We're Not Married (1952)

“Omnibus” films of this sort are hard to pull off with complete success, for the simple reason that their episodic nature means that some sequences will almost certainly be stronger or weaker than others. By concentrating on five different couples, We’re Not Married also has to sacrifice a certain amount of depth – with so many characters to meet and so many stories to tell, there’s not much time for digging into the details of either the people or their situations. Married is also not helped by the fact that its screenplay is just not funny enough (although it certainly does have its moments) and that the basic premise, which was already familiar in 1952, is overly worn to contemporary audiences. That said, Married benefits enormously from a "humdinger" of a cast. Many will be drawn to the film by Marilyn Monroe’s presence; she looks sensational and delivers a finely-tuned performance, although she’s ultimately wasted in the role. (James Gleason, memorable as the hick promoting her, actually has more to work with than Monroe.) Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen turn in very good work, and Eddie Bracken is both touching and amusing. Eve Arden and Paul Douglas are solid, but their material doesn’t allow them to be as funny as might be expected of these two top comedic talents. Edmund Goulding’s direction is smooth but unexciting. Married was one of six (!) movies featuring Monroe to be released in 1952. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide