The Marriage-Go-Round

A happy middle-aged couple (Susan Hayward and James Mason) allow a Swedish girl (Julie Newmar)--a daughter of a friend--to stay in their house for a few days. While there she promptly tells Mason she wants to have a child with him because he's so intelligent! Predictable complications ensue.

Silly sex comedy. This was based on a VERY successful Broadway play. However what worked on stage does NOT translate to the screen at all (this was not a hit). The plot is pretty dumb and probably an insult to Swedish people. It has incredibly dated sexual politics (even for 1961) and a discussion on infidelity is more funny than shocking. What saves this from being totally unwatchable are the actors. Mason and Newmar are very good in their roles and Hayward is excellent in hers. Also their house is stunning to look at. But, all in all, this is a forgettable movie. I give it a 4.

This movie seems to plod along with innuendos between Mason, Hayward, and Newmar. There is a fun scene between Hayward and Newmar in which Hayward advises that her husband is not for "borrowing." But Newmar's response is Hayward's equal when she responds that she is bigger, stronger, prettier, and smarter and she will only listen to what he has to say. It's a great scene but about the only one in the film that worked for me. The rest is pretty much blah, blah, blah.

What IS redeeming about this movie, though, is the set decorating and the costumes. In my opinion the sets in this movie could be from 20 years in the future. Sleek, classy. The costuming is perfect: muted, elegant colors on beautifully trim bodies. Mason is impeccable in his wardrobe. Of course Newmar looks like Barbie in her swimsuit. It was, however, great to get to see her in a performance before Catwoman in the Batman series.

The eye candy is worth the watch in this film.

This really is dreck. What a waste of James Mason who still manages a decent performance despite having to deal with not so sophisticated sophisticated dialogue. The sript combines pop pyschology popular in the early 60s with sitcom like witticisms masking as Noel Coward level repartee. Not to mention that it's stagey and setbound with the main premise being pummelled to death. Newmar looks fantastic and was a decent enough actress but then you have Susan Hayward. A looker no doubt , but I've always thought she was a terrible actress who constantly seems to read her lines off of a greeting card. And what's with that voice ? A Joan Crawford baritone? Forget this one.

In The Marriage-Go-Round, a Swedish exchange student comes to stay in the home of a happily married couple. The wife welcomes her with open arms, but she really shouldn't. We find out pretty early on she has designs on the husband; she wants him to father her child! Told in a funny he-said-she-said format, James Mason and Susan Hayward tell the audience about the time in their lives when their marriage was tested by the ridiculously attractive Julie Newmar.

While it's totally believable that James Mason would be propositioned in such a way, it isn't quite believable that he would be tempted to stray with Susan Hayward at home. She's far too strong and independent to portray a housewife who's let herself go. There are several jokes about her putting on weight and not being alluring enough for her husband. But it's Susan Hayward! Onstage, Claudette Colbert originated the role. She's a beautiful woman, too, but she would have been middle-aged at that time, still retaining the vulnerability of her youth, and far more convincing. Julie Newmar is wonderful, though; and she also played the role on Broadway. Hilarious, physically perfect, a flawless Swedish accent (patterned after her mother), and a master of intellect and sportsmanship, she fits the description of every man's fantasy and every woman's nightmare.

The fun part of the movie is, of course, James Mason. His delighted grin is hilarious, and you can clearly see him having a ball during the filming. It's no stretch to see why he was asked to play Hubert Humphrey in Lolita after being paired with a young girl in this movie. As this is a comedy, and he's the pursued not the pursuer, we can all have a good laugh.

The outside scenes of this movie were partially filmed in Lakeland, Florida (my hometown) on the Florida Southern College campus. The buildings were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and are situated adjacent to Lake Hollingsworth. It made a beautiful setting for this romantic comedy. Co-star Susan Hayward was one of my favorite actresses and of course, Julie Newmar was almost as smashing as Bo Derek in "10". I thought the plot was a bit sophisticated for the time (1961). More to my liking were the Doris Day - Rock Hudson comedies of the same period. A little less sophistication and more "slapstick" type fun films. Tony Randall's masterful comedic genius added greatly to most of them.