The Marrying Kind(1952)

The best thing about my recently-purchased Mill Creek 'Classic Romances' 8-pack (though I previously had two of them from a Mill Creek Rita Hayworth 5-pack--they were cheap so I didn't squawk too much, mind you) is that it offered me three more of Judy Holliday's nine films before her untimely demise at 43 from breast cancer. I previously loved her in 'Adam's Rib', 'Phffft', 'The Solid Gold Cadillac' and of course her Oscar-winning role, amidst very stiff competition, in 'Born Yesterday'), but this was a surprisingly dramatic turn for one of my favourite American actresses ever, particularly noted for her comedic touch. I won't give any spoilers, but when she breaks down after suffering a particular catastrophe, it really got me, and this is a horribly underseen and undervalued work.

I realize director Cukor gets a lot of flak because he was basically considered a 'women's director', and even got released from 'Gone with the Wind' because of arguments with his producer, but he really knew how to get a great scene, particularly when given a fine script--I love films I have seen from Garson Kanin, both with and without his wife Ruth Gordon (best known as the title female in the cult classic 'Harold and Maude')--and this was definitely a fine one.

The film definitely deserves a contemporary reappraisal. It's that good.