Easy to Wed (1946) User Reviews

The Road Company Version

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 6 May 2011]

The film Easy To Wed had an impossible task to follow the film and stars of one of the best screen comedies ever made Libeled Lady. I would take nothing away from Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Lucille Ball, and Keenan Wynn. But frankly they're all not a patch on the quartet of William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, and Spencer Tracy.

Music and MGM technicolor is what distinguishes this film and the music primarily Latin in origin is pretty good and comes from a variety of sources. Colombian singer Carlos Ramirez contributes a native song and Ethel Smith plays her famous Tico Tico on the organ. Part of the film is set in Mexico so these acts are brought in without any strain on the plot. When the stars do their numbers, the results are pretty tepid.

Esther Williams stays fairly dry in Easy To Wed. Only a dip on a water slide and a brief swim in the family pool where she unplugs a rubber raft and sends Van Johnson into the water are all you see of her. No classic water ballets in Easy To Wed which must have disappointed her fans tremendously.

In Libeled Lady the character Loy/Williams's father is played by Walter Connolly and he's an avid fisherman. Here he's a hunter and Van Johnson has to take a crash course in duck hunting to make an impression on father Cecil Kellaway. Van's best moments like William Powell's in the first film are in the hunting scenes.

The basic outline of the story remains the same. A false story about heiress Esther Williams's romantic escapades has caused a lawsuit to be filed by Cecil Kellaway. Editor Keenan Wynn postpones for the umpteenth time his wedding to Lucille Ball to meet the crisis at the paper.

Wynn's plan, to hire back his ace reporter Van Johnson and marry his girl friend Ball to Johnson and then have Johnson strike something up with Williams. Just as Jean Harlow did, Lucille Ball amazingly enough goes along with this madcap scheme.

Everybody performs well, but after you've seen Libeled Lady you will think of Easy To Wed as a road company version of that classic.

'Libled Lady' remade

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 11 February 2017]

'Libeled Lady' is a marvellous and thoroughly enjoyable comedy, a near-classic with three of the four stars on top form (especially Jean Harlow and William Powell, Spencer Tracy's comedic chops became more refined and more at ease in his later films in my opinion).

'Easy to Wed' is a musical remake but is nowhere near as good and one may question its point. It is by no means a bad film though and makes for more than serviceable entertainment. Starting with its faults, Esther Williams has little to do and her role does not play to her strengths while Van Johnson is wooden in a role just as underwritten and looks uninterested.

The musical numbers don't feel necessary (despite Ethel Smith contributing very nicely on the organ), are not that compellingly staged and are also not particularly memorable, while the story is even more contrived than that of 'Libeled Lady' and lacks its zippy energy (the musical numbers do it no favours), some of it badly drags. The ending feels too pat and incomplete.

However, the classy cinematography, beautiful use of colour and elegant wardrobe more than compensates as does a script that is almost as witty and sophisticated as that of 'Libeled Lady'. The duck hunting scene is not as hilarious as the fishing scene in 'Libeled Lady' but still an amusing scene. Edward Buzell does his best to inject some energy and style and does very competently.

Keenan Wynn has very deft comic timing and doesn't come over as heavy-footed. It's Lucille Ball's exuberant and very funny performance that steals the show though, especially when she indulges into a flight of Shakespeare.

On the whole, vastly inferior but serviceable and watchable. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Libeled Remake

[kenjha · 6/10 · 4 September 2009]

Musical remake of "Libeled Lady" doesn't come close to matching the 1936 screwball classic but is mildly entertaining. Williams, Johnson, Ball, and Wynn are no match for the stellar cast of Myrna Loy, William Powell, Jean Harlow, and Spencer Tracy. Johnson and Williams are too bland in the lead roles. Lucy provides a few chuckles; upon learning that Johnson may be married to two women, she says, "That's arson." The funniest scene has her getting drunk with Johnson. Williams gets a dip in the pool but the musical numbers are not memorable and probably contribute to the lethargic pacing. By comparison, the original zipped along at a rapid pace.

Stolen By Lucy . . .

[tjonasgreen · 10 June 2004]

As the other comments here indicate, it's highly instructive to compare LIBELED LADY to this remake, EASY TO WED. A decade brought a huge difference in style between the Thalberg-approved slangy courtship of slapstick repartee and the plush, earnest romance of Louis B. Mayer's MGM of the '40s.

Lucille Ball steals this picture with a very well-judged comic performance, aided by director Edward Buzzell, who clearly throws many scenes her way. What will surprise those who know her primarily from "I Love Lucy" is to see how much of her comic shtick is already on view here, completely developed and intact. The drunk scene, the little voices, the 'takes,' stares, reactions and expressions are familiar in every way as Lucy Ricardo. Ball also never looked more beautiful than in this film, with her hair as metallic and bright as a new penny, and in a series of witty and gorgeous costumes by Irene, who does just as well by Esther Williams.

