Faithful in My Fashion

Did this movie ever appeal to anyone under 65? Just asking.

After serving four (and a half) years, World War II hero Tom Drake (as Jeff Compton) returns to the New York City department store where he worked with stock clerk sweetheart Donna Reed (as Jean "Chunky" Kendrick). Free from service (in a few weeks), Mr. Drake hopes to marry Ms. Reed. He believes she has been waiting for him. But, Reed has been promoted to a manager, and has a fiancé. In fact, she believes she never loved Drake - but, since he was serving his country honorably, and was taken to a prison camp, Reed could never bring herself to write the "Dear John" letter.

Her co-workers, led by fussy Edward Everett Horton (as Hiram Dilworthy), convince Reed she shouldn't spoil Drake's furlough, and she pretends nothing has changed. Reed wants to break it to him gently, but Drake gets more and more romantic… Reed and Drake are an incredibly sweet and attractive couple - they so obviously belong together, you could go stark raving mad if this film didn't end with the two (re-)kindling their love, and living happily ever after. And, the film does not disappoint. Mr. Horton, obviously having fun during the drunk scene, and the supporting cast are amusing.

****** Faithful in My Fashion (8/22/46) Sidney Salkow ~ Donna Reed, Tom Drake, Edward Everett Horton, Spring Byington

The arch title doesn't fit this gentle romantic comedy. Donna Reed and Tom Drake don't have much chemistry -- but their characters aren't supposed to. Both are extremely likable and attractive.

The supporting cast is a dream -- with the exception of Sig Ruman's annoying faux Russian.

On the surface, this is an above-average post-war romantic comedy. Beneath the veneer, it is MGM character actor stunt-casting at its funniest.

The leads are straightforward, but all the secondaries are cast much against type. Margaret Hamilton (aka Wicked Witch of the West), Edward Everett Horton (professional obsessive-compulsive fussbudget), and Sig Ruman (the Marx Brothers' nemesis in _Night In Casablanca_ and the always-wonderful _Night At The Opera_), playing a well-intentioned gang trying to bring the two leads together, instead of driving them apart as their "usual" characters would do.

It also pokes fun at many romantic-comedy conventions, which is another indication that this could be not so much a "straight" romantic comedy, as it is a wry send-up of the many post-war romantic comedies & their 2-dimensional, stock characters.

I've seen it only once, with interruptions, so I can't be positive, but this movie may be one of those that worked better in the context of the time at which it was made, but is less successful now that viewers "see" these secondary characters through a completely different lens. I'm assuming this is the case when I give it 9 stars. I thought it was hysterical.

Yes, CHUNKY, this is the nick-name that Donna Reeds' romantic lead played by Tom Drake tags her with! So lets get this clear right away. From her first ingénue role in THE GET-AWAY (1941) too her last, DALLAS T.V. (1984-1985) Ms. Reed could NEVER be described as CHUNKY. Not this attractive and slim actress. Whose roles at M.G.M. seldom lived up to her talents.

Ms. Reed is supported by a cast of competent character actors, who unfortunately must flounder through this alleged 'screw-ball' comedy. Clearly M.G.M. was out of their depth making this type of film. A type better produced over at COLUMBIA, PARAMOUNT, RKO and even UNIVERSAL. Neither the 'touch' of Ernst Lubitsch nor the wit of Preston Sturges could save this film. A rather conventional romantic comedy that had all the markings of a pre-war (WWII) effort.

If Irving Thalberg had still been alive the screen-play would have either gone through a significant rewrite or never seen the light of day. It did fit into Louis B. Mayer's 'safe-zone' of none challenging family entertainment. A form that could not stand up to the post-war challenges of the 'DeHavilland Decision', loss of their theater chains, television and would contribute to M.G.M.s decline. Fortunetly for Donna Reed her best days are ahead of her culminating in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) and her Oscar win as Best Supporting Actress.