Are You Ready for Marriage?

Don't blame me for that phrase. I lifted it from the movie.

A college student and his high school gal want to get married, but her parents don't approve, and when they approach Reuben Hill, who is said to be able to get them married, he talks at length about the need for this that and the other thing. It's all very sensible, which is just the boring sort of thing that two young kids are not going to be interested in hearing. Of course, here they do, because this in a Coronet educational film, and so everyone is very reasonable, and all problems soluble at the first attempt.

For some reason, while all the other actors are identified, the woman playing "Sue" is not.

Two slightly dim-witted college kids who want to get married, but have been rebuffed by their parents, seek advice from a marriage counselor named Mr. Hall (Reuben Hill?). Mr. Hall advises them to take time to get to know each other, using a variety of silly props and a host of pseudo-scientific graphs ("Chance for Happiness" vs. "Length of Engagement", "Overall Grooviness of Feelings" vs. "Shoe Size", etc.). These graphs are typical of the type used by social scientists to make their mushy, goopy theories seem like hard science.

This short is a likably goofy example of the kind of instructional films made during the early '50's for classroom use. Mr. Hall really does, by the way, use the word "BOINNGG!!" to describe the physical attraction felt by young men and women for each other. Hmmmm...

Of all the shorts featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, this is my favorite. The riffs are clever and very funny and have me laughing every time.

That said, the short itself is not bad. The staging and direction are competent and the acting is better than one would expect from an educational short. Neither of the leads has the looks or charisma to be a movie star but both of them are good at line-reading and are quite believable as the young lovers. The filmmakers did not try to pass off 30-years-olds as teenagers. The other actors in the film are just as effective.

And although we can laugh at the way people looked, dressed, thought, and acted 70 years ago, we can also appreciate that "Cupid's Checklist," the various graphs, and even the "boing" help support the message that the short is trying to convey. Good advice is good advice no matter how it is presented and from whatever year it is given.

Clearly this is one of those "how to behave" short films from the 1950, when it was fashionable to show teenagers the "proper" way to behave, ie. how to drive, how to dress. black and white, of course. picture quality is pretty good, but the sound is terrible. This one was part of the mystery science 3K collection. Haven't seen this one on Turner Classics. Stars Larry and Sue, as the dating couple who think they are ready to get married. Funny... in the credits, we see the actor listed for Larry, but NOT for Sue. hmmm.. kind of odd. They go talk to Mr. Hall for advice, played by Reuben Hill... .who happens to be the "consultant" on this film. is he a licensed psychiatrist, or just an interested party? no-one knows. skip this one... campy, but Boringgggggg.... Directed by Gil Altschul, who also directed "Why we respect the Law." SNOOZERS..

Ah, yet another short instructional film that doesn't stand up to the test of time. Back in the prehistoric 1950's, divorce was a big no-no. When you married someone, you were more or less stuck with that person for life. This short is a warning against rushing headlong into a marriage that may be sweet and nice in the beginning, but later on will make the lockhorns look good. These days, however, it's marry now - divorce later.