But those who are critical of Ball's performance, particularly in contrast to Jean Harlow's in LIBELED LADY, are right. Harlow was a natural, a wonderful, winning and unique personality, whose blustering scenes of anger were always justified, always expressing her common sense and dignity. The dirty little secret about why Lucille Ball never made it as a movie star was that despite her professionalism and beauty, she was essentially a strident and cold personality. What Harlow did naturally, Ball works very hard to achieve so that we admire her pyrotechnics without ever warming up to her. By the time of "I Love Lucy" she had begun to disguise her intensity with clutziness and feigned vulnerability and stupidity. And like Katharine Hepburn, she learned that if Lucy was reined-in by a man once in a while, audiences could forgive her for her aggressiveness.

There is relatively little of Esther Williams' swimming in this picture. At this mid-'40s point, MGM was pushing her versatility to see just how much she could do, how far she could go. I happen to think that her screen presence (even when out of the water) is underrated. She had a refreshing, no-nonsense self confidence that is very American, and she was sexy in a way that is never blatant. The fact that this statuesque beauty with her strong physical presence and perfect carriage never acts seductively or coyly creates an unexpected sexual tension, especially in her early films (she lost a bit of it later as her body became thicker and more athletic). You can see how some would feel moved to ruffle her composure, warm her up, 'get' to her in some way, because she seems oblivious to her femininity while brimming over with it. Which is what makes her seem an emblematic American movie star. In the first half of this picture she gives a good account of the kind of frigid glamor girl that Alexis Smith often played at Warners.' When she finally melts, it's lovely, though she is better photographed in both THRILL OF A ROMANCE and THIS TIME FOR KEEPS (where she rates closeups by Karl Freund that make her look almost impossibly, lustrously beautiful).

A word about MGM's '40s Technicolor -- I love it. Many films from this period as screened on TCM seem to have been saved, restored, remastered for video tapes and DVDs. All of Esther Williams' color films from the mid-'40s are a visual treat with bright, deeply saturated color and sharp images, though a few scenes in EASY TO WED seem unaccountably muddy and soft, with desaturated color. And in one scene Ball wears a frosty blue costume that we have been told is green. Maybe they should take a look at this print before they put this film out on DVD.

Easy to Wed is Sometimes Hard to Digest **1/2

[edwagreen · 6/10 · 21 May 2011]

Lucille Ball steals the film in a supporting role. She displays some of the many antics she would use in her famous television show- "I Love Lucy," some 5 years after this film was made.

In some ways, Lucy reminded me on Lina Lamont, without the crazy voice, in "Singin'in the Rain," (1952).

The film has a funny premise when heiress Esther Williams wants to sue a newspaper for defaming her, and reporter Keenan Wynn "hires" his fiancée Lucy to romance and even wed fellow reporter Van Johnson so that Johnson can in turn carry on with Williams and embarrass her to the extent that she will drop the suit. Keenan Wynn is his usual testy, acerbic self.

As the wealthy farmer, veteran actor Cecil Kellaway is definitely miscast here. You needed someone such as Edward Arnold.

As good as Ball is here, I could have also envisioned Eve Arden for the part, especially with the wisecracks and sarcasm needed for the role.

The film gets sidetracked somewhat by the duck shooting scene and the ending might be what you suspect, but isn't 100% satisfying. It's somewhat incomplete.

Acceptable, if unnecessary, remake of "Libled Lady" with a fabulous comic redhead to recommend it.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 4 September 2013]

During the hey-day of Hollywood, remakes came fast and furious, but most of the great screwball comedies weren't touched for 20 years. MGM obviously couldn't wait and remade one of its best only 10 years after the original. There is no topping the original cast of this tale, and the replacements point out the B category this fell into, even on an A budget. As charming as Esther Williams is, she can't compare to Myrna Loy, and Van Johnson and Keenan Wynn are as far down the totem pole from William Powell and Spencer Tracy as they can be. The real delight is that Lucille Ball can't miss here in the Jean Harlow part, showing off her flaming red hair here in Technicolor. Only Lucy could get away with accusing someone of arson, meaning bigamy.

The musical numbers seem pretty superfluous, with Lucy utilizing her hips to literally blow the hats off the chorus boys without even touching them, in one number. Organist Ethel Smith heats things up, even banging on conga drums in another. Ms. Williams pretty much avoids the water, although a funny duck hunting scene with her, papa Cecil Kellaway and Johnson (altered from the original hysterical fishing sequence) is set on a river. The presence of the annoying socialite and her dizzy daughter seems out of place here. This isn't for purists but isn't a dud, either.

Enjoyable enough but it cannot hold a candle to the original.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 7 December 2013]

"Libeled Lady" is one of the best comedies of the 1930s. Much of was the writing and much was due to the incredibly strong cast. Think about it---Spencer Tracy, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow and William Powell--ALL in one film! In 1946, MGM brought out a remake. While the basic story is similar, it's not as good. Plus, Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Keenan Wynn and Lucille Ball just weren't as good--though they tried.

