Die widerspenstige Gattin

'Suddenly It's Spring' had potential to work a lot better than it did. Romance and comedy have been known to work well together, especially in the golden age regardless of the state of the story. Mitchell Leisen will never be one of my favourite directors any time soon, but he was a far from amateurish director and a number of his films are well worth the while. Paulette Goddard and Fred MacMurray were agreeable actors in their own way and worked well together elsewhere.

They do here too and are the main reason to see 'Suddenly It's Spring'. Which is a little above average as a film, without Goddard, MacMurray and their chemistry though it possibly would have been barely average, but could have done with a lot more inspiration and done more with familiar ground. 'Suddenly It's Spring' is not a bad film, not at all. There's just nothing special about it at the same time but that is my point of view and if people liked it better good for them. It is understandable too though if others liked it less than me.

Will start with the good things. As said, Goddard, MacMurray and their chemistry are the reasons to see 'Suddenly It's Spring'. MacMurray comes off the better of the two, his character is a boorish one but MacMurray still manages to bring some charm and agreeable comic timing to him. Goddard is more than at ease in comedy, it was always a strength of hers and she doesn't overdo it (even when trying to make her material more interesting than it was), and is elegant and full of class. They work great together, their chemistry having wit and grace.

Luckily there are other good things too, despite how my second paragraph sounded. It is an attractive looking film with classy production values. Victor Young provides a score that matches the elegance and with typically lush but luckily not over-sentimental scoring. The script does have enough moments of sophisticated wit and doesn't get too silly and never gets mawkish. Leisen does have some competent enough directing, especially in his direction of Goddard, MacMurray and their interaction.

He did do a lot better though with films where he was in full command of the material. 'Suddenly It's Spring' is not one of those films, it's one of those films that has moments but feels somewhat undistinguished and lacking in spark. It would have helped hugely if MacDonald Carey and Arlene Whelan's characters were far more interesting. Carey's character is so dull that it is hard to believe what any of the characters sees in him and Carey plays the character with very little personality. The chemistry between him and Goddard is near-non existent as well. Whelan's character is not as bland but Whelan's acting is pretty workmanlike with not much spark and she is at times annoying. She doesn't have much chemistry with Carey either.

The story has moments but it's familiar territory concept-wise and the execution is equally lacking in freshness. It has some wit and pleasant charm but tends to be uninspired and predictable with much playing out exactly as one would expect, that's including the convenient ending which is obvious as soon as one sees which couple is easier to root for and more interesting. Maybe more energy wouldn't have gone more amiss too, that dissipates later on when the material becomes more obvious.

All in all, slightly above average but nothing special. 6/10

Paulette Goddard (Mary) returns home at the end of WW2 to find her husband Fred MacMurray (Peter) waiting for her to sign divorce papers. Goddard suggested the divorce but now she's not so keen and wants to hold on to Fred. He's not too keen, though, and has another woman - Arleen Whelan (Gloria). The film runs to its obvious conclusion with not many laughs despite being a comedy.

You can afford to fall asleep during this one - I did three times. It's just not funny and the story has no momentum. It is also not very interesting and very unrealistic. There is one standout scene when the two women trade insults at a nightclub/restaurant venue. That is pretty funny. Outside of that, I'm afraid it's a bit of a struggle to keep interested.

Films about divorcing people are a tough sell. While there have been some very good films with this as a topic (such as MY FAVORITE WIFE and THE AWFUL TRUTH), this is a very tough sell as there normally isn't anything funny or romantic about divorce.

When the film begins, Mary Morely (Paulette Goddard) arrives home from her stint in the WACs following WWII. Her husband, Peter (Fred MacMurray) wants to meet her to sign their divorce papers. After all, when she entered the Army several years earlier, she'd asked for a divorce and in the interim, Peter fell for Gloria. However, now that Mary has returned, she's reluctant to sign those papers, so she plans on delaying as long as possible and hopes to win him back in the process. After a while, Peter is tired of trying nicely and resorts to deliberately being the most boorish jerk possible. Mary responds by telling him that this is a big turn on! And finally, Pater's 'friend', Jack (Macdonald Carey), works behind Peter's back to try to help him get the divorce...mostly because he wants Mary for himself.

So, how is this film? It's only fair--mostly for two big reasons. First, why they had Fred MacMurray change back and forth into the boorish and loud character, I have no idea...he WAS boorish and loud. Second, the other films I mentioned were simply much better. Better, more subtle and more clever. Now I am not saying this film is bad...but it felt a bit forced at times and is more of a time- passer as opposed to a timeless classic.

Paulette Goddard and Fred MacMurray share some cute moments in this modest comedy-drama about a married couple just back from the War. Back in 1941 they had planned to divorce—but then Fred went to the Pacific to fight and Paulette became a WAC and zipped around Europe.

Now it's 1946 and they have to decide how—or whether—to put their lives back together.

Of course there are complications....Fred has taken up with the snooty Other Woman (Arleen Whelan), who wants him to get that divorce. And Fred's best friend (Macdonald Carey), seeing that Paulette may soon be free, sensibly takes an interest in pursuing her.

Unfortunately, Whelan's character just isn't very interesting, and Carey comes across as pushy at best. MacMurray and Goddard seem to be trying hard but there's just not much to their story—a lot of talking but not much snap or depth to the dialog, which leaves the plot feeling flat, too.

The two stars do look good; one could always do worse than spend an hour-and-a-half with Fred and Paulette. If the picture is unconvincing, at least it's also inoffensive.

Fred MacMurray and Paulette Goddard made this 1947 film for Paramount which marked their fourth and final picture together. Having appeared together in earlier classics like STANDING ROOM ONLY, THE FOREST RANGERS and ON OUR MERRY WAY [although they didn't perform together in this all star cast].

Paulette comes home from serving as an army officer to find her lawyer husband [MacMurray] wants a divorce. She refuses, and prospective spouses [Macdonal Carey and Arleen Whelan] complicate the couple's situation. Unfortunately a bad script with a worn out subject, didn't help the stars make this a winner. Although both Goddard and MacMurray were at their top form. The supporting cast just didn't have the ability for comedy to keep up with the stars.

This is surprising as Mitchell Leisen [who directed Paulette in one of her outstanding films, KITTY] didn't make much happen in this. I guess it's a matter of the studio assigning a picture and the stars obligated to film it. There is one plus side to this film. The pin-up artist of the time, Vargas, did a stunning full portrait of Paulette. It was used for all the ads for the movie.

This is rarely seen [I have a VHS [a poor one] made for me from the film. The stars looking terrific, couldn't make this film rise above a B rating movie.