By Richard Harland Smith
Married Bachelor
Brief Synopsis
A married gambler has to pose as a bachelor to pay off his debts.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Edward Buzzell
Director
Robert Young
Randolph Haven
Ruth Hussey
Norma Haven [also known as Norma Winters]
Felix Bressart
Professor Ladislaus Milic
Lee Bowman
Eric Santley
Sheldon Leonard
Johnny Branigan
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Release Date
Oct
1941
Premiere Information
New York opening: week of 16 Oct 1941
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 21m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,303ft
(8 reels)
Synopsis
On a train on which Norma and Randolph Haven must hastily leave town to avoid bill collectors, Norma advises her husband to try something different and get a real job instead of being involved in another scheme. Randy promises to reform, but in New York City, he secretly becomes partners with "Cookie" Farrar in a bookie operation which fronts as a collection agency. Meanwhile, Norma has been working happily at the glove counter of a department store and planning their life together. Ashamed of himself, Randy decides to get a real job, but on the same day takes a $1,000 bet from gangster Johnny Branigan, who is backing a horse that Cookie thinks cannot win. Unfortunately, the horse wins at seventeen-to-one and Randy doesn't have the money to pay off. Trying everything to raise money, Randy and Cookie go to Professor Ladislaus Milic, who owes them $330, but can only pay if he publishes one of his books. Randy settles for rights to The Neurological and Physiological Effects of Marriage , puts his own name on the title page, and, through a ruse, gets publisher Eric Santley interested in the book. That night, just as Branigan is threatening Randy, Eric calls to say that he wants to publish the book and offers a $500 advance. The promise of more money helps to stall Branigan, who takes the terrified Cookie as a "deposit" on the $17,000. Although Norma is furious to discover that Randy has been a bookie, he sincerely promises that he will reform and she forgives him. The next morning, Eric enthusiastically signs a contract with Randy, whom he assumes is unmarried, and says that he is going to retitle the book and promote it as A Bachelor Looks at Marriage . Eric also gets Randy a radio show to dispense advice to troubled couples. Now realizing that Randy can pay back all the money, Branigan agrees to go along with the scheme. That night, after Norma sees a newspaper article promoting the book, she informs him that "bachelors" sleep on the couch. As the weeks pass, the book becomes a bestseller and Randy becomes a sensation. He rents a new penthouse apartment, but Norma decides to stay at their old place. A short time later, Norma goes to hear Randy give a lecture and decides to follow his advice that women should be free to form friendships with men. At the same lecture, Norma meets Eric, who is immediately attracted to her. That evening, Eric asks Randy for advice on how to romance a woman, and Randy complies, not knowing that Norma is the woman in question. When Eric asks Norma to accompany him to a party at which "Dr. Havens" will be present, she agrees, and Randy is stunned to see that she is Eric's date. Later that night, Randy goes to their old apartment but leaves after Norma tells him he has changed. Some time later, Norma goes to Milic asking for advice on how to save her marriage and get the old Randy back, and he advises her to give Randy an ultimatum: her or his new reputation. That night, at the radio broadcast, Norma shows up as one of the evening's "problems," much to Randy and Eric's surprise. When she obliquely presents her story, the radio audience's "jury" says that she should divorce her husband. She and Randy then start to argue, and everyone suddenly everyone knows that they are talking about themselves. Finally realizing that he loves Norma more than success, Randy embraces her as the audience cheers and is soon traveling with her on another outward bound train.
Director
Edward Buzzell
Director
Cast
Robert Young
Randolph Haven
Ruth Hussey
Norma Haven [also known as Norma Winters]
Felix Bressart
Professor Ladislaus Milic
Lee Bowman
Eric Santley
Sheldon Leonard
Johnny Branigan
Sam Levene
Cookie Farrar
Murray Alper
Sleeper
Roy Gordon
Hudkins
Douglass Newland
Devlin
Charlotte Wynters
Margaret Johns
Hillary Brooke
Hillary Gordon
Joe Yule
Waiter
Henry Sylvester
Waiter
Joe Whitehead
Waiter
Connie Gilchrist
Mother on train with baby
Don Brodie
Man in café
Hal Lesueur
Man in café
Mimi Doyle
Stenographer
Natalie Thompson
Santley's secretary
Inez Cooper
Customer
Bess Flowers
Salesgirl
Charles Irwin
Manager
Lulu Mae Hubbard
Miss Bailey
Gladys Blake
Marie
Sergei Arabeloff
Maitre d'hotel
Gayne Whitman
Radio announcer
Ernest Whitman
Black attendant
William Haade
Irate husband
Charles Ray
Man in lounge room
Frances Carson
Woman on radio
Edwina Coolidge
Secretary
Kay Linaker
Sheila Darcy
Crew
John W. Considine Jr.