Like "Libeled Lady", the film is about a rich lady who is suing an irresponsible newspaper for its stories about her. However, oddly, in the original she was suing for $5,000,000 and here, a decade later, it's only $2,000,000--significant deflation, don't you think? To help try to get rid of the suit, the scheming newspaper man, Haggerty (Wynn), hires Bill Chandler (Van Johnson) to seduce the heiress, Connie Allenbury (Williams). Why? Because, in the interim, they'd get Bill a quickie marriage. Then, they'd have the 'jealous wife' storm in on them and threaten a suit of her own--along with photographers from the paper to make her case! But, since Bill isn't married, Haggerty has Chandler marry HIS fiancée (Lucille Ball)! Talk about romantic--getting Chandler to marry Haggerty's girl! There's only one problem with the plan...Bill falls for Connie and just can't get himself to do it. So, he schemes for a way to somehow please Haggerty AND Connie...if it's possible.

The film is decent and offers a few laughs. However it suffers from a few plot problems (Connie's falling in love with Bill seems incredibly fast considering how nasty she'd been towards him up until then), now includes song which got in the way of the plot and the characters aren't particularly likable (Connie is amazingly nasty--and for no reason--when she first meets Bill). Plus, it lacks the originality and fun of the first film. If you like remakes, by all means see this one. But, don't forget to first see "Libeled Lady"--it's just better.

By the way, the plot of "Easy to Wed" is very, very odd considering only about six months later, Keenan Wynn and his real-life wife divorced....so she could marry Van Johnson! To make it even weirder, it now appears that this, like the marriage in the movie, was a sham marriage, as in his later years Johnson admitted to being gay--and I sincerely doubt that this was a sudden late-life 'phase'!

Pleasant Remake

[boblipton · 6/10 · 6 December 2020]

Keenan Wynn's newspaper has been a political opponent of Cecil Kellaway for years. So when they publish an actionable story about his daughter, Esther Williams being a man-stealer, Kellaway wastes no time filing a lawsuit. The solution is to get womanizing Van Johnson to seduce her.... and to marry him to Wynn's fiancee, Lucille Ball, to make the first story retroactively true.

It's a remake of LIBELED LADY, with a few musical numbers and a swimming pool for Esther Williams to potsker around in. It's directed more as a straight farce than the original, and that part works all right; given that the original cast was Spencer Tracy, William Powell, Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow, it's hard for any of these to come up to snuff, although Miss Ball is very good. Johnson gives the impression of a small boy playing dress-up, and Keenan Wynn seems to think the movie is a lot funnier than it is.

Take It Easy with Esther, Van, Keenan, and Lucy

[JLRMovieReviews · 5/10 · 4 June 2009]

"Easy to Wed" is a remake of "Libeled Lady," with Spencer Tracy, Jean Harlow, William Powell, and Myrna Loy. You don't have to know that. But, it helps to know that, when one is wondering why this Esther Williams movie doesn't make Esther center stage. As a matter of fact, despite the lead actor of Van Johnson, this breezy comedy, which is pleasant enough, but rather long, relies on Keenan Wynn and Lucille Ball to keep the ball rolling. They are the ones throwing their weight around. Esther Williams looks great as usual, but Lucy's not-so-soft-spoken character and constant wardrobe changes into flowing and colorful outfits outdoes her, as Esther quietly looks on. And, as much as I like Van Johnson, he's not given much to do and for that matter he seems a bit disinterested. The plot revolves around getting a libel suit against a newspaper dropped. Actually, the best part comes after Esther finally warms up to Van and even Lucy is spellbound by his charms. This is not Esther at her wettest, and this is no classic, like the original. So enjoy and don't expect too much; just sit back and take it easy.

Lucy

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 17 October 2021]

The "Morning Star" is desperately collecting their papers in fear of the powerful J. B. Allenbury. He promises to sue the paper for $2 million for defaming his daughter Connie Allenbury Chandler (Esther Williams). It's an open and shut case. The paper has been a thorn in the side of Allenbury and this is his chance to shut it down. Warren Haggerty (Keenan Wynn) leaves his wedding to performer Gladys Benton (Lucille Ball) to fix the problem. He has to rehire philandering reporter Bill Chandler (Van Johnson) to go on a mission to sully Connie's reputation. They come up with a scheme involving Gladys.

It gets a bit boring after the wedding. I've never seen Esther Williams as a particularly good actress. I hoped that reintroducing Lucille Ball would add some more screwball comedy. She does what she could but her role is somewhat limited. Van Johnson does the bulk of the comedic heavy lifting with mixed results. I like his solo duck hunting effort more so for its audacity. He is alone with the dog for a long time. As a trio, they are mostly bland like a 50's white toast sandwich with mayo. The movie picks up whenever Lucy gets to play. She's a fun drunk.

Bland, inferior Technicolor remake of...

