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, Marilyn Monroe, 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

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:

screwball comedy | soldier | wedding | marriage | episodic structure | 

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Taglines:

What embarrassment when we discover... [We're Not Married]

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to a November 25, 1951 New York Times article, the picture was going to feature the stories of seven married couples, although the released film has only five. A March 1952 studio synopsis, contained in the PCA file, reveals that Hope Emerson and Walter Brennan were the stars of one of the dropped episodes, in which "Mattie Beaufort" (Emerson) an over-worked, rural housewife is courted by "Handsome" (Brennan), a shiftless philanderer. When Mattie receives the governor's letter notifying her of her marital status, she asks Handsome to read it for her, and he quickly feeds it to the hogs rather than have her learn that she would be free to marry him. A July 25, 1952 entry in Hollywood Reporter's "Rambling Reporter" column indicates that the sequence was filmed, but the reason for its removal from the finished picture has not been determined.

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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 Hollywood Remembers Lee Marvin (2000)

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Soundtracks

Waltz from 'Coppelia'
(uncredited)
Music by Léo Delibes
Played after Ramona turns on the light while getting up

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.

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1