I'm no jailer - get out!" In another, as March and Allen 'play-act' a passionate kiss to the merriment of others right in front of her, we feel the shock and humiliation amplified by her brilliant facial reaction.

    The title is clearly meant to titillate, but the film has real substance beneath. It's wild, but also realistic, though I didn't care too much for the ending. We see what destructive behavior leads to, and in that I suppose there is a message, but it's delivered without heavy-handed moralizing. The plot is a tad melodramatic, but it's daring and unique in the areas it explores. Well worth checking out, if you're in the mood for pre-code.
    helpful•5
    1
    • gbill-74877
    • Mar 18, 2018

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • June 10, 1932 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • I, Jerry, Take Thee, Joan
    • Filming locations
      • Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 23 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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