Every Girl Should Be Married *** (1948, Cary Grant, Betsy Drake, Franchot Tone, Diana Lynn, Alan Mowbray) – Classic Movie Review 7546

‘HOW CAN A MAN HOLD OUT when a gal’s got so much to give out!’ Co-writer/ co-producer/ director Don Hartman’s 1948 comedy Every Girl Should Be Married is based on a story Eleanor Harris, and stars the real-life team of Cary Grant and Betsy Drake, along with Franchot Tone.

Drake plays marriage-inclined department store shop saleswoman Anabel Sims, who tries to win over handsome baby doctor Dr Madison Brown (Grant) by making him jealous over her boss Roger Sanford (Tone) and trapping him into marriage, in this smooth, carefree laugh-raiser, with exactly the kind of polished comedy performance you expect from Grant, matched by an equal one from newcomer Drake in her first film.

The funny screenplay by Stephen Morehouse Avery and Don Hartman offers Drake a great opportunity, which she grabs eagerly. Off screen she was about to become Grant’s wife.

Also in the cast are Diana Lynn, Alan Mowbray, Elisabeth Risdon, Richard Gaines, Harry Hayden, Chick Chandler, Leon Belasco, Anna Q Nilsson and Fred Essler.

Betsy Drake was married to Cary Grant from 25 December 1949 – 13 August 1962 (divorced). She said: ‘The freedom to eat rare meat, drink red wine and not watch television made up for the agony of divorce.’ The divorce gave her more than $1 million as well as a percentage of the earnings from the 13 films Grant made during their marriage. She died of natural causes on 27 October 2015 in London, aged 92.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7546

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