Invitation

The plot to "Invitation" is very odd to say the least and it's really a one of a kind picture. A woman (Dorothy McGuire) has learned a couple important things that folks she loved failed to mention to her: doctors expect her to be dead within a year due to her heart condition and thta her husband was paid by her father to marry her! How is the husband (Van Johnson) going to deal with all this?!

The plot was weird, confusing and hard to believe. I did, however, love Johnson't monologue with his wife late in the film...it was very sweet. A money-losing picture that isn't as bad as you might assume.

An underrated, somewhat ignored film, Invitation , is much more than a soap opera. The cast, including Van Johnson, Louis Calherne, and Ruth Roman, deliver solid, professional performances. But it's wonderful Dorothy McGuire who raises the film to the fine level it attains. Her performance as a sick woman whose father has bought her a husband so she can have a short time of happiness before her demise , is positively incandescent. Her performance is full of subtlety, nuance, shading and real pathos. Sincere, sympathetic and utterly believable at all times, she makes the film very poignant. Recommended highly!!

The soaper's better than it had any right to be. A plain looking single woman (McGuire) has a heart condition and only a year to live. Her wealthy father (Calhern) wants to inject some happiness into her remaining year, so he bribes handsome Dan (Johnson) to marry her. Trouble is this leaves cold-hearted Maud (Roman) minus her heart's desire, Dan. Thus she plots revenge.

A plain girl with a year to live!—sure it's a tear-jerker but done intelligently without rubbing our nose in it. Ellen's had a difficult time holding onto self- respect after years of romantic rejection. Her sense of dignity has somewhat hardened, making her more sympathetic than likable. It's a difficult role, similar to DeHaviland's in The Heiress (1949). Fortunately, winning actress McGuire rivets interest in the woman's plight despite an unsmiling demeanor. At the same time, Johnson's boyish charm hits the right notes, though the production fudges on showing Dan's grasping side. To me, that's the movie's biggest flaw, though given the script's general direction, probably understandable. On the other hand, credit MGM's production crew with first-rate craftsmanship in putting the elements together in tasteful fashion. Good also to see such supporting players as Ray Collins and Louis Calhern adding their brand of plausibility to the results. And credit someone—writers, producer?—with avoiding a clichéd ending.

No, there's nothing memorable here. But considering the many excesses a movie like this is subject to, the results amount to an affecting exercise in sheer Hollywood professionalism.

The premise of Invitation is very interesting, and the rest of the movie doesn't disappoint. Isn't it nice when that happens? Dorothy McGuire, a classic actress who shouldn't have been forgotten about by modern audiences, shines in this drama about an ill woman who doesn't know of her condition. She thinks she's perfectly healthy, and she loves her husband, Van Johnson. She enjoys planning parties and vacations and thinks he's as happy as she is. . . Until she finds a letter.

The letter was written by her father years ago, and it reminds her of how she and Van met. It was a set-up by her dad, Louis Calhern. A whirlwind courtship led to a quick marriage, but why? Was she really that irresistible? Or did her father give Van some "incentive" to make his daughter happy? I'd recommend this entertaining romance if the storyline appeals to you, or if you're a Dorothy fan. I was impressed by Van's performance, especially since I don't usually like him. For those who like classic romances that make you reach for your hankies, check out this drama.

I'll admit it - it's taken me a long time to write a review for this movie, because Dorothy McGuire was my favorite actress and since she passed away last year I've had trouble watching this, my favorite movie of hers.

"Invitation" is truly a film unlike any other. Dorothy McGuire is so beautiful (although the department did their best to make her look plain for the part), and she captures the passion of this role completely. Dorothy plays Ellen, who discovers something that makes everything she knows seem like a fraud. She realizes she has to question her whole life, her family, and her husband's loyalty. I don't want to give anything away, because it's meant for you to go on the same journey as Ellen. Dorothy is simply heart-breaking, and in my opinion it was the performance of a lifetime.

The supporting cast is superb, most notably Van Johnson and Ruth Roman, but this movie really belongs to Dorothy. She carries the whole film on her shoulders, and never falters once. It's a very emotional film, and I am still saddened when I think of her loss. She was an actress I always had a great respect for, and always hoped to meet. But, as she herself says at the end of the film, "There is something much more important than keeping alive, and that is knowing that you have lived."