"Ever Girl Should be Married" is not a movie about protagonists – female and male. It's a plain story of one person falling for and pursuing another. Well, not necessarily "falling for" initially. First, it is a determination by Anabel Sims (played very well by Betsy Drake), that she must get married and soon; and then she must look for the right man. That may be the part of the plot that sticks in the craw of most of us, and a fault in the screenplay. Had it been that Anabel was first attracted to Cary Grant's Dr. Madison Brown, and then reasoned that she should get married and pursue him, I think the plot would have seemed to be more natural. As it is, it is a calculated decision bereft of any love, romance or other emotion. I contend that that is the problem with the film for most of us, and the weakness of the screenplay for being able to build and deliver some great comedy sequences.
I'm also not quick to dismiss some viewers who may see Anabel as a stalker. With the caveat that stalking by an attraction of one person for another of the opposite sex in the early 20th century did not have the connotation that stalking has by the 21st century. She was a stalker in what she did then, but it wasn't the dastardly act of a social misfit or emotionally disturbed person we associate it with today. Anabel was stalking Dr. Brown to get him to fall for her. Some may not appreciate the obviousness of Annabel's pursuit, but the very exaggerated nature of it is what makes for the most comedy.
The rest of the cast are all very good. Diana Lynn is a great friend as Julie Howard. Franchot tone is perfect as Roger Sanford. Alan Mowbray and Elisabeth Risdon shine as Mr. Spitzer and nurse Mary Nolan. Nolan had a line that might have been impromptu because I thought Grant faltered a second with it and then commented on her sense of humor. She said, "A doctor can't lose his patience without losing patients."
While Annabel's exaggerated efforts are the source of most of the humor in this movie, they could only carry so much weight. So long as she was the innocent, earnest person she played. Unfortunately, the screenplay didn't offer much more. The movie would have been lifted another notch or two with more witty dialog, especially between Madison and Roger. In the end, I think this movie pokes fun at both sexes over the age-old natural process of mate matching. It doesn't rank with a host of excellent comedies and films in Grant's portfolio, but it is an entertaining watch.
After making this movie, Grant and Drake were married. Grant was on his third of five marriages, and this was his longest by many years. It was Drake's only marriage. The couple separated for four years after Grant had an affair with Sophia Loren while filming "Houseboat" in 1958. They divorced in 1962. Besides this movie, they made another film together three ears into their marriage. "Room for One More" was a wonderful 1952 comedy drama based on a true story.
Cary Grant was 19 years older than Drake. He was 58 when they divorced and he made only three more films after 1962 before he retired from film in 1966. He had 76 films to his credit, all but the first four in which he starred. Betsy Drake was a French-born American actress and writer. She made only 11 films in her screen career, and the latter were interspersed with her writing. Her novel, "Children, You Are Very Little," was published in 1971 under the name of Betsy Drake Grant. Drake did volunteer work in health and education and earned a Masters degree in education from Harvard. Drake had an interesting and fearful experience in 1956 when she survived the collision of the Andrea Doria and Stockholm ocean liners. She was one of 1,660 people rescued from the Andrea Doria before it sank off the coast of North America. She died at age 92 on Oct. 27, 2015, in London.
I'm also not quick to dismiss some viewers who may see Anabel as a stalker. With the caveat that stalking by an attraction of one person for another of the opposite sex in the early 20th century did not have the connotation that stalking has by the 21st century. She was a stalker in what she did then, but it wasn't the dastardly act of a social misfit or emotionally disturbed person we associate it with today. Anabel was stalking Dr. Brown to get him to fall for her. Some may not appreciate the obviousness of Annabel's pursuit, but the very exaggerated nature of it is what makes for the most comedy.
The rest of the cast are all very good. Diana Lynn is a great friend as Julie Howard. Franchot tone is perfect as Roger Sanford. Alan Mowbray and Elisabeth Risdon shine as Mr. Spitzer and nurse Mary Nolan. Nolan had a line that might have been impromptu because I thought Grant faltered a second with it and then commented on her sense of humor. She said, "A doctor can't lose his patience without losing patients."
While Annabel's exaggerated efforts are the source of most of the humor in this movie, they could only carry so much weight. So long as she was the innocent, earnest person she played. Unfortunately, the screenplay didn't offer much more. The movie would have been lifted another notch or two with more witty dialog, especially between Madison and Roger. In the end, I think this movie pokes fun at both sexes over the age-old natural process of mate matching. It doesn't rank with a host of excellent comedies and films in Grant's portfolio, but it is an entertaining watch.
After making this movie, Grant and Drake were married. Grant was on his third of five marriages, and this was his longest by many years. It was Drake's only marriage. The couple separated for four years after Grant had an affair with Sophia Loren while filming "Houseboat" in 1958. They divorced in 1962. Besides this movie, they made another film together three ears into their marriage. "Room for One More" was a wonderful 1952 comedy drama based on a true story.
Cary Grant was 19 years older than Drake. He was 58 when they divorced and he made only three more films after 1962 before he retired from film in 1966. He had 76 films to his credit, all but the first four in which he starred. Betsy Drake was a French-born American actress and writer. She made only 11 films in her screen career, and the latter were interspersed with her writing. Her novel, "Children, You Are Very Little," was published in 1971 under the name of Betsy Drake Grant. Drake did volunteer work in health and education and earned a Masters degree in education from Harvard. Drake had an interesting and fearful experience in 1956 when she survived the collision of the Andrea Doria and Stockholm ocean liners. She was one of 1,660 people rescued from the Andrea Doria before it sank off the coast of North America. She died at age 92 on Oct. 27, 2015, in London.