It's impossible to say how faithful this well made if slightly maudlin slice of domestic trivia is to the play it was "suggested by" (something called "Maggie" - the name of the Gene Tierney bride character in the movie - that never played Broadway - no matter; neither did "Everybody Comes to Rick's" and that turned out all right), but the "suggested by" billing argues for "not very." Once it finally gets rolling - the first thirty minutes are given over to the maudlin old story of a genuinely nice young man, John Lund, marrying up and slightly ashamed of his past while trying not to show it - the fine cast (one of Thelma Ritter's many deserved Oscar nominations as the groom's working mother) makes the most of what becomes a charming domestic comedy of errors. "Mildred Pierce" this isn't - almost everyone in the film is "good people" and likable aside from the bride's ex-boyfriend who wants to steal the groom's business projects as well as break-up the marriage. Naturally, Ms. Ritter plants herself firmly in the way of any such schemes - much to her son's stunned consternation (having not found a way to tell his wife who the new "maid" is!).
When the bride's spoiled mother (Miriam Hopkins in one of her brightest performances) comes to stay, anything maudlin is long forgotten and high farce takes over. Slow starting the film may be, it winds up a delightful way to spend 100 minutes . . . mainly thanks to Ritter and the old studio system which provided her with a flawless supporting cast and direction.
Of side interest to anyone born after 1965, the wonderful set direction - especially of the McNulty apartment - is as perfect a recreation of a regular middle class home in the 50's from living room to bathroom and kitchen as you'll see on film. The little touches in the script (wealthy relatives tossing off references to a bright young man having signed a "loyalty oath" or their having gotten help from Mussolini before the war) are more unsettling, but just as perfectly atmospheric for nailing the place and time of the story.
When the bride's spoiled mother (Miriam Hopkins in one of her brightest performances) comes to stay, anything maudlin is long forgotten and high farce takes over. Slow starting the film may be, it winds up a delightful way to spend 100 minutes . . . mainly thanks to Ritter and the old studio system which provided her with a flawless supporting cast and direction.
Of side interest to anyone born after 1965, the wonderful set direction - especially of the McNulty apartment - is as perfect a recreation of a regular middle class home in the 50's from living room to bathroom and kitchen as you'll see on film. The little touches in the script (wealthy relatives tossing off references to a bright young man having signed a "loyalty oath" or their having gotten help from Mussolini before the war) are more unsettling, but just as perfectly atmospheric for nailing the place and time of the story.