[AlsExGal · 5/10 · 7 September 2020]

..."Libeled Lady". MGM did lots of this in the 40s and 50s when they were on the way down. Dust off an old script, slap on a few songs, and film the whole thing in Technicolor. And still it is so obviously inferior to the original.

Libeled Lady, from MGM. When wealthy heiress Connie Allenbury (Esther Williams) sues a newspaper for falsely printing that she broke up a marriage, the paper's fast-talking employee Warren Haggerty (Keenan Wynn) comes up with a dubious plan: have reporter Bill Chandler (Van Johnson) quickly marry Haggerty's own fiancee, entertainer Gladys Benton (Lucille Ball), then send Bill to woo Connie in order to get compromising photos of the two so that Gladys can then publicly sue for divorce, thus proving that Connie is indeed a homewrecker. Naturally things don't go as planned as Bill really falls for Connie.

Despite the Technicolor sets and costumes, and an abundance of South of the Border flavor thanks to a Mexican resort setting for much of the film, I found this dull and uninvolved, particularly in comparison to Libeled Lady. This was Williams' first time singing on screen, and she isn't awful, even if none of the songs are memorable. Buster Keaton reportedly directed some scenes, perhaps the slapstick-heavy hunting sequence. One particularly unusual rumor is that Fidel Castro is among the poolside extras in some of the resort scenes.

Entertaining musical romance Technicolor remake of classic '30s nonmusical screwball romantic comedy: Libeled Lady.

[weezeralfalfa · 8/10 · 19 April 2015]

Unlike many reviewers, I haven't seen the '36 "Libeled Lady", except for a preview, to which the present film is commonly unfavorably compared. Movie studios of the late '40s and '50s chose to redo some popular films of the late '20s and '30s, usually in color, contrasting with the B&W of the original, sometimes converting a pure comedy or drama into a musical, or completely redoing the music, and often making substantial alterations of the screenplay. In the present case, apparently, relatively few alterations of the screenplay were made. However, duck shooting, rather than fishing, is scripted as the hobby of the debutante's father, and thus the skill that Bill Chandler(Van Johnson) feels he must pretend he knows about and quickly learn the basics about, in order to facilitate getting his foot in the door of presenting himself as a desirable romantic partner for his debutante daughter(Esther Williams). I won't bother reviewing the screenplay in much detail, as this has been done enough. I will note that, with the exception of the Lucy-Jean Harlow comparison, the main character actors in this film are all approximately 5 years younger than their counterparts in the '36 film, and thus they seem like a younger bunch, more appropriately single. Even Lucy seems younger than Jean, although she was considerably older.

Van and Esther were very popular, separately or together, with film audiences during the mid-'40s to mid-'50s period. Van had the vaudevillian skills of light comedy, song and dance, as well as being suitable for serious roles, such as in "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo". Esther came across as an ideal 'all-American' girl, most famous for her water ballets, but also with decent talent as an actress, sometimes singing a song or two. Too often, she was portrayed by others as being a poor actress, only of interest to audiences in swimming pools. Here, her performance is commonly very unfavorably compared to that of her costar: Lucille Ball, and predecessor, Myna Loy. Well, Lucy, long time costar of mostly 'B' films , for various studies, was rightly cast as a dizzy showgirl, who is swept up into the complicated romantic plot of a temporary shotgun marriage-of-convenience to a man she initially labels as a baboon or ape(hardly an apt description of handsome, mild-mannered, blond, Van!). She gets to lead a chorus in the stage song and dance number "The Continental Polka", which serves as Van's chance to initially evaluate her, as a prospective temporary 'wife', in order to create a scandal when he hopefully attracts the amorous attention of socialite Connie(Esther), in order to induce her father to drop a libel charge against the newspaper his friend Warren(Keenan Wynn) works for. Lucy is given a rare opportunity during her Hollywood period to display repeated scenes of zaniness, rather like those characteristic of Betty Hutton or Martha Raye, for example, and she well succeeds in them. In contrast, Esther's character is supposed to be snobbish man bait, who routinely turns down proposals. Initially, she sees Van as just another wannabe gold digger. But, she's eventually impressed with his persistence, imagination, and winning boyish personality, and lowers her guard. Her humor is more subtle than Lucy's, but appropriate for her character. Van displays his gift for parlor dialogue, comedy(especially relating to duck shooting),and a couple of musical numbers with Esther, as part of a stage production in one case.

Columbian singing sensation, Carlos Ramirez, contracted to MGM during the mid-40s, solos one song, as part of a Mexican floor show, later privately reprised by Esther and Van. Near the end, is an impressive dance production, again with Latin American costumes and music, and including Esther and Van, in a portion. Ethel Smith is also on hand to entertain with her famous jazzy organ music, during the two Latin-themed productions. Both she and Carlos had been included, more prominently, in Esther's first water-themed film: "Bathing Beauty".

