Every Girl Should Be Married (1948)

Wonderful character development!

Who payed the critics

People are voting emotionally.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I took one look at Betsy Drake and said to myself HE married HER? UGH!! And the thing only got worse after that.Betsy Drake plays a manipulative, obsessed, single woman who looks up and notices Cary Grant and immediately starts stalking him objective matrimony. She enlists her friend, her boss (a notorious womanizer) and Eddie Albert.Drake's "acting" and I use the term loosely - is atrocious. Cary Grant is his usual suave self - until the end of this garbage. And yes, you can imagine the ending without me telling you.Friends and neighbors - don't even bother. Unless you like torture. And fingernails on blackboards.

Every Girl Should Be Married is directed by Don Hartman who also co-writes with Stephen Morehouse Avery and Eleanor Harris. It stars Cary Grant, Betsy Drake, Franchot Tone and Diana Lynn. Music is by Leigh Harline and photography by George E. Diskant.Betsy Drake (in her screen debut) plays Anabel Sims, a department-store clerk who goes after paediatrician Dr. Madison W. Brown (Grant), determined to snag him as her husband.Women have found it necessary to use subterfuge and their own feminine devices for centuries.Fun, frothy and a little daring, Every Girl Should Be Married is of its time but none the worse for it. It's a different spin on the battle of the sexes format with Betsy Drake's determined femme proving to be the aggressor in the pursuit of happiness. There would have been some feminists cringing at the notion of one of their number seemingly courting marriage as a reason for being, but digging further into the character reveals a strong lady who knows what she wants and sets about getting it. As the character stands up and says during a marvellous sequence at a lecture given by Grant's eminent doctor, who wrote the rule that only men can ask a girl out? To be the one doing the pursuing? It's relevant stuff and via its comedy zeal puts the sexes on an even playing field. And you know what? As a red blooded male I found this in itself to be very sexy! Drake only had a short career, she would marry Grant soon after this film had been a hit at the Christmas 1948 box office. It's a shame we never got more from her because she owns this film. Managing to shift easily from girlish charm to strong willed woman when the narrative demands, she offers up a counterpoint to the foggy memory of the "Suzy Homemakers" so rife in 50s and 60s American romantic comedies . Drake brings originality to the role, while simultaneously providing great comedy opposite the ever coy Grant. She also has a smile that could melt the coldest of hearts. Grant, Tone and Lynn are playing second fiddle, but that's not to the film's detriment, and with Hartman unfussy in his direction it rounds the film out as a winner. It does pick some ideas from the pockets of previous screw balls, but with its centre fresh and interesting it would be churlish to criticise some outer edge formula steals. 7.5/10

Light comical farce with Betsy Drake desperate to wed and finds Cary Grant, a pediatrician, her perfect mate.The picture has become faded with the passage of time since Women's Lib would never go for this today in 2008, 60 years after this film was made.Grant shows what a wonderful actor he was by moving freely from drama to comedy.Franchot Tone appears as a possible love interest and rival to Grant.This is definitely Drake's film as she really gets into a woman desperate for marriage. Diana Lynn appears as her comic foil and is only moderately successful here.The film tends to falter as it goes on and suddenly at the end, long time beau played Eddie Albert suddenly appears only to find that the Drake character has come a long way. Problem is that the film does not.

What a wonderfully flexible this thing is, cinema. Within it, one can structure all sorts of things that can reach us.Probably the two that are the most profound are how movies define fate and sometimes in the same breath, love.This is one that deals with both. And the love part has nothing to do with relationships but with the simple charm of a type of woman. This was a big success when new, but today isn't even worth putting on DVD.Odd, because for what it is, it is perfect. The goal is to parade an enticing woman, a real natural charmer.The girl in this case is Betsy Drake, playing against Cary Grant who does his usual thing. She is something between an Audrey Hepburn and Debbie Reynolds, both of whom did this sort of movie frequently. Her chin is narrow which gives the effect of an overly large and expressive mouth, used very theatrically. She also has a slight lisp. Combined with her exuberant manner and honest presentation, she is absolutely captivating. And so Grant thought as well because he moved in with her during this and married her shortly thereafter.How odd it is that someone could peak so in one film (this her first) and fade so quickly from importance.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.