Designing Woman
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
Written by George Wells
1957/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Marilla Hagen: We never argue anymore. And when we do, it never lasts more than a week or two.[/box]
This is a broad MGM Technicolor romantic comedy, full of late 50’s atmosphere and style. The clothes were my favorite part.
Mike Hagen (Gregory Peck) and Marilla Brown (Lauren Bacall) meet cute on an airplane headed for California. He is a sportswriter and she is a fashion designer. After a whirlwind romance, they marry and head back to New York.
Each has assumed the other has a life a lot like his/her own. They are wrong. He is a man’s man with a simple life whose greatest pleasure is playing poker with the boys and going to the fights. She is loaded with dough and hangs out with the arty set. Naturally there is a period of adjustment.
A running theme is Mirella’s jealousy of a woman she sees in a cheescake photograph in Mike’s apartment. This is Broadway star Laurie Shannon (Delores Grey), Mike’s ex-flame. Mike does everything to conceal her role in his life from Mirella, something that becomes increasingly difficult after Laurie becomes the leading lady in a show Mirella is designing for. The other conflict comes as Mike runs an expose on a crooked fight promoter and has to hide out from his thugs.
This is entertaining and looks great. The style is just not my cup of tea for some reason. My husband, on the other hand, laughed out loud many times, and really enjoyed it. I have a feeling he holds the majority view.
Designing Woman won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen.
Trailer
