La mariée est folle

Bumpy film with good stuff strewn about here and there, but it's far from a seamless ride. Doesn't often add up to more than it's various parts until the peculiarly funny ending. The leads are swell and Hume Cronyn, as an effete fussbudget, is a surprise. Richard Derr, a gorgeous hunk of man-meat if there every was one, plays a klutz.

John McGrath (Hume Cronyn) is a publisher of children's books. Teetotaler Martha Terryton (June Allyson) wins a contest to illustrate a book. Problem is that drunken author Greg Rawlings (Van Johnson), under the name Uncle Bumps, hasn't started writing. He is taken with Martha. He recruits juvenile delinquent Danny to play his son.

The meet-cute is rather suggestive visually especially for the time. There is good potential. The story is a bit episodic. There's a whole section where the kids pretend to be Indians. I thought the book would be a good way to structure the story. Rawlings can write Danny into the book as the fake family has some adventure. The story slowly meanders and loses a little bit steam.

Martha Terryton (June Allyson) is a Vermont schoolteacher who wins a contest to illustrate the next book by popular children's author Greg Rawlings (Van Johnson). When she meets Rawlings, whose pen name is Uncle Bump, his moral turpitude conflicts with her moral rectitude. The publisher, John McGrath (Hume Cronyn), is caught in the middle, trying to get them to cooperate. He concocts a story that Rawlings is only acting out of frustration, because his son is a hellion. McGrath then recruits a prodigious troublemaker named Danny (Jackie "Butch" Jenkins) to pretend to be the son.

The film's title seems irrelevant to the story. Nevertheless, it is a funny film that might be described as broad comedy.

Jackie Jenkins shows more range than expected. And Hume Cronyn, as usual, does a fine job in his role. The two stars plays rather predictable roles, but keep things moving. I think designer Helen Rose, as the busiest woman in Hollywood, deserves credit for the designs that flatter the actresses of this and many other films.

A famous children's' story writer named Uncle Bumps (Van Johnson) needs someone to illustrate his latest book. A contest is held, and an artist is chosen, Miss Martha Terryton (June Allyson). Martha is an uptight, prudish woman with little tolerance for wasting time. Uncle Bumps is really Greg Rawlings, a young playboy with no work ethic and a penchant for young women. He attempts to work his magic on Martha, and after hard work and trickery, including telling her that he has a son (Butch Jenkins), it begins to work. That's when his married girlfriend (Arlene Dahl) comes into the picture and messes everything up.

This movie has the same sentiment that another Johnson and Allyson film does: Too Young to Kiss. There is the same love-hate relationship between the two with the obvious ending, but plenty of fun along the way. The two had a strong chemistry, which is why they made so many films together.

Another wonderful addition to this film is Jenkins, the same kid from The Human Comedy. He's a little older here, and such a lovable little boy, though he isn't traditionally cute, but he's lots of fun to watch.

June Allyson doing her thing. This time, she's a down-home gal and ace illustrator who wins a contest for her artwork to be used in a new children's book penned by the beloved Uncle Bumps, a modern-day Hans Christian Andersen. Turns out Uncle Bumps is really a hard-drinking, free-wheeling bachelor who dislikes children--yet he is so taken with this uptight artist once he meets her, he attempts to woo her under an alias. Why? It doesn't matter, for this is a vehicle for Allyson and Van Johnson (movie favorites at the time), and the script treats their characters like human bumper-cars just to keep star-watchers on their toes. Johnson's ruse is soon exposed, forcing him to emulate an honorable guy--which includes 'borrowing' an orphan to pose as his son. June threatens to dislodge him from the ranks of celebrity by reporting him to her cousin, a banner of controversial books and plays (she actually seems to proud to know such a person). Throw in an obnoxious hometown beau waiting in the wings, a wedding overcome with ants, and Hume Cronyn as a publisher on the brink of a nervous breakdown, and you have all the ingredients for a laughless family fracas done with neither style nor merit. *1/2 from ****