...E o Noivo Voltou

Small vinyard owner and draftee Tony Curtis elopes with Piper Laurie despite the objections of her mother, Spring Byington. Unfortunately he comes down with measles and they do not consummate the marriage. Then it's off to Korea; when he returns on a furlough, Miss Byington has moved fifteen relations into his house, and Miss Laurie has a job working for cement manufacturer Don Defore, who wants to put a railroad spur right through Curtis' house. Also, Miss Byington is scheming to break up the marriage so Miss Laurie can marry Defore.

It's another brittle comedy of the era, where little is funny -- although Defore gets a couple of good lines -- and the only sympathetic person is Lilian Bronson as Miss Piper's old-maid aunt. Even the usually delightful Miss Byington is rote here. I blame director Douglas Sirk, whose comedy chops were pretty feeble. This means that producer Ted Richmond must also be blamed, since who asked him to choose a director of stylish weepers to direct this?