I don't understand why Van's character has the parson sign the marriage certificate, instead of the agreed upon detail that he doesn't sign it, thus rendering Van's marriage -of-convenience to Lucy's character not legally binding. Thus, in the ending, when Van's and Esther's characters want to get married, they have to dig up the detail that Lucy's supposed divorce from her previous husband wasn't legal, thus also was her unconsummated marriage to Van's character. But Lucy spoils the apparently happy ending by revealing that she subsequently obtained a legal divorce, not included in the records Van checked, thus apparently invalidating the just legalized marriage of Van's and Esther's characters. Lucy gives quite an impressive speech about her feelings about the matrimonial mess. The film ends with this marriage-go-round still unresolved, unclear whether Lucy's character can be induced to cooperate, even with possible monetary reward, in dissolving her sham marriage to Van's character, and perhaps agreeing to a marriage with Keenan Wynn's character, as the others wish, and was her original intention.

Van had costarred with Esther the previous year in the very popular "Thrill of a Romance", and would later costar with her in "Duchess of Idaho", and "Easy to Love", by which time noted baritone Howard Keel was also a frequent costar. Most of her films we would classify as minor musicals, in which very few of the songs were intended to become standards. Although many of Esther's films included a water ballet or two, in place of dance productions, some, including this one didn't(It had a dance production, instead). However, she does manage an impressive underwater clinch and kiss with Van!

Mediocre

[nickenchuggets · 6/10 · 23 November 2021]

Having known about this movie for almost 2 whole years, I was excited to finally find time to view it. After doing so, I wondered why I even bother watching musicals anymore. With a cast that includes Lucille Ball and Esther Williams, it seems inconceivable that this movie could be mediocre, so let's examine it and find what exactly makes it this way and what (if anything) it does properly. The film's plot is mostly dumb and makes it hard for you to suspend your disbelief. A man named J Allenbury is threatening to sue a newspaper company after they publish a story saying how his daughter Connie (Esther Williams) caused someone to get divorced. Connie's father wants to sue the company for a ridiculous 2 million dollars, and is confident he will succeed. An employee for the company, Curtis, gets a business manager named Warren (Keenan Wynn) to assist him in saving the company, but Warren has to delay his marriage to Gladys (Lucille Ball) in order to do so. Warren devises a plan to give Gladys the advantage in a lawsuit against Connie, which is bound to happen sometime in the future. He has a reporter named Bill Chandler marry Gladys (but not permanently). This way, Gladys can sue Connie after an incriminating picture of Bill and Connie together comes along. This will basically provide evidence that the story in the paper was not written with libel in mind. The problem is, in order to take this photograph, Bill has to get up close and personal with Connie, who is now in mexico on vacation. Acquiring the photo proves to be easier said than done, and Gladys starts to lose her patience. She begins to think Bill isn't even making an attempt to get the picture anymore, and is instead more focused on trying to become Connie's boyfriend. Eventually, Gladys travels to mexico herself in order to confront Connie's father and tell him she's Bill's wife. Bill tries to tell Connie that even though he likes her, he is already married, but they are wed soon after anyway. Gladys shows up in the same room as Bill and his new wife, telling him he's committing bigamy. However, Bill lets her know that Gladys' divorce from the husband she had before is not legal, and so her temporary marriage to Bill is not official either. The movie ends with Gladys telling Bill she received another divorce in Reno that is legal, and a mariachi band comes into the room for some reason. This movie gets on my nerves. Aside from the fact that the scene where Bill goes duck hunting was directed by Buster Keaton, there isn't that much to praise it for. Because this film is technically a remake of a 1930s movie, you would expect it to be similar to its predecessor, but it isn't. The 1936 film Libeled Lady is Easy to Wed's inspiration, and stars Jean Harlow, William Powell, Spencer Tracy and Myrna Loy. That movie doesn't really have anything to do with this one since it's not a musical. In fact, the reason why I don't care for this movie is probably due to it being a musical. For whatever reason, everyone seems to hate them. The addition of Lucille Ball is a good thing, but not even she can save the rest of this movie. Overall, I felt Easy to Wed was a waste of time, but there is one last interesting thing about it. Even though I can't find him for the life of me, Fidel Castro apparently makes an appearance during the pool party scene in mexico. His character doesn't have a name and he's not listed in the cast, but he is supposedly there. It's not everyday when a future dictator shows up in an american film.

Remake of Libled Lady Fizzles

[sobaok · 5/10 · 14 August 2001]

This film has its plusses -- Esthers swimming, her swimming, and her swimming. It's also in technicolor, which is always a treat to the eye. It really surprised me that a socco screenplay that made 1936's Libled Lady such a rip-roaring funny film could go so flat 10 years later. Of course Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, William Powell, and Spencer Tracy were more highly skilled performers than this cast. Williams has some to the stoic, amused calm that Loy had and she does okay as Connie, but Lucille Ball is almost unfunny in this, which really surprised me. She lacks Harlows warmth and vulnerability and timing. Harlow really carried Libled Lady and one always looks forward to her scenes. Ball is too arch and steely here. It puts a damper on the films success.

