Review of The More the Merrier (1943) by Jon C — 09 Nov 2017

It's hard to see why this film should have been largely forgotten, since it's just as good as it ought to be from its collection of talents: great director George Stevens (who did classics such as Shane, Giant, and Woman of the Year,) leading comic film actors Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn, and stalwart leading man Joel McCrea (otherwise known mostly for westerns.) The story concerns three people forced to live together by the WWII housing shortage in Washington D. C.; eccentric businessman Coburn decides to play matchmaker to the other two, government office worker Arthur and Air Force engineer McCrea. Continually delightful comic episodes are strung on this plot thread, leading to the inevitable happy ending.

The film counts as somewhere between a romantic comedy and a screwball comedy, and if you like either of those genres as they were developed by Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s, you will certainly enjoy this movie.