During World War II, a plethora of films were released that dealt with the war subject in a variety of fashions.
Movies like “Since You Went Away” showed families on the home front and how they coped with day-to-day life with their loved ones overseas. “Mrs. Miniver” presented a British family and how they lived through the bombings on England during the first years of the war.
“The More the Merrier” is a sadly little-known 1943 romantic comedy that stars a young woman (Jean Arthur) who rents half of her apartment to an old matchmaker (Charles Coburn), who then rents half of his half to a eligible young solider (Joel McCrea) during the WWII housing shortages in Washington, D.C.
The film was nominated for a number of Academy Awards when the Oscars came around. Arthur earned her sole Best Actress nomination, and nods were also given for the director, the screenwriter, and Coburn went home with the Best Supporting Actor award.
George Stevens, the legendary director of such classic motion pictures as “Shane” and “Giant,” which was James Dean’s last film, was picked by the New York Film Critics Circle as the Best Director of the year for his work on “The More the Merrier.”
The movie works for a number of reasons. Most of all is the charm of the cast. Arthur, who is best remembered for her work opposite James Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” has razor-sharp comedic timing and almost seems to be created solely for the screwball comedy genre. Here, Arthur was the then-ancient age of 43 and still playing ingenue parts, which was quite a feat for a woman at the time. She looks much younger than her years here.
McCrea is refreshingly laid back and has a nice, easy-going charisma that makes one wonder why he isn’t better remembered. He also made his mark in several westerns and the classic screwball “The Palm Beach Story.”
Coburn was a prolific character actor and appeared in six movies in 1943 alone. His long filmography also produced two additional Oscar nominations.
The movie makes a smooth shift from comedy to romance beginning somewhere around the middle of its duration. The love scenes in the film’s latter third are among the most poignant ever filmed. The apartment set in the film is arranged so that Arthur’s bed and McCrea’s bed are only separated by a thin wall, which they can speak through quite easily. In one touching scene they discuss the possibility of marriage as they both lie in their respective beds. The result is breathtakingly heart-warming.
“The More the Merrier” was later remade as the Cary Grant vehicle “Walk, Don’t Run,” which turned out to be the actor’s last film. The remake is generally agreed among critics, as is usually the case, to be vastly inferior to the original.
You owe it to yourself to discover this movie. You owe it to yourself to discover these sadly near-forgotten stars.
It is rarely shown on television, but occasionally can be scene on Turner Classic Movies. It is also available on DVD, so you can find it on Netflix. And if you have the opportunity to see it, invite some friends over. After all, the more the merrier.
