Nid d'amour

A convivial 'feel-good ,optimistic' film.'Love Nest' makes you wish you could book-in to that brownstone building c.1951 for some immediate soul revival.Incongruously;the soundtrack contains humming acappella harmonising that confirms to you;it's 'a cinematic treat'.It's 1946:June Haver has invested every last dime in a New York apartment block,hubby William Lundigan returns to a mayhem of repair bills & squabbling tenants.Marilyn Monroe;his ex-army buddy infuriates his jealous wife & Frank Fay is a 'Gentleman Lothario con-man' operating from his apartment rooms.The incidental characters are impressionable.It's a recap of 'old style' values;whence one time.Utterly nostalgic.A DVD I can watch again & again.I can't decide if this is a 'June Haver' star vehicle or a 'Marilyn Monroe' star vehicle?.Hence:two for the price of one!.

June Haver and William Lundigan star as a married couple who have invested in a small apartment complex to live and manage. At least, June did, while Bill was off serving his country. When he comes home, he finds what she did with their small savings. To say he was disappointed would be an understatement. The place needs repairs and he, with his profession as a writer, needs to get busy to make money. Frank Fay plays an older gentleman who (the viewer sees) goes from one lodgings to another and is preying on ladies' loneliness, finding here another victim. Then, of course, there's Marilyn Monroe who was a "war buddy" of Bill's, and he promised her a room. Jack Paar, a friend of June's, comes around, but Bill, with good reason doesn't like him, but then Jack becomes attached to Marilyn. This is a very enjoyable little film with plenty of activity going on courtesy of its eccentric characters. While it may not seem like much to the hard-to-please, the film is helped by the leads' charm and chemistry, with June Haver providing the foundation and heart of the film. Sit back for a spell and reside in this love nest. The ending may even surprise you!

Serviceman and aspiring writer Jim Scott returns home after the war to find his wife Connie had bought a rundown apartment building. With a large mortgage and no other income, the married couple work to fix up the old building. New renter Mr. Patterson seems rich but his many identities suggest a con man. He entices widow tennant Eadie Gaynor and an FBI agent comes asking questions. Jim's war buddy Bobbie rents an apartment. Connie is surprised to find the expected guy Bobbie turns out to be the sexy WAC Roberta Stevens (Marilyn Monroe). Scott friend Ed Forbes (Jack Paar) is taken with the former model. When the city orders the building to be rewired or be condemned, the Scotts face financial ruin.

Obviously, Marilyn Monroe is the big draw for modern audiences. At the time, she had caught the eye of the studios before hitting it big. She has the blonde look and the beautiful smile but she's not the breathy bombshell yet. It's really only a supporting role. It's great to see an earlier version of the iconic blonde. The plot isn't much. The lead couple is sweetly charming in a white bread way although he could be nicer to her. He's still a man of his times. The laughs aren't big but it's nicely easy. Nothing is outstanding except for sexy Monroe but that's all one needs anyways.

This is a cute typical comedy from 20th Century-Fox in the early 1950's. This movie is famous because it has an early, very good, normal supporting performance by Marilyn Monroe. The movie stars June Haver (wife of Fred MacMurray) and Willam Lundigan, a minor leading man of the period.

The cool thing is this film has supporting performances from three unusual actors: Jack Paar, in one of his few acting roles, Frank Fay, once married to Barbara Stanwyck, who was the most popular comedian and master-of-ceremonies of the entire Vaudeville era (he also the star of the original Broadway hit, "Harvey"), and Leatrice Joy, a famous silent actress in one of her final film roles.

For those performances alone, it's worth watching.

Likable but decidedly lightweight early 50s situation comedy with an effective extended cameo from Monroe, who doesn't put a foot wrong. Apparently there was such a fuss over the bathing costume Monroe wears that there had to be a closed set for the shooting of those scenes. This just shows how difficult it is for us now to see how scurrilous this seeming innocuous move must have seemed at the time. Soldiers are returning from the war and things will not be the same again. Women are not going to give up the new positions they have been thrust into by the conflict, even if the likes of Frank Fay's aged womaniser do try and get things back for the men. Some extraordinary one liners, not all funny, but certainly pointed help to keep this afloat.