''The Perfect Marriage'' is a 1947 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Lewis Allen and written by

Leonard Spigelgass Leonard Spigelgass (November 26, 1908 – February 15, 1985) was an American film producer and screenwriter. During his career, Spigelgass wrote the scripts for 11 Academy Award-winning films. He himself was nominated in 1950 for the story for '' ...

. The film stars

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

Charlie Ruggles Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the e ...

Virginia Field Virginia Field (born Margaret Cynthia Field; 4 November 1917 – 2 January 1992) was a British-born film actress. Early years An only child, born in London, her father was Sir John Field. He was the judge of Leicester County Court Circuit. H ...

, and

Rita Johnson Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, a ...

. The film was released on February 24, 1947, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Plot

Cast

as Maggie Williams *

as Dale Williams *

as Gil Cummins *

as Dale Williams, Sr. *

as Gloria *

as Mabel Manning *

ZaSu Pitts Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...

as Rosa *Nona Griffith as Cookie Williams *

Nana Bryant Nana Irene Bryant (November 23, 1888 – December 24, 1955) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1955. Biography Bryant was born 1888 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She appeared in ...

as Corinne Williams *

Jerome Cowan Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early years Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...

as Addison Manning *

Luella Gear Luella Gear (September 5, 1897 – April 3, 1980) was an American actress. She appeared in numerous films, TV series and theatrical productions throughout the 1910s to the 1960s Early life Gear was born in New York in 1897. She attended the Spe ...

as Dolly Haggerty *

Howard Freeman Howard Freeman (December 9, 1899 – December 11, 1967) was an American actor of the early 20th century, and film and television actor of the 1940s through the 1960s. Biography Freeman was born in Helena, Montana, and began working as ...

as Peter Haggerty

Reception

T.M.P. of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said, "Whatever it was about ''The Perfect Marriage'' which convinced Producer Hal Wallis that this Samson Raphaelson-play was worth the trouble and expense of filming just doesn't come through on the screen. For the new potpourri of comedy, farce and drama, which opened yesterday at the Paramount Theatre, is a singularly shapeless and unrewarding entertainment. Not being acquainted with the play, we wouldn't know whether Leonard Spigelgass, the scenarist, tampered to any great extent with the original. But (and this is the only thing that matters right now) it is quite evident that Mr. Spigelgass certainly didn't contribute any improvements. He wrote an abundance of dialogue, to be sure, but most of it is witless."

References

External links

* 1947 films 1947 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Films directed by Lewis Allen Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films scored by Friedrich Hollaender Paramount Pictures films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-comedy-film-stub