The More the Merrier (1943)

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Robert Russell (story) and
Frank Ross (story) ...

Release Date:

23 October 1943 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Home is where you hang your guests!

Plot:

During the WW2 housing shortage in Washington, two men and a woman share a single apartment and the older man plays Cupid to the other two.

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Housing Shortage | Washington D.C. | Elderly | Schedule

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Jean Arthur	...	Constance 'Connie' Milligan
Joel McCrea	...	Joe Carter
Charles Coburn	...	Benjamin Dingle
Richard Gaines	...	Charles J. Pendergast
Bruce Bennett	...	FBI Agent Evans
Frank Sully	...	FBI Agent Pike
Clyde Fillmore	...	Sen. Noonan
Stanley Clements	...	Morton Rodakiewicz
Jean Stevens	...	Dancer (as Peggy Carroll)

Also Known As:

Merry-Go-Round (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Final film of Helen Holmes.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mr. Carter goes to take a shower after Miss Milligan returns home from work, he is shown wearing a bathrobe, socks and slippers. As he enters the bathroom, he removes his bathrobe, and then gets into the shower. But is he still wearing his socks? He must be, because he isn't shown taking them off.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Our vagabond camera takes us to beautiful Washington, D.C., the national capital of our United States, situated on the broad banks of the Potomac River. Living is pleasant and leisurely... for it is a city of formality and custom. Manners and courtesy are responsible for the well-ordered conduct of its daily affairs...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Don't Try To Steal The Sweetheart Of A Soldier

The great film that time forgot

What otherworldly power decides what films survive in the public mind decade after decade? And what films don't? 'The More the Merrier' is completely forgotten, although in its time, during WWII, it was a huge hit and was nominated for several of the most prestigious Academy Awards, Best Picture, Director, Leading Actress, Script etc. And deserved every one of those nominations. It is, simply a great film, that time forgot, and one that is finally out on DVD. And it remains a mystery how a sexy, sassy, down-to-earth and abundantly funny film such as this could ever be forgotten.

In the Washington of 1943, with the housing crisis brought on by the war, single working girl Jean Arthur feels compelled to do her bit and let out half of her apartment. Well-to do businessman Charles Coburn, who has arrived in town too early for a conference and cannot find a vacant hotel room, moves in with her, and, wanting to play Cupid, he sublets, unbeknownst to her, his half of half her apartment to a young soldier, Joel McCrea, on town on a mysterious purpose.

Rumour has it that Garson Kanin, of later 'Adam's Rib' fame, wrote the script for 'The More the Merrier', but never took credit. Whoever did it, the premise and even more so the execution of the plot is wonderfully crisp and superbly done. There is not one moment in this film that doesn't work on an extremely advanced level, and as sheer exuberant fun! And the replay value of the DVD is infinite.

George Stevens, one of the truly great American directors, has titles such as 'Gunga Din', 'Penny Serenade', 'Woman of the Year', 'A Place in the Sun', 'Shane' and 'The Diary of Anne Frank' to his credit, and 'The More the Merrier' has won a place in that exalted category of masterpieces in all genres. It is obvious that Stevens got a kick out of directing his actors in this movie, creating a many-colored carpet with all this apparently improvised dialogue, so magnificently stylish and at the same time with a looseness, a naturalness in structure that makes the movie feel like a slice of real life.

But of course real life was never as wonderful as this! Just imagine having known characters like the ones played by Miss Arthur and Mr McCrea, in one respect they are so typical and easily recognizable, and in another they are so immensely attractive, and not just in a physical sense, that you would want them for your best friends. In a strict Hollywood sense, try and imagine two more gorgeous people in the scene near the end when they, almost but not quite, make out on a the quiet street where they share the apartment! The film is great, no two ways about it.