The Groom Wore Spurs

It's kind of hard to believe that Ginger Rogers could possibly have been interested in Jack Carson. This film could have been a whole lot better with Lucille Ball or even Joan Davis who plays Ginger's roommate and confidante in the title role.

The Groom With Spurs casts Ginger as a lawyer and daughter of a famous man of the bar who is just starting to make a name for herself. Until she gets Jack Carson as a client and then she winds up marrying him.

Carson is his usual bloviating blowhard self and he plays a movie cowboy who does little on the screen but mouth dialog. He's got a big gambling debt to Stanley Ridges over in Nevada where it's legal and therefore one can sue. So he hires Rogers as an attorney and winds up marrying her.

For Carson this is a perfect role. And Ginger tries to mold him to be more like the screen image she and rest of a America know. It's not going to be easy, but he gets an opportunity in real life to show what he's made of.

All I can say is those films he did do give him some indication of what a hero is supposed to be.

To be a classic this needed a classic comedienne. Ginger is all right in the part, but what Lucille Ball could have done.

Ben Castle (Jack Carson) is a big-time cowboy...much like Roy Rogers or Gene Autry. But he's also a complete phony. He hates horses, doesn't do his own singing and relies on stuntmen to do most of his tricks. And, he also seems really, really dumb...so dumb he's gotten himself into a deep hole due to his gambling. So he contacts a lawyer for help and A.J. Furnival happens to be a lady (Ginger Rogers). Soon, she's doing a great job with Castle...and Castle, out of no where, proposes to her. And, in a whirlwind romance, they marry. But soon it becomes obvious that Castle just isn't good husband material and A.J. regrets her decision. In the midst of this, out of the blue, comes a murder...and Castle is set up to take the fall! Can A.J. once again help her stupid hubby? And, can they actually make a go of their crazy marriage?

Often this film straddles the line between dopey and clever....and it doesn't always do this well (such as the pregnancy scene late in the film). While it's very watchable, it's also not exactly subtle or sophisticated....and the ending sequence with the plane was just terrible.

The Groom Wore Spurs is an Incredibly muddled film. Ginger Rogers stars as attorney Abigail Furnival, whose been assigned to a famous cowboy film actor Ben Castle(Jack Carson). Whose found himself in debt to a mob boss. Over the course of the case she begins to fall in love with him. The film has some structural problems, it goes from starting out as a mob film, then quickly changes Into a romantic comedy, then delves into slapstick, and finally back Into a mob film. These changes aren't seamless and feel jarring when the film switches between tones.

Both the screenplay and direction are uninspired and feels like the film was made on the whim of an Idea. Thankfully the shining part of the film is the acting and chemistry between Rogers and Carson. They are both charming and extremely likable and they play off each other with great sincerity. Their chemistry kept me engaged enough to see how the film played out.

Overall the film is fairly average, it's bringing nothing original to the table. the camera-work and cinematography are both passable. There's no real standout moment in the film which felt like the result of It's messy screenplay and structure. However it's a film worth watching once just for the two engaging performances between Rogers and Carson.

Ginger Togets was entering a dangerous age for a star.So presumably she was having to accept everything that was offered.She and Carson have no chemistry whatsoever in this mirthless film.Carson resorts to too much mugging to overcome the lack of laughter.

"The Groom Wore Spurs" is a comedy romance that most who enjoy comedies should enjoy. It was made by a Poverty Row studio where Jack Carson could get lead roles from time to time. Carson was a very good actor, and played some wonderful supporting roles in comedies. And, Ginger Rogers, who has billing ahead of him here, was still making films for various studies during the years toward the end of the musicals in which she appeared, especially dancing with Fred Astaire.

The plot for this film is quite wacky, but not solid enough with a very good screenplay to make the grade as a screwball comedy. The script is very loose and not tightly written, and the direction and production leave room for much improvement. But Carson and Rogers do well together for comedy, and the dialog has just enough comedy to put this film over. It's not worth running out to buy, but if one comes across it on one of the TV movie channels, it can be a fun flick. It has no small amount of poking fun at the film industry for its hyping of stars.

In this case, it's Carson who plays Ben Castle, a celebrity Western cowboy star. He even needs help getting on a horse, and the only thing he likes about the West is chuck wagon food. Carson's public image has to be maintained, so he talks with a Western drawl. Ginger Rogers is Abigail (A. J.) Furnival, a young attorney, who gets mixed up with the carousing Castle to help him settle a gambling debt. Well, they get hitched quite soon, and the comedy starts after that.

Here are the best lines.

Las Vegas Hotel Desk Clerk, "Oh, uh, Mr. Castle." Ben Castle, "Hmmm?" Clerk, "If you are planning on entertaining any friends in the hotel this weekend, uh, remember hotel furniture costs money too."

A. J. Furnival, "No, that's all right. I trust you." Ben Castle, "You do?" Abigail, "Intrinsically.

A. J. Furnival, "Oh, he doesn't want a wife. He doesn't need one. What he needs is somebody to grab hold of him and make a man out of him." Alice Dean, A. J.'s roommate, "Well, don't they call those things wives?"

Alice Dean, "Don't you know the one way a woman can really get even with a man is by living with him?"

Mrs. Forbes, "Mr. Castle, I think you should be embalmed and I've just received notice." Ben Castle, still in bed, "Hmmmm?" Mrs. Forbes, yelling, "I've just received notice." Ben Castle, "Well, aren't you a little too old for the draft?" Mrs. Forbes, "I'm not talking about the draft, Mr. Castle. I've just been discharged." Ben Castle, "Already? But, hu.. how can you be discharged before you're drafted?"

Ben Castle, "Can I look sad in this picture? I feel happier that way. Oh, well."

Ben Castle, "You, uh, do you like chuck wagon food?" Abigail Furnival, "Mm hmm. You?" Ben, "It's the only thing about the West I do like."