Lucy Shines in Comedy Showcase

[mkarol-2 · 1 November 2002]

This is one of the few times at MGM Lucy was given a chance to exploit her full comedic range, and she goes at it with gusto. From the moment she makes her whirlwind entrance looking absolutely gorgeous in a white wedding gown, she commands the screen whenever the camera is on her. In fact, though the movie ostensibly "stars" Van Johnson and Esther Williams, the bland leads take a back seat to the lively pairing of Lucy and Keenan Wynn, as her somewhat morally corrupt boyfriend. Forget comparisons to "Libeled Lady"; "Easy to Wed" is of a different era, and much more slapsticky, and, as noted, Lucy is a gem whether getting drunk and playing the piano or evincing true pathos as a wronged woman. She has rarely been photographed more appealingly, either.

Van Johnson shines

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 14 April 2017]

Few people would say that Van Johnson was one of Hollywood's greatest actors, but there are a number of films where he turns in very good performances. I particularly liked him in "Invitation" with Dorothy McGuire. But in this film, "Easy To Wed", his comedic talents really shine. He's very good here.

Esther Williams is very good as the love interest. Lucille Ball show off her comedic talents. And Cecil Kellaway is a joy. The only real downer is Keenan Wynn. Wynn occasionally did well in films, although I never understood how he got into motion pictures (other than being Ed Wynn's son), and in this film I think he's...well, the most negative thing in the film.

Of course we have glowing Technicolor (it's MGM!). The plot is sorta cute, and while this is not one of the great MGM musicals, it's mildly entertaining...particularly the duck hunting segment. Nothing to brag about, but pleasant.

Libeled Lady in Technicolor

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 7 August 2011]

After "The Morning Star" prints a gossipy item on beautiful socialite Esther Williams (as Connie Allenbury), she decides to sue the paper for $2,000,000 in libel damages. Their business manager Keenan Wynn (as Warren Haggerty) interrupts his impending wedding to brassy redhead Lucille Ball (as Gladys Benton) to work on countering Ms. Williams' suit. Mr. Wynn hires writer Van Johnson (as Bill Chandler) to battle Williams. He plots to have Mr. Johnson marry Ms. Ball, then pursue Williams. The men hope to create an actual scandal between Williams and a married man, then get her to drop the lawsuit...

The script has Johnson asks for a green dress, but he gets blue...

This is a re-make of "Libeled Lady" (1936) with the addition of musical and swimming sequences. While pleasant, they add nothing to the story. The four lead performers are not individually unsatisfying and are okay in pairs (Johnson with either Williams or Ball), but the quartet doesn't mix well. Most outstanding is the "Technicolor" photography (Harry Stradling) and costumes (Irene Lentz). Lucy is terrific at the piano when Johnson is practicing his "duck calls" before a date with Williams. Lucy got the last laugh when she made it much funnier on her TV series episode "Lucy Goes Duck Hunting" (1963).

****** Easy to Wed (7/11/46) Edward Buzzell ~ Van Johnson, Lucille Ball, Esther Williams, Keenan Wynn

This is a convoluted little romantic comedy with a great cast, an odd organ instrumental interlude, and Lucille Ball in some crazy hats!

[cgvsluis · 7/10 · 23 September 2023]

I love Esther Williams and Van Johnson who are paired remarkably well in this romantic comedy. Keenan Wynn plays Warren Haggerty a newspaper man on the cusp of saying "I do" to Lucille Ball's character Gladys Benton. In fact there have been several starts and stops for these two, once their ceremony was interrupted by the necessity to report a hurricane. This time their ceremony is called to a halt thanks to a $2 million libel suit being brought against the paper by J. B. Allenbury on behalf of his daughter and heiress Connie, played by Esther Williams. Warren comes up with a brilliant scheme to save the paper for his boss, he has to find and hire a former writer for the paper...the infamous ladies man Bill Stevens Chandler, played by Van Johnson. The plan is to provide Bill with a wife, on paper, and have him seduce Connie, who is currently down in Mexico...so they can claim what the paper printed wasn't libel, Heiress Connie breaks up a marriage. First they need a "wife", thankfully they have Gladys..and then Bill has to brush up on duck hunting in order to impress Connie's father J. B.

Esther Williams is gorgeous as Connie and she gets the opportunity to show off both her figure and her swimming skills in this film. She and Van Johnson make a striking couple, showing off their vitality and exceptional good health both in and out of the pool.

But for me the fun lay with Lucille Ball, particularly in scenes like the one where Van Johnson's character Bill is trying to perfect his "duck call". In fact my favorite comedic scene is Bill trying to fake duck hunting for the first time...with the cutest and most pathetic hunting dog I have ever seen. I do love how he retrieves the beginners guide to duck hunting book for him!

Colorful, convoluted, and charmingly funny...there is a melancholy moment towards the end where you have a lot of empathy for Gladys, but overall this is a fun and classic romantic comedy that I recommend to fans of the genre. There is the most exuberant and joyful organ solo in this film that some may enjoy...but I thought went on a little too long.

