Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

JohnHowardReid SYNOPSIS: Navy man is ordered to buy a magnum of French champagne to launch an aircraft carrier. A young bride-to-be beats him to the only bottle left in the city. The navy man is forced to use every ruse he knows to get the girl to part with the champagne. Does he succeed? You'll have to see the picture to find out. (Of course you could also use a little - a very little bit - of brain power).NOTES: A famous film in its day as it marked the return to movies of Olivia de Havilland after a three year hiatus due to a contract dispute with Warner Bros. Paramount were willing to risk a lawsuit when their original leading lady, Paulette Goddard, had to withdraw because of pregnancy. As it happened, Miss de Havilland won her landmark case two days before this film was slated to commence shooting. At that stage of course she was fully committed to make the picture, despite her misgivings as to the inanity of the script.COMMENT: I don't share Miss de Havilland's feelings. Frankly, it's a charming little comedy. Admittedly, the emphasis has to be on the "little". The story is slight, yes, but skilful direction and deft playing keep it moving along quite agreeably. A typical 1940s romantic comedy, a harmless bit of fluff, lightweight, but put across with just the right balance of foolery, romance and charm. Milland was an expert at this sort of fluff, and the other players are likewise appealingly cast.

boblipton Captain James Gleason orders Lieutenant Ray Milland to get a bottle of French champagne to launch the new aircraft carrier. However, Olivia de Havilland has just bought the last bottle of French champagne in San Francisco for her nuptials with Sonny Tufts, who has spent two years in the Aleutians. How is Milland going to get the champagne and Miss de Havilland in this randomly named film?It's a rather flat romantic comedy directed by the usually very competent Sidney Lanfield, full of random gags and misunderstandings. Miss De Havilland had just spent two years fighting Warner Brothers in court so she wouldn't have to appear in muddled, unfunny comedies, and she had launched her newly serious career auspiciously enough with TO EACH HIS OWN and DEVOTION, only to follow it up with this rote effort. Neither of the leads shows any sparkle; the two comics, Gleason and Percy Kilbride (as de Havilland's father) lack any zest and Sonny Tufts, despite being the object of lust for a brace of screen beauties, remains a dull hunk of beef.

MartinHafer The plot for "The Well-Groomed Bride" is incredibly thin...too thin for an entire movie. This is odd, as Olivia de Havilland had just recently won the right to break her contract with Warner Brothers and was now a free agent...and she made THIS??When the story begins, a navy ship is about to be launched and the Captain (James Gleason) orders his Lieutenant (Ray Milland) to go buy a French Magnum...NOT an easy task considering that the war had just ended and champagne production (and everything else in Europe) was a mess. When he finally does locate a magnum, one of the only ones on the entire West Coast, Margie (de Havilland) has just purchased it. He tries to weasel it off her, but she needs it because her fiance (Sonny Tufts) is returning from the war to marry her...and he's instructed her to find the biggest bottle of champagne she can for the occasion. That is pretty much the entire plot, though in the course of things, the lady and the Lieutenant fall in love...which is pretty much what you'd expect.Is this a bad film? At times (such as when the Lieutenant SLUGS Margie!!), it is. But for the most part it's a forgettable time-passer that starred two actors who simply were too good for this sort of film. As for Sonny Tufts, well, this sort of fluff was pretty much as good as it gets for him and his somewhat sordid career.

Neil Doyle Before Olivia de Havilland made her remarkable comeback in 1946's To Each His Own, she stepped in as a last minute replacement for Paulette Goddard in 'The Well Groomed Bride', her first film after her two year legal battle with Warner Bros. Unfortunately, the script is so slight (about de Havilland and Milland fighting over rights to the last champagne bottle in San Francisco--she wants it for her wedding, he wants it to christen a ship). The laughs are scant although Olivia, Ray Milland and Sonny Tufts try hard to keep things bubbling. De Havilland manages to be pert and pretty as the heroine, Milland is his usual adept self at comedy and even Sonny Tufts manages to make his big "conceited muscle" role likeable at times--but the whole thing fails to get off the ground. The weak script defeats everyone, including Percy Kilbride as de Havilland's dad. Only avid fans of Ray Milland or de Havilland should watch this one--which does not turn up on TV these days--Paramount obviously deciding it wasn't worth saving.