The Lady Is Willing

Marlene Dietrich is the lady in "The Lady is Willing," a 1942 film also starring Fred MacMurray and Arline Judge. The beautiful Dietrich plays a musical star, Liza Madden, who walks off with an abandoned baby and takes him home. Though Liza lives well, she owes a fortune to the IRS and gives all of her money away, and she won't be able to adopt the child unless she's either married or solvent. She convinces a pediatrician (MacMurray) to marry her. He does, and they adopt the baby, now called Corey. The marriage is supposed to be in name only, but you know how those things go.

"The Lady is Willing" is not much of a story or a movie, but Dietrich is just stunning, and her acting is charming. She creates a very lovable character. MacMurray, as the doctor who falls in love with her, turns in a good performance. He's part of a dumb subplot involving rabbits that is dropped along the way. Dietrich's assistant is played by Arline Judge and her maid by Marietta Canty and they are both excellent in their roles. It's just too bad all of these good people had to be in this particular story.

Obviously, the baby in question (David James) is unaware that the story is weak; he laughs and plays with telephone cords, Dietrich's hats and smiles at everyone. Just adorable.

Definitely worth it for Dietrich and her fashions, and if you like kids, little Corey. Interestingly, one of Dietrich's famous legs was in a cast for part of the film, though it's not noticeable.

THE LADY IS WAITING (Columbia, 1942), under the direction of Mitchell Leisen, pairs Marlene Dietrich (on loan from Universal) and Fred MacMurray (from Paramount) for the only time. Nearly forgotten, and bearing no relation to the 1934 British-made movie of the same name starring Leslie Howard, the film itself offers the diverse Dietrich an opportunity to perform in light comedy far removed from the type of characters she's played during her early Paramount years (1930-1935), especially those under the stern direction of Josef Von Sternberg or those re-inventive offerings from Universal (1939-42) that all began with the classic western, DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (1939). For MacMurray, it's another range for his talent playing a no-nonsense pediatrician who happens to detest babies, yet the same actor who made fathering his career in later years, especially the long running TV series, "My Three Sons" (1960-72).

As the opening credits present itself through passages taken from a theater program guide, the story introduces Elizabeth "Liza" Madden (Marlene Dietrich), a celebrated New York entertainer leaving the stage door entrance and approached by awaiting fans wanting her autograph. Minutes later, she's seen returning to her luxurious East 85th Street apartment holding a baby (David James) she found abandoned in a 47th street rooming house, much to the astonishment of her personal secretary, Buddy (Aline MacMahon), and Kenneth Harling (Stanley Ridges), her business representative. Since the infant is dressed in pink, and taking it for granted to be a girl, she names her Joanna. Elizabeth learns different after notifying Doctor Corey T. McBain (Fred MacMurray), a baby doctor, who, following an examination, tells her it's a boy. Re-naming him Corey, Elizabeth goes through whatever channels she could to adopt the infant. While Mrs. Cummings (Elisabeth Risdon) of the child welfare department agrees on letting her keep the baby until she can further look into the matter regarding its parents, in the meantime, Liza must also prove herself solvent and married. Choosing McBain as her marriage of convenience husband, she readily relocates herself into a larger apartment so McBain, having given up his practice, could have enough room for his experiments studying the blood stream of rabbits for his cure for pneumonia, and Little Corey, called "Butch" by the McBain, to have his very own nursery. As these two strangers slowly grow fond of one another, situations occur as Liza encounters Frances (Arline Judge), McBain's fortune hunting ex-wife living in the same building, and the arrival of the baby's parents (Murray Alper and Kitty Kelly) and their lawyer (Charles Lane) who, seeing how the lady is willing, agree in letting Liza keep the child for $25,000.

Although simply a movie more for amusement than logic, it's sometimes hard accepting the Dietrich character being so naive. It's a wonder she wasn't arrested for taking the infant without learning the circumstances of its abandonment. Possibly the screenplay should have gone through the cliché channels of having her suddenly acquiring the infant from a recently deceased relative or close friend of the theater. Either way would have proved more acceptable for the viewer. Though Dietrich had already played a mother earlier in BLONDE VENUS (Paramount, 1932), parenting was nothing new to her at this point. Her Elizabeth Madden, portrayed as a little eccentric and at one point advised to see a psychiatrist, may be a little out of her character range, though being a musical comedy star fits Dietrich to perfection. Similar circumstances for a woman like Dietrich being past 40 would have been better suited for an actress in the younger age range as Lana Turner or a Rita Hayworth. Dietrich's stubbornness and fiery temper, however, comes as a reminder of Mexican spitfire Lupe Velez. She gets some laughs in her favor as being one with a reputation for wearing screwy hats, though she's a fashion model here through her assortment of fur coats and jewelry.

