Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Micransix Crappy film

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

bkoganbing Marriage Is A Private Affair was the first film that Lana Turner did post the birth of her daughter Cheryl Crane. I guess that's what gives the scenes of Turner with her infant son in this film some special poignancy.Turner is an irrepressible flirt, the kind who has to be the center of attention at all times. She gets that from her mother Natalie Schaefer who is on her latest husband Paul Cavanaugh. Schaefer has a Zsa Zsa Gabor like attitude toward marriage which she has passed on to her daughter.But Lana does fall for and marry John Hodiak who is something of an inventor and considered necessary to the war effort so he can't activate his commission and get where the fighting is. They have a kid and it works for a while. But she gets bored and wants to see if she still is attractive even after marriage and childbirth. She tries flirting with flier James Craig to see if she still has it.Marriage Is A Private Affair was also the first film Lana Turner did with billing alone above the title. She does a fine job as a girl who turns into a woman and finally decides to grow up. Her two leads Craig and Hodiak are also well cast in their parts.Also in the cast are Herbert Rudley and Frances Gifford a seemingly happily married couple with some secrets and issues. Gifford is a lot like Turner. Hugh Marlowe is in this as well as a scientist friend of Hodiak's also anxious to get to war. Probably had this film been done in about 10 years at least after the second World War we might have seen Turner more loose and slatternly, but during wartime there was no way Hollywood would show a star like Turner being less than true, flirting yes, but cheating a definite no-no.True blue women is part of what we were fighting for.

MartinHafer Lana Turner might have been a good actress, but her personal life was a mess. She was married seven times and none of them lasted very long. So, having her star in "Love is a Private Affair" is ironic indeed. The film seems inspired by her own life, as Theo (Turner) has been brought up by a spoiled and narcissistic mother (Natalie Schafer) who seems to get married about as often as most folks change their underwear! And, not surprisingly, Theo is ill-equipped for marriage. Only eventually does she realize that marriage is not about finding the perfect partner but about being able and mature enough to be married. While this isn't a bad film and it is worth seeing, the film has two things working against it. First, having Turner star in a pro-marriage film is a bit ridiculous and today this sort of casting might make folks laugh. Second, and a more serious problem, is that the film takes a long time getting to Theo's sudden revelation and the happy ending. You know it's coming but the film seems to take forever getting there.

vincentlynch-moonoi There's so much wrong with this movie, yet it managed to hold my attention till the end (albeit barely). To begin with, the plot here is thin. In fact, this is not a movie about plot. This movie is, quite simply, the story of a marriage, with all its highs and its lows, and in this film the lows of the marriage are the result of wife Lana Turner, who doesn't quite take marriage seriously. Perhaps it's because her mother didn't take marriage seriously, and that's what she learned marriage was like.Another problem with this film is that it is just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Is spouses talking too much grounds for divorce? It should be!The most interesting scene in the film is the uncomfortable dinner. I'll not give it away, but it's a gem, though it could have been done even better.The acting here is mixed. Lana Turner is ravishing, living up to my expectation that in that era she was one of the two most beautiful women in the world (along with Sophia Loren). And, although in later on-camera interviews I found she was hardly a 100 watt bulb, she was a darned good actress...and is here. I recently discovered John Hodiak. He's a good actor, but I think (as was later proved) that he was better as a supporting actor than in carrying and entire film. Too bad his life was cut so short.In terms of supporting roles here, James Craig is good as the also-ran lover...watch...I should say listen to his performance...was his voice an intentional imitation of Clark Gable's? I can't quite decide about the performance of Frances Gifford. More interesting was her own life -- check it out on Wikipedia.I always thought Hugh Marlowe was a likable supporting actor, but clearly not destined for the big time (and he ended up in t.v. soaps). It's interesting to see Natalie Schafer ("the millionaire, and his wife"), here just as dumb acting as she was on Gilligan's Island...was it really acting? Herbert Rudley was also destined for television, and his performance here shows why. Keenan Wynn's role is not worth mentioning (and that particular skit is the dumbest 5 minutes of the movie). Not sweet or touching. Just dumb.Robert Z. Leonard was the director here, and it's hard to believe that the man who directed a masterpiece like "The Great Ziegfeld" could hobble together a film this poor. Ah well, maybe the stretch from silent films to 1944 was just too long. If you want a reason to watch this film, Lana Tuner's beauty will do it. But don't expect a great deal beyond that.

amadain31 this is truly a collectors item. turner is at her most beautiful, all baby doll pout and velvet sincerity. production values are high. its a cult film that merits rediscovery. a big hit in 1944, it grossed 2 million at the box office, in the days when a hit was really a hit. audiences loved lana in her dimpled heyday and this film screens like a valentine to her sensuality. don't miss it. they don't make stars like lana anymore. gore vidal is on record as saying that he saw this film while young and that it had an impact on him. he mentioned it years later in myra breckinridge. tennesse williams worked on an early draft of the screenplay, and privately referred to it as a celluloid brassiere for miss turner!