An undernourished romance, "Slightly Married" clunks along at an uneven pace, milking various gimmicks until its long-delayed but telegraphed conclusion.
The obscure leads are merely competent in roles that required a lot more talent and charm to put over. Of course, the subject matter mocking class distinctions and naughtiness (prostitution, unwed motherhood, etc.) grabs one's attention but is merely a source of sentimentality. Crudest gimmick is to give over the movie almost entirely to the earthy, amusing Marie Prevost for the final reel or so, after introducing her in merely a cameo in the very first scene. It's a glaring sort of "hail mary" pass to try and save a movie that's run out of gas.
Using the Peter Principle, director Richard Thorpe was kicked upstairs to handling impersonal projects with big stars at MGM.
The obscure leads are merely competent in roles that required a lot more talent and charm to put over. Of course, the subject matter mocking class distinctions and naughtiness (prostitution, unwed motherhood, etc.) grabs one's attention but is merely a source of sentimentality. Crudest gimmick is to give over the movie almost entirely to the earthy, amusing Marie Prevost for the final reel or so, after introducing her in merely a cameo in the very first scene. It's a glaring sort of "hail mary" pass to try and save a movie that's run out of gas.
Using the Peter Principle, director Richard Thorpe was kicked upstairs to handling impersonal projects with big stars at MGM.