Not bad for a musical remake

[ksdilauri · 7/10 · 27 February 2024]

No doubt some of you may be checking this movie out because you're fans of its inspiration, "Libeled Lady". Me too. Seeing "Easy To Wed" for the first time now, I must agree with those who found it a slightly above-average effort, as remakes go.

The musical elements are standard MGM fare, here given a Latin flavor. My take is that they tend to slow the story down a bit--but back in the day, audiences liked their movies interrupted by sudden bursts of brass or strings (or conga drums.) The four leads tackle the difficult task of following Powell, Tracy, Loy and Harlow in the original. While they don't quite match them (no one can, to be fair) they do hold their own and stay afloat, with Ball and Wynn the standouts. It's an amusing story, ably played, in the trademark MGM color-splashed style. Worth a watch.

"She's pretty as a picture." ... "And one we're going to frame!"

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 7 August 2011]

Nonsensical remake of 1936's "Libeled Lady" casts Esther Williams as a beautiful but arrogant heiress who sues a publication for two million dollars after they print a would-be scandalous story. The newspaper gets revenge by matching the socialite up with a suave womanizer--not expecting true love to blossom. Tepid shenanigans does get Williams into the water, albeit briefly; much of this comedy is spent on fast-talking wisecracks delivered at a high decibel level. Unfortunately, louder doesn't equal funnier, and some good players flounder (particularly titian-haired Lucille Ball, in one of her weakest performances). Organist Ethel Smith has a fun bit (joined by a Spanish-singing Williams and Van Johnson!), and the film is certainly well-dressed, but the comedic timing is unpolished and the plot is insufferable. ** from ****

Even without the prototype "Lady," this film fizzles as a comedy

[SimonJack · 5/10 · 25 December 2022]

MGM billed this film as a musical as well as a comedy romance, with the usual Hollywood hype, "a star-studded musical romance." But the music is minimal, and the stars, Esther Williams and Van Johnson do two numbers. The film does provide a very good look at Ethel Smith, a very accomplished musician, especially on the piano and organ. One doesn't normally associate the organ with music of the swing era or from South of the border, but she really put some life into a couple of numbers in one scene.

While Johnson and Williams both made a number of MGM musicals in the 1940s and early 1950s, they are really lightweights in the genre. These films typically had big bands and/or dance routines at nightclubs to provide enough song and dance to be considered musicals at all. Xavier Cugat's orchestra was a favorite, and made them better films. As for "star-studded," well they are dim stars compared to those in musicals with any of the prominent song and dance stars. Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, Gene Kelly, Vera Allen, Ginger Rogers, Danny Kaye, Cyd Charisse, and Rita Hayworth were great hoofers. The top singers were Nelson Eddy, Jeanette MacDonald, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Gordon MacRae, and Julie Andrews. Most of these dancers could carry a tune, most of the singers could do some dancing, and all could play well with comedy.

Overall, this is not a very good film. The dialog and comedy of the screenplay are quite lame. As other reviewers have noted, this was a "sort of" musical remake of "Libeled Lady" of 1936. That had a great cast of four leading actors of the day - Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, William Powell and Spencer Tracy. And it is one of the greatest comedies of all time. So, MGM, wanted to remake its property with more modern stars a decade later, and have it as a musical. It really is a "remake," withh a script probably 90 percent identical to the original. The biggest change in the plot replaces what I think is the funniest segment of scenes about fishing ever put on film. Well, MGM apparently felt that Van Johnson couldn't hope to replicate with the same humor, what William Powell did in "Lady." So, they had his character, William Chandler, try to become an expert a duck hunting. The corresponding change occurs in the script, where the J. B. Allenbury (Walter Connolly) of "Lady" was an expert fly fisherman. In this one, Cecil Kellaway's Allenbury is an expert duck hunter.

I think that changes was disastrous for this film on two points. First - someone trying to learn and faking trout fishing is more believable and possible, so the foibles there are hilarious. But someone who has never fired a gun before (any kind), to learn to shoot a shotgun, and at moving targets, and to learn to call ducks and geese, set out decoys, etc., is not believable at all. Remember - this "training" takes place over one day, and in a hotel room. Second - because the change in venue for the outdoor comedy segment is so unbelievable and impossible, all of what then passes as comedy isn't funny at all. So, Van Johnson's tipping his boat, falling in the water, having no shells in his shotgun, and horrible squawks and squeaks on the duck call, are more pathetic and woeful than funny.

None of these characters seem right for their roles, with Williams being the least misfit of the bunch. But I will say that Lucille Ball, playing the role of Gladys Benton - that Jean Harlow "owned" in "Libeled Lady," gave it her own twist that was different, interesting, and helped the film in the end. She clearly was hamming it up, and my guess is that the director and others saw that as not only fitting, but uplifting for the film. Keenan Wynn does his best to be bombastic, but he seems forced and can't hold a candle to Spencer Tracy's Warren Haggerty.

