Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)

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:

Cleo Lucas (novel), Edwin Justus Mayer (screenplay)

Stars:

Sylvia Sidney, Fredric March, Adrianne Allen

Cast

Credited cast:
Sylvia Sidney	...	Joan Prentice
Fredric March	...	Jerry Corbett
Adrianne Allen	...	Claire Hempstead
Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher	...	Buck (as Skeets Gallagher)
George Irving	...	Mr. Prentice
Esther Howard	...	Vi
Florence Britton	...	Charlcie
Charles Coleman	...	Richard Damery
Cary Grant	...	Charlie Baxter
Kent Taylor	...	Gregory 'Greg' Boleslavsky
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adrienne Ames	...	Minor Role (unconfirmed)

Storyline

Nere-do-well Jerry Corbett finally meets and marries the right girl, Joan Prentiss. Unfortunately their wedded bliss is interrupted when Jerry's play becomes a hit and he hooks up with the wrong woman from his past. Joan decides that turn-about is fair play and she picks another man to escort her around to various parties around New York. Eventually Jerry quits drinking and sends his girlfriend packing, just in time for Joan to take him back.

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Plot Keywords:

dipsomania | heiress | newspaper | title directed by female | triple f rated | 

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Taglines:

In her innocence she expected days and nights of tender love. What she got was a Bitter Shock!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 June 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

I, Jerry, Take Thee, Joan

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. With enough pre-code plot twists to live up to its already troublesome title, little surprise that sponsor resistance was almost total; in Detroit, Monday 23 May 1960, WJBK (Channel 2), was one of the few stations to bravely give it a whirl, rather accurately describing it in the Lansing State Journal as a "well acted, dated comedy about a writer who drinks too much and the women in his life." It was released on DVD 7 April 2009 as part of the Universal Backlot Series: Pre-Code Hollywood Collection.

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Quotes

Joan Prentice: [Seeing Jerry being carried in] Buck, is he hurt?
Buck: Oh, he's still alive, but a couple of bottles of scotch are dead.

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Soundtracks

On the banks of the Wabash Far Away
(uncredited)
Words and Music by Paul Dresser

User Reviews

Good Performances Wasted in Routine Story

Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Reporter Jerry Colbert (Fredric March) is in a drunken state when he meets the beautiful Joan (Sylvia Sidney) who just happens to be the daughter of a millionaire. The two hit it off but before long Joan realizes that Jerry has a major issue with alcohol. At first her love is enough to keep him away from the drink but before long he's back on the bottle.

MERRILY WE GO TO HELL has one of the greatest titles of any movie in history but sadly the film itself isn't all that great or even good for that matter. This here is another Pre-code that manages to have some good performances that go wasted on a story that just isn't all that interested. What's worse is the fact that the story is pretty darn predictable from start to finish without any real surprises or fresh moments.

The best thing going for the film are the performances. March, fresh off his Best Actor Oscar win for DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, offers up a good performance in the role of a drunk who can't help but want to party more than stay with his wife. Adrianne Allen plays his former lover and she offers up a fine performance. George Irving has some excellent moments playing Sidney's father. You've even got an early performance from Cary Grant. As far as Sidney goes, she's certainly the best thing about the film. She handles the dramatic moments perfectly but the greatest part comes at the start of the picture with that bubbly personality, which makes you understand why an alcoholic would give up the bottle for her.

This here was years before THE LOST WEEKEND so the subject of alcoholism isn't really dealt with in a strong or graphic way. More than anything we just see the March character as either having too much fun or passing out during moments that he's needed. As it stands, MERRILY WE GO TO HELL might appeal to fans of the cast but the film itself has quite a few problems.