Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

jarrodmcdonald-1 I'd forgotten how good this one is...Van Johnson has some very funny scenes-- like the stuff where he is giving a lecture about the common cold and suddenly comes down with one right on the spot. And I loved the dream scene where they spoof Bizet's Carmen.However, I'm not sure if I buy the casting of Barry Sullivan as his brother, since they do not resemble each other physically in any way. Paula Raymond is excellent as the society gal who is supposed to marry Van, and Kathryn Grayson plays her diva role to the hilt. I kept thinking how well-lit the scenes were-- and then I noticed John Alton was the cinematographer, and that explains it. MGM's polish and the music are an added plus. So are veteran character actors Lewis Stone and Reginald Owen in small supporting roles.

bkoganbing In Grounds For Marriage the burning question of whether opera and operations form the basis of a successful marriage. When they were married Van Johnson didn't think so, but Kathryn Grayson is willing to give it another try.The plot of The Barkleys Of Broadway is shifted over to the grand opera as opera star Grayson tries to win back Dr. Johnson. Not so easy because Johnson is now engaged to Paula Raymond who happens to be the daughter of his boss Lewis Stone. Another complication is that Johnson's older brother Barry Sullivan, a toy manufacturer and a lady's man always has had a thing for Grayson and now that she's free....?The opera sequences are performed nicely and Reginald Owen is in the cast giving a great performance as the Metropolitan Opera Empresario, a caricature of the real life Rudolf Bing.A real fixture of the Metropolitan Opera was also in the cast. Milton Cross whom I well remember as a lad who hosted the Met broadcasts on radio narrates a dream sequence of Carmen as the film plot is played against the background of Carmen. Grayson of course sings for herself, but the rest of the cast is dubbed in these exaggerated operatic voices. The whole thing is quite hilarious.Grounds For Marriage is not one of Kathryn Grayson's more well known films, but she acquits herself in the comedy demanded of the part. Van Johnson is as good as he always is in these parts and he has his best moments giving a lecture to Paula Raymond's women's club about the common cold as a real cold overtakes him gradually.After 59 years Grounds For Marriage holds up well, but with no sopranos on the screen today, I doubt if the film will ever be remade, so catch this version.

tonstant viewer We know from Hollywood that divorced couples must be reconciled, and any attempt for one partner to marry someone else is doomed.Yet here, three years after his divorce, Van Johnson announces that he's grown, and fallen in love with an adult woman. Kathryn Grayson is a willful, turbulent child, an opera singer who psychosomatically loses her voice when her ex- refuses to resume their disastrous marriage. She tells him "you were born to be dominated," and ultimately infantilizes him into renouncing his new engagement and returning to their sick, sick, sick relationship.The entertaining parts of this film are indeed entertaining, if not memorable. But the parts of this film dealing with medicine, psychology, motivations and relationships are a distasteful mess, shot in Stygian darkness by a cinematographer with a half dozen of the world's greatest film noirs under his belt.When you wind up rooting for the cold society babe over the eccentric artist heroine, you have a film with a problem. Yuk.

Liza-19 This film is the usual comedy from MGM - simple set-up and obvious ending, but it's still a charmer. The beautiful Kathryn Grayson plays Ina, who is trying to win back her ex-husband, played by Van Johnson. Kathryn is a singer (surprise surprise) and Van is a doctor. There are a few musical numbers, most notably the dream sequence, where the production does some famous selections from CARMEN. Kathryn sings them beautifully and Van Johnson is very obviously dubbed.The big surprise is that Kathryn's character actually looses her voice throughout a good part of the film. This is simply criminal, considering the woman's vocal talent. However, she gets it back and still has plenty of songs. Van and Kathryn have great chemistry together, too bad they never made another film together. I love this movie, it's sweet and very funny, even if it is predictable.