3 reviews
Why not just watch the 1952 film instead? Both are good, but the original is better.
"In Name Only" is a made for TV movie that is a remake (or more like a re-working) of the 1952 film "We're Not Married!". I just found it today on YouTube and if you decide to watch it, be forewarned that the copy is pink....very, very pink! It is supposed to be in full color...but somehow the print turned a pinkish tone. Otherwise, it is is decent shape....sound, clarity of the picture, etcetera.
The film begins with a couple (Ann Prentiss* and Michael Callan) learning something shocking....the minister they hired for some weddings they had planned several years ago turned out to be an actor, not a minister. Four weddings (including their own) were officiated by this faux-father and so the couple are tracking down the couples to inform them of this mistake. Included are many flashbacks of the original weddings as well as how they react today.
So is it any good? Yes...but. First, the film is a reworking of another film...so why not just watch the original (and better) movie? Second, sometimes the film tried a bit too hard and was kooky when it might have worked better had the film been a bit more subtle (the hippie/cop wedding comes to mind). Still, it is enjoyable....and is worth seeing provided you love pink!
By the way, at one point Callan says to Eve Arden "Thank you, Vincent Price". This is a reference to something many won't remember today...that Vincent Price had a world famous art collection. And, oddly, he worked with Sears to market art to the masses!! Wow...how times have changed.
*When I saw Ann Prentiss, I thought for sure she was her sister, Paula. They both look and sound very similar...almost like they were twins.
The film begins with a couple (Ann Prentiss* and Michael Callan) learning something shocking....the minister they hired for some weddings they had planned several years ago turned out to be an actor, not a minister. Four weddings (including their own) were officiated by this faux-father and so the couple are tracking down the couples to inform them of this mistake. Included are many flashbacks of the original weddings as well as how they react today.
So is it any good? Yes...but. First, the film is a reworking of another film...so why not just watch the original (and better) movie? Second, sometimes the film tried a bit too hard and was kooky when it might have worked better had the film been a bit more subtle (the hippie/cop wedding comes to mind). Still, it is enjoyable....and is worth seeing provided you love pink!
By the way, at one point Callan says to Eve Arden "Thank you, Vincent Price". This is a reference to something many won't remember today...that Vincent Price had a world famous art collection. And, oddly, he worked with Sears to market art to the masses!! Wow...how times have changed.
*When I saw Ann Prentiss, I thought for sure she was her sister, Paula. They both look and sound very similar...almost like they were twins.
- planktonrules
- May 28, 2020
- Permalink
A good cast helps this by the numbers comedy.
This was included in the first season of The ABC Movie of the Week launched in 1969. One of the series first tries at comedy, it's got a good cast, notably Eve Arden, who elevates every scene she's in. Bill Daily's character has some funny moments, as does Herb Edelman's. Elsa Lanchester is delightfully eccentric, and on a historical note this is one of the films that Ann Prentiss made in her heyday before darker times befell her. Elinor Donahue and Ruth Buzzi are also on hand as 2 of the wives "in name only".
There are some amusing ideas floating around but not enough to really get it going. Episodic in that each couple has a story which unfolds around the premise.
That helps it from bogging down more than it does, but overall it's just ok.
- mleatherwood1
- Feb 19, 2019
- Permalink
Matrimony, American Style!
- mark.waltz
- Dec 14, 2021
- Permalink