Taken from an original story by John Edward Grant, areas of THE LADY IS WILLING seems to have been inspired by the witty comedy of BACHELOR MOTHER (RKO Radio, 1939) starring Ginger Rogers as a department store worker who takes in a baby found on a doorstep. With BACHELOR MOTHER being straightforward comedy, THE LADY IS WILLING is a mild blend of comedy-drama. Though the comedy angle is much more preferable, the dramatic portion is fortunately handled well without becoming disastrous. Two staged interludes to a song, "I Find Love" (by Jack King and Gordon Clifford) sung by Dietrich, are showcased, with Roger Clark acting as her dancing partner. Others members of the cast include: Marietta Canty (Mary Lou, the maid); Ruth Ford (Myrtle Gusselman, a Swedish maid actually from the Bronx); Eddie Acuff (Officer Murphy); Harry Shannon (Detective Sergeant Barnes); and Harvey Stephens (Doctor Golding). Though some sources credit Sterling Holloway in the movie as Arthur Miggle, his scenes are not visible in the final print.

Distributed to home video in 1994, THE LADY IS WILLING has turned up occasionally on TV Turner Classic Movies cable channel since August 9, 2008. Though an unlikely pair, the contrasting screen personalities of Dietrich and MacMurray do compliment each other, surely making this overlooked comedy, whenever shown on TV, a pleasing 90 minute experience for any classic movie lover. (***)

Whatever faults THE LADY IS WILLING has can be traced immediately to the script. Despite this, Mitchel Leisen's direction guides MARLENE DIETRICH and FRED MacMURRAY through their paces and gets some very good performances from both of them. Marlene, in particular, is surprisingly effective playing a naive, bossy, and very "dumb" Broadway actress who casually walks off with a baby simply because it's cute and she can afford to take care of it.

Complications arise, of course, when it's discovered that she's the woman in the screwy hat who took the child away from the scene of an accident. MacMurray is the handsome doctor she calls when she needs help in supervising the child and from then on the story veers between comedy, romance and even drama toward the end.

Dietrich is lovingly photographed, perfectly lit by an astute cameraman no matter what the situation is and glamorously gowned throughout. MacMurray is an old hand at screwball comedy and is thoroughly adept at handling his bumbling chores with his usual expertise.

A couple of good-natured twins were used for all of the baby's scenes and Dietrich seems to really care about how she interacts with the infant. It's an unusual role for her and she demonstrates an ability to toss off screwball dialog with the best of them.

This sort of fluff is given above average handling by Leisen and his stars, although the material itself is decidedly below par screwball comedy that turns maudlin toward the end.

Wonderful 1942 film with Marlene Dietrich as a Broadway star who finds a baby and marries a pediatrician so that she can keep the baby. Of course, the story deals with them finding their way to love eventually as well as the situations they encounter such as phony parents showing up to take the child, and the doctor's first wife showing up to create further havoc.

Fred MacMurray is absolutely charming as the doctor and Dietrich showed how quite adept she was at comedy. Aline MacMahon co-stars as a wise-cracking assistant to Dietrich. This kind of role was normally assigned to Eve Arden.

Naturally, there is the end-of-film crisis where MacMurray has to operate and Dietrich sheds those tears. It's well worth it.

Part of the premise of The Lady Is Willing is that the famous can get away with anything. Picture if you will yourself who while the police are investigating reports of a baby abandoned in a boardinghouse, just up and taking the infant. That would probably land you in jail for a stretch. But for Marlene Dietrich, famous musical comedy star, everyone is just forgiving as all heck and let's her keep the little tyke.

Everyone except the IRS who is insistence that she be solvent. Unmarried or not doesn't seem to be the issue. She owes a lot in income tax. So she persuades pediatrician Fred MacMurray to marry her. That would certainly save on doctor bills.

As for Fred who wouldn't want to marry Marlene? But when they enlarge their living quarters it's for cages for rabbits. MacMurray is doing research and needs them for experiments. He's also got an ex-wife sniffing around in the person of Arline Judge. She's more trouble than the rabbits.

The Lady Is Willing just will never be ranked as one of the 10 best for either Fred or Marlene. It makes so little use of MacMurray's comic talents which I find very strange. As for Marlene, there are times in the film when she comes across more like Doris Day.

Best in the film might possibly Marlene's girl Friday Aline McMahon. She has the film's best lines.

But fans of Fred and Marlene should like it well enough.