UnowPriceless hyped garbage

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

drednm Forty-something Claudette Colbert (she was 48 at the time) is waiting for her divorce decree to become final. She lives in a beautiful home in southern California which she shares with her married daughter and her husband (Barbara Bates, Robert Wagner). He works at a local resort hotel with his father-in-law (Macdonald Carey) who keeps coming around the house to tend his roses and talk Colbert out of the divorce. He has a gambling problem.The daughter (Bates) is a whiny, annoying little thing who wants mommy to wait on her, cook, and help with the baby. Wagner wants to move out, but Bates wants to stay to help her parents get back together. Enter millionaire Victor (Zachary Scott), a former rival for Colbert's hand.Scott is about to land a big government appointment and has returned to his home town for publicity and moves into the resort where Carey is PR director. Also staying there is Miss Cucamonga (Marilyn Monroe), who's out for all the publicity she can get.Of course Scott ignores Monroe and zeroes in on old flame Colbert, much to the annoyance of Carey. The divorce becomes final and Colbert announces she will marry Scott. Daughter Bates goes into a tizzy at the thought of losing mommy and having to set up her own home with Wagner.What settles Colbert's mind in the matter is when she learns why Scott did not propose to her 20 years before and why Carey did. Will she really marry Scott or will she reconcile with Carey? Seems far-fetched by today's standards, but in 1951 divorce was still a big deal. The stars all do well here with Monroe notable in her "build-up" period with 20th Century-Fox. Colbert looks great though she's a decade older than her suitors.Co-stars include Kathleen Freeman, Frank Cady, and Vici Raaf.Bates' character is truly annoying and selfish and almost ruins the film.

selffamily I bought this DVD at cut price and only recently watched it. Had no ideas about it - Marilyn was on the front of the case but as has been mentioned before, that was dishonest marketing as she is a minor supporting actor. The main stars, Claudette Colbert in particular, shine and it's a lot of fun. Yes, the story is silly - it's a 1950s comedy - and the acting would not win Oscars, but it's a 77 minute smile that turns into a giggle now and again. The clothes are divine and the story swims along merrily, with a highly likely ending. Pity about Macdonald Carey, he was like an American Carey Grant, and could have done well in movies, but seems to have concentrated his career on TV.

blanche-2 Claudette Colbert, Macdonald Carey, Zachary Scott, Robert Wagner, Barbara Bates, and Marilyn Monroe star in "Let's Make it Legal," a 1951 20th Century Fox comedy. It's a fast little black and white film about a divorcing couple, the Hugh Halsworths (Colbert and Carey), their daughter Barbara (Bates) and her new husband Jerry (Wagner).The premise is that the Halsworths are divorcing because Hugh is a compulsive gambler and Miriam, his wife, has had about all she can stand. So they've separated and the divorce is final at midnight. But Hugh is always hanging around, spraying his roses or entering the house on some other excuse.Their daughter is having marital adjustment problems: She loves her mother waiting on her hand and foot and taking care of the new baby, but her husband wants them to have their own place. Barbara hopes her parents will get back together, which Jerry attributes to her selfish motives. In the midst of all this, an old boyfriend of Barbara's (Scott) enters the picture and proposes.This film is of interest due to an early appearance of Marilyn Monroe as a sexy young woman most anxious to meet the very wealthy Victor (Scott). It's also of interest to me because Colbert and Carey play young grandparents - not young people playing characters supposed to be older, but actual young grandparents. You don't see much of that in classic era films. Hugh tells Scott he married Miriam right out of school. (In actuality, Carey was about 38 at this time and Colbert was 48)."Let's Make it Legal" is also of interest as a look at how the studios worked. This isn't a big movie, so it's used as a training ground for two contract players, Wagner and Bates, neither of whom are very good. The studio probably appeased agent Johnny Hyde, who was ambitious for his client Monroe by giving her a small role. They used the film as a vehicle for Colbert, who in Hollywood, though still beautiful, is past her sell by date and relegated to less expensive films, as well as the washed up Scott. They pair her with a B leading man, Carey, whose big success was in television.This isn't a great movie. It's light, it's amusing, it's somewhat dated. Seeing Colbert is always a pleasure and Carey was an amiable actor, Scott an attractive one. Sadly both Bates, who later committed suicide, and Scott suffered from depression. Scott at this point in his career concentrated on stage and television work.Pleasant comedy.

writers_reign It's not beyond the realms of possibility that some future Cultural archaeologist will note the large percentage of timber amongst actors of the late forties and fifties. God knows we had our share in England; Keiron Moore, John Gregson, Richard Pasco, Laurence Harvey, Michael York, but the virus was just as active in Hollywood, John Derek, Wendell Corey, John Ireland, Gary Merrill to name only a handful. Hugh Marlowe even managed to luck into two 'classic' films in the same year (1950), having featured roles in both All About Eve and Twelve O'Clock High. Here we have another in the shape of Macdonald Carey. Sending him in as leading man against Claudette Colbert is like sending in Banksy against Toulouse Lautrec. The poor sap hasn't a chance. You're never wasting your time watching Colbert (well, hardly ever, Texas Lady anyone) but apart from a roster of mostly uncredited 'character' actors she's the only decent thing in this piece of cheese albeit it was co-written by Izzy Diamond and directed by Richard Sale. Robert Wagner is an embarrassment, Barbara Bates a disaster, Zachary Scott walks through it and ... oh the hell with it, cross it off your list.