Suddenly It's Spring

Films about divorcing people are a tough sell. While there have been some very good films with this as a topic (such as MY FAVORITE WIFE and THE AWFUL TRUTH), this is a very tough sell as there normally isn't anything funny or romantic about divorce.

When the film begins, Mary Morely (Paulette Goddard) arrives home from her stint in the WACs following WWII. Her husband, Peter (Fred MacMurray) wants to meet her to sign their divorce papers. After all, when she entered the Army several years earlier, she'd asked for a divorce and in the interim, Peter fell for Gloria. However, now that Mary has returned, she's reluctant to sign those papers, so she plans on delaying as long as possible and hopes to win him back in the process. After a while, Peter is tired of trying nicely and resorts to deliberately being the most boorish jerk possible. Mary responds by telling him that this is a big turn on! And finally, Pater's 'friend', Jack (Macdonald Carey), works behind Peter's back to try to help him get the divorce...mostly because he wants Mary for himself.

So, how is this film? It's only fair--mostly for two big reasons. First, why they had Fred MacMurray change back and forth into the boorish and loud character, I have no idea...he WAS boorish and loud. Second, the other films I mentioned were simply much better. Better, more subtle and more clever. Now I am not saying this film is bad...but it felt a bit forced at times and is more of a time- passer as opposed to a timeless classic.

'Suddenly It's Spring' had potential to work a lot better than it did. Romance and comedy have been known to work well together, especially in the golden age regardless of the state of the story. Mitchell Leisen will never be one of my favourite directors any time soon, but he was a far from amateurish director and a number of his films are well worth the while. Paulette Goddard and Fred MacMurray were agreeable actors in their own way and worked well together elsewhere.

They do here too and are the main reason to see 'Suddenly It's Spring'. Which is a little above average as a film, without Goddard, MacMurray and their chemistry though it possibly would have been barely average, but could have done with a lot more inspiration and done more with familiar ground. 'Suddenly It's Spring' is not a bad film, not at all. There's just nothing special about it at the same time but that is my point of view and if people liked it better good for them. It is understandable too though if others liked it less than me.

Will start with the good things. As said, Goddard, MacMurray and their chemistry are the reasons to see 'Suddenly It's Spring'. MacMurray comes off the better of the two, his character is a boorish one but MacMurray still manages to bring some charm and agreeable comic timing to him. Goddard is more than at ease in comedy, it was always a strength of hers and she doesn't overdo it (even when trying to make her material more interesting than it was), and is elegant and full of class. They work great together, their chemistry having wit and grace.

Luckily there are other good things too, despite how my second paragraph sounded. It is an attractive looking film with classy production values. Victor Young provides a score that matches the elegance and with typically lush but luckily not over-sentimental scoring. The script does have enough moments of sophisticated wit and doesn't get too silly and never gets mawkish. Leisen does have some competent enough directing, especially in his direction of Goddard, MacMurray and their interaction.

He did do a lot better though with films where he was in full command of the material. 'Suddenly It's Spring' is not one of those films, it's one of those films that has moments but feels somewhat undistinguished and lacking in spark. It would have helped hugely if MacDonald Carey and Arlene Whelan's characters were far more interesting. Carey's character is so dull that it is hard to believe what any of the characters sees in him and Carey plays the character with very little personality. The chemistry between him and Goddard is near-non existent as well. Whelan's character is not as bland but Whelan's acting is pretty workmanlike with not much spark and she is at times annoying. She doesn't have much chemistry with Carey either.

The story has moments but it's familiar territory concept-wise and the execution is equally lacking in freshness. It has some wit and pleasant charm but tends to be uninspired and predictable with much playing out exactly as one would expect, that's including the convenient ending which is obvious as soon as one sees which couple is easier to root for and more interesting. Maybe more energy wouldn't have gone more amiss too, that dissipates later on when the material becomes more obvious.

All in all, slightly above average but nothing special. 6/10

Fred MacMurray and Paulette Goddard made this 1947 film for Paramount which marked their fourth and final picture together. Having appeared together in earlier classics like STANDING ROOM ONLY, THE FOREST RANGERS and ON OUR MERRY WAY [although they didn't perform together in this all star cast].

Paulette comes home from serving as an army officer to find her lawyer husband [MacMurray] wants a divorce. She refuses, and prospective spouses [Macdonal Carey and Arleen Whelan] complicate the couple's situation. Unfortunately a bad script with a worn out subject, didn't help the stars make this a winner. Although both Goddard and MacMurray were at their top form. The supporting cast just didn't have the ability for comedy to keep up with the stars.

This is surprising as Mitchell Leisen [who directed Paulette in one of her outstanding films, KITTY] didn't make much happen in this. I guess it's a matter of the studio assigning a picture and the stars obligated to film it. There is one plus side to this film. The pin-up artist of the time, Vargas, did a stunning full portrait of Paulette. It was used for all the ads for the movie.

This is rarely seen [I have a VHS [a poor one] made for me from the film. The stars looking terrific, couldn't make this film rise above a B rating movie.

Paulette Goddard (Mary) returns home at the end of WW2 to find her husband Fred MacMurray (Peter) waiting for her to sign divorce papers. Goddard suggested the divorce but now she's not so keen and wants to hold on to Fred. He's not too keen, though, and has another woman - Arleen Whelan (Gloria). The film runs to its obvious conclusion with not many laughs despite being a comedy.

You can afford to fall asleep during this one - I did three times. It's just not funny and the story has no momentum. It is also not very interesting and very unrealistic. There is one standout scene when the two women trade insults at a nightclub/restaurant venue. That is pretty funny. Outside of that, I'm afraid it's a bit of a struggle to keep interested.

MacMurray and Goddard. Two giants of Hollywood in a "comedy" (?). Husband and wife are returning home from war WW II, but all is not well. She (Paulette Goddard as Mary Morely) and Fred MacMurray as Peter, had plans to get divorced, but the war intervened. Now that they have come home, everything is topsy turvy. This was filmed in 1947, so the actual war had already been over for two years. Arleen Whelan is "Gloria", who is Peter's new love interest, and when the women meet, the battle is on. All of a sudden, they both want Peter. This moves along at medium speed. While this WAS probably a very common situation for those returning from war duty, it feels a little shallow now, and they didn't really use the talents of both Goddard and MacMurray. Anyone could have filled these roles and done a fine job. There isn't a whole lot of spark or magic between the cast here. Also, it seems a little late to be discussing the issues of returning spouses. Everyone does a great job, but because the subject is divorce, there's bound to be some hostility. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, who had been nominated for an Oscar waaay back in 1930. Story by P. J. Wolfson, who had written a ton of stuff in the 1930s and 1940s for Paramount. A respectable way to spend an 90 minutes. There is a buzzing in the last 10 minutes, but I guess we're lucky to still have this film around at all.