Married Bachelor

The main problem I had with this film was casting Robert Young for such a role. While I do enjoy seeing him play against type in some films (such as in "They Won't Believe Me" where he played a womanizer who plans on murdering his wife), here I just had a hard time believing him. Young plays Randy Haven--a guy who goes to work as a bookie! When a horse unexpectedly wins, he and his partner are in trouble because they don't have enough to pay off. This is compounded because the client (Sheldon Leonard) is a tough guy who certainly will make them pay if they don't pay...get it?! So, the pair go in search of money. One client who owes them is a professor (Felix Bressart) who cannot pay but instead gives them a book he's written--with a bachelor's view on marriage. Well, with no other prospects for money, Randy markets the book and gets a ridiculously lucrative offer to publish it (my wife, who has published quite a few books had a good laugh at this!). However, the publisher thinks that the guy pretending to be the author (Randy) is a bachelor himself--and offer him not only money but a radio show that's contingent on him being single. So, his wife (Ruth Hussey) has to pretend to be his secretary...which is a problem when she finds another man falling in love with her!

If this all sounds quite contrived, it is. However, it's also a breezy little film that you can still enjoy provided you don't think too much about the silly plot! Worth seeing? Perhaps. But not one you should hate yourself for missing! But, if you do see it, watch for the wonderful scene where Randy translates between the gangster (Leonard) and the author (Bressart)--it's awfully cute.

Released in nyc JUST before Pearl Harbor, i can't image this was too successful. Then released in Britain, a month later. And it's a weird, wacky plot. Randolph Haven (Young) owes some shady characters a whole lot of money. And pretends to be an author to stall for time. The catch: he has to write a book about marriage, from a bachelor's point of view. (who would read such a book??) when his real wife starts following the advice in the book, things get complicated! Co-stars Felix Bressart as the Professor. Sheldon Leonard as rough guy Branigan, who wants his money pronto. Randolph's wife is played by Ruth Hussey (nominated for Philadelphia Story). Trivia claims that six minutes were cut out... interesting. The role of "Waiter" says scenes deleted. And... keep an eye out for Hal LeSueur. Was Joan Crawford's brother; died young at 59. He was one of the guys fighting for the table in the diner. Directed by Ed Buzzell. It's pretty good. It's all kind of wacky and zany.

Randy Haven, a married con artist, gets in trouble when he goes into hock for $17,000 to a local hood. He runs into a somewhat eccentric professor who has written a book on marriage but can't get it published. Haven gets it published by posing as the professor, a "bachelor taking a look at marriage". The book becomes an unexpected hit and Haven becomes a celebrity, much to the annoyance of his wife. This is a breezy comedy--no uproarious laughs, but carried off well by a charming cast. Robert Young and Ruth Hussey have undeniable chemistry and work fine together, Lee Bowman is cast somewhat against type as a wealthy publisher who is shy and awkward around women, but pulls it off well, and Felix Bressart is letter-perfect as the professor. The film has the expected MGM gloss, even though it's a "B" picture, and director Edward Buzzell keeps things rolling along smoothly. A pleasant little film, worth a watch.

Remember in Alex & Emma when Luke Wilson gets indebted to scary gangsters and then tries to write and sell a novel to get quick cash? Remember thinking, in the audience, that his plan was a really stupid idea? If you rent Married Bachelor, you'll be thinking the same thing. Robert Young gets indebted to scary gangsters, and his master plan is to sell a book and use the advance money to pay them off. He borrows a manuscript from Felix Bressart, smooth-talks his way into a publishing house, and actually signs a deal. It's very bizarre for a host of reasons, one of which is why Felix never gets upset that his work gets published under someone else's name.

The book itself is advice about marriage, and the publishing house discovers that the book tours and sales are more successful if the women buying the book think the author is on the market. So, a very happily married Robert Young has to pretend he's not married to his wife, Ruth Hussey. Hence the title. There's lots of humor in this movie, but it's not exactly a classic. Just like the first few times you watch Alex & Emma you laugh at all the jokes, you'll like this movie but you probably won't want to own a copy.

Robert Young is a confidence man, always fleeing from a disgruntled mark. Wife Ruth Hussey thinks he should get an office job, so he does: a bookie office in partnership with Sam Levene. A loss of $17,000 to Sidney Sheldon leaves them scrambling from unpaid money. Unsuccessful author Felix Bressart lets them have his manuscript, which Young flogs to publisher Lee Bowman as a bachelor's look at marriage, passing off Young as the author. It's a hit, and the money starts to flow. But his marriage collapses.

It's one of those attempts at screwball that MGM made in this period that doesn't bear think about.... except for the comedy bits. The sequence in which Young is translating between slangy Sheldon and formal Bressart is very funny; other bits keep it going throughout. Miss Hussey's Myrna Loy imitation is very evident at several points.