Producer
George Folsey
Director of Photography
Cedric Gibbons
Art Director
Sydney Guilaroff
Hair styles for Miss Hussey by
Lennie Hayton
Music Score
Kalloch
Gowns
Harold Kress
Film Editor
Ben Lewis
Film Editor
Harry Mcafee
Associate (Art Direction)
Sandy Roth
Assistant Director
Dore Schary
Screenwriter
Manuel Seff
Original Story
Douglas Shearer
Recording Director
Norman Taurog
Fill-In Director
Sam Taylor
Fill-in Assistant Director
Edwin B. Willis
Set Decoration
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Release Date
Oct
1941
Premiere Information
New York opening: week of 16 Oct 1941
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 21m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,303ft
(8 reels)
Articles
Married Bachelor
In an effort to skirt the puritanical purview of the Hollywood Production Code, the major studios created a veritable subgenre of the screwball comedy that focused on marriages in trouble, from the soon-to-be divorced set of The Awful Truth (1937) to the divorced-but-still-in-love crowd of The Philadelphia Story (1940), to the oops-we're-not-legally-married club of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941). This distinction allowed well-meaning Misters and Missuses to split up in the first act, attract interested parties (and drive one another to distraction) in the second, and reconcile at the bottom of the third - all perfectly acceptable in the eyes of the Hays Office so long as no state laws were broken. Though all of the major studios chipped in, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer provided the most stable home for what came to be called "the comedy of remarriage" - with Edward Buzzell's Married Bachelor (1941) providing moviegoers with more of the same. Robert Young and Ruth Hussey star as happily married schemers one step ahead of their creditors. Though promising to go straight, Young winds up posing as the bachelor author of an advice book for married women, attracting a legion of loyal fans while, while Hussey cozies up in retaliation to his unsuspecting publisher. Sheldon Leonard and Sam Levine lend capable support as a pair of Runyonesque onlookers drawn into the charade. Screenwriter Dore Schary was then in charge of MGM's "B" unit but within seven years he would be running the studio.
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
Married Bachelor
In an effort to skirt the puritanical purview of the Hollywood Production Code, the major studios created a veritable subgenre of the screwball comedy that focused on marriages in trouble, from the soon-to-be divorced set of The Awful Truth (1937) to the divorced-but-still-in-love crowd of The Philadelphia Story (1940), to the oops-we're-not-legally-married club of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941). This distinction allowed well-meaning Misters and Missuses to split up in the first act, attract interested parties (and drive one another to distraction) in the second, and reconcile at the bottom of the third - all perfectly acceptable in the eyes of the Hays Office so long as no state laws were broken. Though all of the major studios chipped in, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer provided the most stable home for what came to be called "the comedy of remarriage" - with Edward Buzzell's Married Bachelor (1941) providing moviegoers with more of the same. Robert Young and Ruth Hussey star as happily married schemers one step ahead of their creditors. Though promising to go straight, Young winds up posing as the bachelor author of an advice book for married women, attracting a legion of loyal fans while, while Hussey cozies up in retaliation to his unsuspecting publisher. Sheldon Leonard and Sam Levine lend capable support as a pair of Runyonesque onlookers drawn into the charade. Screenwriter Dore Schary was then in charge of MGM's "B" unit but within seven years he would be running the studio.
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
The film was pared down to 81 minutes from the preview running times of 87 and 85 minutes.
When director Edward Buzzell was sidelined with a cold, Norman Taurog temporarily took over as director, and Sam Taylor as assistant director.
Notes
The Film Daily review lists a preview running time of 87 minutes and the Daily Variety review lists a preview time of 85 minutes, suggesting that several minutes were cut from the film for its general release. According to a news item in Hollywood Reporter on August 8, 1941, Norman Taurog took over direction of the film while Edward Buzzell was ill with a cold, and Sam Taylor assisted him. Hollywood Reporter charts list only Harold Kress as the film editor, but the onscreen credits list only Ben Lewis. Although actress Hillary Brooks's character name in the CBCS is "Connie Gordon," in the film her character name is "Hillary."
