Main Cast: Ann Doran, Ann Savage, Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn, Richard Gaines, Bruce Bennett
Release Year: 1943
Country: US
Run Time: 104 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
To fully appreciate The More the Merrier, it is important to know that, during WW2, there was an acute housing shortage in Washington DC. This is why elderly Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn) is obliged to share a tiny DC apartment with pretty Connie Milligan (Jean Arthur) and handsome Joe Carter (Joel McCrea). After nearly two reels of misunderstandings, the trio becomes accustomed to their curious living arrangement. Joe takes a platonic liking to Connie, but she's engaged to stuffy bureaucrat Charles J. Pendergast (Richard Gaines). Sizing up the situation, foxy Benjamin contrives to bring Connie and Joe together, in spite of themselves. Things get dicey when Joe endeavors to complete a top-secret mission for the Air Force, which leads to all sorts of comic complications and misguided remonstrations. Throughout the film, director George Stevens and the four-man screenwriting staff deliberately tweak the noses of the Hays Office, getting by with any number of censorable offenses by deftly and tastefully sidestepping the obvious. Especially potent is the scene in which Joe tries to seduce Connie by talking about everything except seduction: it's also fun to watch Dingle robustly repeat the word "Damn" over and over, getting away with this breach of censorship because he's quoting Admiral "Damn the Torpedoes" Farragut. An Academy Award went to Charles Coburn, while nominations were bestowed upon Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, George Stevens, the screenwriters, and the film itself. The More the Merrier was remade in 1966 as Walk Don't Run, with Cary Grant, Jim Hutton and Samantha Eggar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
World War II provided fodder for a wide range of films, either directly or indirectly. The More the Merrier uses the war-related housing crunch in Washington DC to set up its somewhat incredible premise, but the credibility problem never really threatens to become an issue, thanks to director George Stevens' fast-clipped pacing, a witty and amusing screenplay and a set of engaging performances from its trio of stars. Joel McCrea and Charles Coburn are excellent; McCrea's work in the seduction scene is beautiful, and Coburn is a delight throughout. However, it's Jean Arthur's performance that makes the picture. With a voice that sounds something like a beautiful songbird nursing a sore throat, Jean Arthur is utterly charming and captivating. An expert comedienne, Arthur has more than her share of moments here, such as her toothpaste-filled scream when discovering Coburn outside her window and a wonderful doubletake upon first seeing McCrea. Arthur and McCrea also have an enviable chemistry, and they work up considerable heat together -- heat that is all the more effective for being subdued. And their separate-but-together rhumba sequence is delightful. The unique Arthur would make only three more films, retiring after the classic Shane. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Lionel Banks - Art Director, Rudolph Sternad - Art Director, Fred Guiol - Associate Producer, Norman Deming - First Assistant Director, George Stevens - Director, Otto Meyer - Editor, Leigh Harline - Composer (Music Score), Morris W. Stoloff - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ted Tetzlaff - Cinematographer, George Stevens - Producer, C. Fay Babcock - Set Designer, Richard Flournoy - Screenwriter, Lewis R. Foster - Screenwriter, Frank Ross - Screenwriter, Robert Russell - Screenwriter, Garson Kanin - Short Story Author
During World War II, retired millionaire Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn) arrives in Washington, D.C. as an adviser on the housing shortage and finds that his hotel suite will not be available for two days. He sees an ad for a roommate and talks the reluctant young woman, Connie Milligan (Jean Arthur), into letting him sublet half of her apartment. Then he runs into Sergeant Joe Carter (Joel McCrea), who has no place to stay while he waits to be shipped overseas. Dingle generously rents him half of his half.
When Connie finds out about the new arrangement, she orders them both to leave, but is forced to relent because she has already spent their rent money. Joe and Connie are attracted to each other, though she is engaged to bureaucrat Charles J. Pendergast (Richard Gaines). Connie's mother married for love, not security, and Connie is determined not to repeat her mistake. Dingle meets Pendergast at a luncheon and does not like what he sees. He decides that Joe would be a better match for his landlady.
One day, Dingle goes too far, reading aloud to Joe from Connie's private diary. When she finds out, she demands they both leave the next day. Dingle accepts full blame for the incident, and Connie allows Joe to stay the few more days before he is to ship out to the fighting.
Due to a nosy teenage neighbor, Joe is taken in for questioning, as a suspected spy for the Japanese, and Connie is brought along as well. When Dingle and Pendergast show up to vouch for them, it comes out that Joe and Connie are living in the same apartment. They are eventually released, but the story reaches a reporter. Dingle advises the young couple to get married to avoid a scandal and then have it annulled later. They follow his advice and wed. However (as Dingle had foreseen), Connie's attraction to Joe overcomes her prudence.
