Perfect Strangers

This film has two concurrent stories: a court case about a man accused of murdering his wife, and the two jurors who fall in love. It does neither justice.

Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan play the couple who find themselves on a sequestered jury, charged with determining the fate of an accused murderer. The film does little to convince the viewer that there is chemistry between the two or that these characters have much in common.

The court case is presented in "snapshots" of courtroom testimony that are unconnected and uncompelling. Most of it is just backdrop to the interactions between the jurors, who are a motley collection of emotional misfits. Unlike "12 Angry Men", there is little gravitas surrounding their interplay.

Blame the writing, which is disjointed and sometimes silly. Only at the very end does Ginger Rogers get a scene where she shows real emotion and depth of character. It is too late, and the ending is mostly unsatisfying.

Ford Rainey is accused of murdering his wife and the jury assembles. Two of them, Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan, fall in love, despite being married to others.

It's based on a stage play by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht, and it covers some of the minutiae of assembling a jury. When it comes to the actual trial, it is better than the average courtroom drama, but far from perfect; in the need for drama, the jurors are sequestered and they feel free to discuss the case from the get-go.

It's filled with fine performers like Thelma Ritter, Alan Reed, Paul Ford, and Ned Glass. But in sum, it's not about the case, it's about the relationship between Morgan and Miss Rogers. There's certainly nothing wrong with that, but if you're looking for a movie about a trial, better stick with TWELVE ANGRY MEN.

Some scintillating pre-credits footage of bureaucrats shuffling through card files of prospective jurors, and we're off on the world's least interesting murder trial, propelled by a baffling romance between jurors Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan. Both are still married, she's separated, and the movie doesn't seem to know how to treat the prospect of their getting together--we're supposed to want them to, yet also not to want them to, because of all the lives it would disrupt. Meantime, the rest of the jury appears to be the stupidest ever, led by Thelma Ritter, doing her usual welcome Tenth-Avenue-salt-of-the-earth thing, but with bad lines. Rogers, as was her wont at this stage of her career, is more glamorous than the woman she's playing, and one detects a large whiff of star vanity; Morgan looks understandably bored. The movie's unaccountably fascinated with the minor details of jury duty, and everyone on this panel is such an idiot that there's nothing to do but watch them jabber and spar and lead to their inevitable verdict. Bretaigne Windust's direction (now there's a name) is disinterested and uncinematic, but not even a Capra or a Sturges could have made anything of this script.

The half-hearted romance plot between Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan takes away from an otherwise interesting ensemble piece about different people living together and the American jury system.

PERFECT STRANGERS is about a jury for a murder trial. In order to protect the integrity of the jury, the judge arranges for the twelve jurors to be held up in a hotel, cut-off from all outside contact, for the duration of the trial.

The film, based on a play co-written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, provides an interesting look at the life cycle of a jury, from the initial summons to the juror selection process to the trial and final deliberations. Like 12 ANGRY MEN (1957) it shows how jurors see things in different ways and how personal prejudice gets in the way of fair and balanced decision making. The movie also gives a humorous peek into the press room, where newspaper reporters scrape around for the scoop of the day (territory previously explored in THE FRONT PAGE and HIS GIRL_FRIDAY, also based on a Hecht/MacArthur play).

The movie doesn't delve very deeply into the courtroom proceedings or the facts of the murder case. The focus is instead on the jurors, twelve perfect strangers sharing a common experience over several weeks. The ensemble cast includes multiple Oscar-nominee Thelma Ritter and Alan Reed (the voice of Fred Flintstone), as well as Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, and others.

My favorite thing about the movie is seeing twelve perfect strangers from all walks of life forced to live together in a hotel suite. It's like going to camp. There are two women to a room, but the men have to double up (four to a room). They pass the time by playing cards, arguing about the trial, and (in Ginger's case) falling in love. They eat dinner together, they write messages for their loved ones at home, and they are chaperoned at all times by the bailiff.

I liked the idea of a sequestered jury ensemble, but the film puts too much emphasis on the romance arc between the Rogers and Morgan characters (a divorcée and a married man, respectively). And the romance is the weakest part. (Sure, they're both good-looking and trapped on a jury together, but can their "love" really work out?) The film has its moments, but falls short of its potential. It's still a classic "jury movie" and is worth checking out for Thelma Ritter fans and Ginger Rogers completists.

In Los Angeles, Terry Scott (Ginger Rogers) and David Campbell (Dennis Morgan) are selected to serve on the jury of Ernest Craig's murder trial. The jury gets sequestered and are forced to live in close quarters.

David comes off as dull. Terry is less so. Their chemistry is at best lukewarm. The trial is not that interesting. The rest of the jury is a motley crew of fun characters. It would be better to let the side characters stretch their legs. Almost every time, the side characters get a funny bit or a cute little moment or a poignant turn. On the other hand, the two leads have the most boring chemistry. The movie only takes off during the deliberations. It's a lesser "12 Angry Men" in that section but that's still pretty good. There is one tense scene with a cliffside re-enactment. It's very manufactured. There's no reason for that policewoman to be standing so close to the edge but that can be excused. This movie just needs to make the two leads into two of twelve.