If "Libeled Lady" had never been made, and this film was "original" in its day and to viewers decades later, would "Easy to Wed" be better, or seem better, or funnier? Maybe by one notch. But the comedy overall just doesn't have the life, the verve and the depth of the plot and characters as actors played them in the original film. The three men, especially, just don't fit the parts, or play them well, at all. Williams is fair, but doesn't have the cutting edge suspicion that Myra Loy could portray so well. When she shows her suspicion, Williams flashes it; but Loy showed the sly and skeptical look of a knowing woman of experience. Lucille Ball's different and more flashy Gladys was clearly hammy and clever in not trying to imitate Harlow's character to a tee. She made this weak remake watchable to a point.

"Easy to Wed" made a nice profit for MGM, probably helped by the much smaller cost of these actors. And, this was the year after the end of World War II, so any kind of comedy and romance was welcome and appreciated. The film isn't terrible by any means, but my reviews, as I think are most by most movie buffs, compare each film against all others and give them a rating accordingly, with one's obvious preferences and biases for figured in. As I said, if "Libeled Lady" had never been made, this one might rate one notch higher - possible two with a stretch. But, it would still be nowhere near a very good or great comedy.

Great Remake

[Eric-157 · 9/10 · 9 February 2005]

The Music ! The Duck Hunting ! The Remake ! The Duck Hunting ! The whole Cast ! The Duck Hunting ! The Color ! The Duck Hunting ! The Edward "I learned a lot of the Marx Brothers" Buzzell ! The Duck Hunting ! The Music ! The Duck Hunting ! The Art Direction ! The Duck Hunting !

What will I say ?!

Viv'America ! Viv'America ! Viv'America !

Esther is great as ever ! Lucille Ball is not a Star in Germany and her performance is a little bit to comic-like ! Van Johnson is likable ! Keenan Wynn is a well casted sidekick ! Cesar Ramirez and Ethel Smith in their best On-Screen-Musical-Numbers ! Ben Blue and Cecil Kellaway are superb !

The movie is a remake from "Libeled Lady" from the year 1936 with William Powell, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow.

The story has nothing new, but there are many little things that gives it a fresh breeze. First it's now a musical with a great Mambo-Feeiling.

Than it's in terrific color. (Watch the costumes and art direction)

And the best change to the original is, there's no fishing just duck hunting.

Viv'America ! Viv'America ! Viv'America !

A Drag.

[thatdogoliver-1 · 4/10 · 25 August 2022]

This film drags and drags and drags along. It certainly doesn't have the feel of a musical and the only comedy worth mentioning is provided by Lucille Ball -- certainly Esther Williams ain't no comedian. Ball steals every scene she's in (thank goodness) and she's in plenty of them (thank goodness). She's the only reason to watch this film -- fast-forward the rest.

Lucy can't hold a candle

[daryl42 · 9 May 2003]

Lucy obviously had her talents (though I'm not much of a fan of her television stuff) and she has a few good scenes here. But watching her do the big blow up speech at the end word for word the same as Jean Harlow, we see she had nowhere near the talent as Harlow. Harlow did that scene with such humanity and timing. This had none of that.

I almost never see the reason for remakes, very few are anywhere near as good as the original and this is a great example. Watch the original, much better.

A Treat for the Eyes

[dougdoepke · 27 March 2013]

Okay, I'll try to summarize the storyline. If Homer can prove Connie's a man stealer he'll escape a 2-million dollar lawsuit. So he hires Bill to catch Connie's eye. But Gladys is married to Bill or is it to Warren. Then again, maybe she isn't. But then Bill marries Connie, but Bill's already married or maybe he isn't since no one knows who's divorced whom. Anyway, I give up because the plot's not important, anyhow.

The movie's a visual treat, what with Williams, Johnson, and Ball being at their physical peak. I doubt there were three more beautiful people in Hollywood, especially Williams in a swimsuit. Then too, there's MGM's renowned production values lending the results a Technicolor sheen that makes you want to jump in. And is that really Fidel Castro at poolside (IMDB)! Now with all the physical assets, this musical comedy should be strictly memorable. But unfortunately it's not; as a mc the overall results are entertaining but only average. Director Buzzell fails to give many of the scenes the bounce they need, while the script has too many stretched-out, talky scenes. Together, we see pretty people in pretty places doing sometimes funny things (especially Ball), but without the needed zip, plus a storyline that defies analysis.

Well, that's pretty much the case except for Ball, who shows (surprise, surprise) a lively flair for adding her own comedic bounce. And, if I remember correctly, this was one of her first comedic outings in what, of course, would become a legendary career. And get a load of the array of hats she gets to wear. Some look like they were taken off the New York skyline. Still, that combination of fiery red hair and deep blue eyes is absolutely dazzling.

Anyway, this is the glamour studio MGM at its most glamorous and if the results are less than hoped, the movie's still a visual feast.