Main Cast: Ronald Reagan, Jack Carson, Patricia Neal, Wayne Morris, Edward Arnold
Release Year: 1949
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
Plot
John Lawrence (Ronald Reagan) is a returning GI. Mary McKinley (Patricia Neal in her film debut) is the girl he left behind. But their reunion will have to wait: John has returned with cockney war bride Lilly Herbish (Virginia Field) in tow. It seems that John married Lilly as a favor to get her into the U.S., intending to divorce her so that she can wed her true love, John's old pal Fred Taylor (Jack Carson). Alas, Taylor has gotten married himself in the interim--and now John is stuck with Lillie. Somewhat cleaned up from Norman Krasna stage original, John Loves Mary is otherwise faithful to its source, right down to the all-smiles curtain call at the end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
John Loves Mary is a moderately amusing, though now very dated, adaptation of the hit Broadway play of the 1940s. Realists beware: it's one of those comedies that (a) depends upon a premise that is a bit of a stretch in terms of credibility, and (b) depends upon people not speaking up when they really would or behaving in other ways that are not really rational, simply to keep the plot complications coming. That said, original play author Norman Krasna and screenwriters Henry and Phoebe Ephron have provided a good supply of gags and one-liners, and if one can accept the silliness of it all, there are a good number of laughs to be had. David Butler directs smoothly and with an eye for humor, and he might have done even better had his leads been better cast. Part of the problem is thatRonald Reagan and Jack Carson are a bit experienced for these roles; they're not really too old (well, Reagan isn't), but they both have seen a little too much of the world to be really acceptable in parts that depend on a certain degree of gullibility. Reagan otherwise is fine, if not outstanding; one wishes he had more comic ability, but his "nice guy" persona does carry the part. Carson has the comic sensibility down pat, although he pushes a bit hard. Patricia Neal looks great, and she acts well, but she's not ideal casting. She's too intelligent and shrewd to be believable, and again she's not an innately comic actress. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
