Love Nest

This is a cute typical comedy from 20th Century-Fox in the early 1950's. This movie is famous because it has an early, very good, normal supporting performance by Marilyn Monroe. The movie stars June Haver (wife of Fred MacMurray) and Willam Lundigan, a minor leading man of the period.

The cool thing is this film has supporting performances from three unusual actors: Jack Paar, in one of his few acting roles, Frank Fay, once married to Barbara Stanwyck, who was the most popular comedian and master-of-ceremonies of the entire Vaudeville era (he also the star of the original Broadway hit, "Harvey"), and Leatrice Joy, a famous silent actress in one of her final film roles.

For those performances alone, it's worth watching.

Likable but decidedly lightweight early 50s situation comedy with an effective extended cameo from Monroe, who doesn't put a foot wrong. Apparently there was such a fuss over the bathing costume Monroe wears that there had to be a closed set for the shooting of those scenes. This just shows how difficult it is for us now to see how scurrilous this seeming innocuous move must have seemed at the time. Soldiers are returning from the war and things will not be the same again. Women are not going to give up the new positions they have been thrust into by the conflict, even if the likes of Frank Fay's aged womaniser do try and get things back for the men. Some extraordinary one liners, not all funny, but certainly pointed help to keep this afloat.

Written by I.A.L. Diamond, the future writing partner of the great Billy Wilder, the script has hints at some of their future collaborations ("The Apartment," Some Like it Hot," "The Fortune Cookie," etc), but is nowhere as good any of those films. This story is about a GI returning home to find his wife has bought a broken-down NYC brownstone as an investment for them to rent out to tenants. What ends up happening is they find themselves caught up in the lives of their various renters, most notably of which is a GI buddy of the husband, "Bobby" short for Roberta, played by a before-she-was-famous Marilyn Monroe. When she made this film, Monroe has just had her memorable small role in "All About Eve" and studio boss Darrly Zanuck took it upon himself to begin shaping her image with a key supporting part in this film. Monroe is quite good in the picture, but is only of the several tenants the film follows. If the film had more prominently featured Monroe or made more out the perceived love triangle between husband, wife, and Monroe, it may have made for a fun farcical door slamming sesx comedy along the lines of "Kiss Me, Stupid." Instead, it's merely a pleasant, but forgettable comedy that's now only of note as an early work by Monroe and Diamond before they went on to bigger and better films; Monroe with "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "The Seven Year Itch" and Diamond co-writing "Love in the Afternoon" and "Monkey Business" (the Hawks comedy, not the Marx Bros. film) before their paths crossing again nine years later in the undeniable American film classic "Some Like it Hot." Overall, if you watch "Love Nest" don't expect anything the caliber of Monroe or Diamond's later work, but instead simply expect a modestly entertaining comedy.

I found "Love Nest" to be light,engaging, nicely moving romantic comedy.The two leads(June Haver& William Lundigan) are very likable and there's a fine supporting cast. Jack Paar is entertaining as a witty friend of the family. Marilyn Monroe does her talking mannequin thing and doesn't overstay.Frank Fay does a nice job as an old lady charmer(real & fake). The script, by Billy Wilder collaborator I.A.L.Diamond, has some good one-liners and some actual heart-felt moments; as a just furloughed G.I./writer and his young wife find them selves owner of a dilapidated apartment house in N.Y. city and all that goes with it (fussy tenants,building inspectors,kooky cat).It has a scratch your head ending, but it's a pleasant viewing experience.(note: the DVD has Marilyn Monroe plastered all over the cover.She's hardly in it.)

Love Nest concerns the struggles of a young couple to keep the brownstone they own in shape and their tenants happy. June Haver bought the building as an investment with what was probably William Lundigan's separation pay. They've got an interesting group of tenants among them Frank Fay a gentleman of leisure who doesn't work but seems to be well fixed.

That's because he's a conman who fleeces little old ladies, but he's actually fallen for Leatrice Joy of the silent screen era who is also a tenant.

Another tenant is Marilyn Monroe who knew Lundigan in the service when she was a WAC. June Haver notices, but Jack Paar a lawyer friend of their's also notices Marilyn.

Love Nest is a slight amusing comedy. But the thing that gets me is that for all their troubles that Brownstone in NYC especially Manhattan is probably worth a small fortune for the grandchildren of Lundigan and Haver. Hope they hung on to it.