Los Angeles divorcée Mary Astor (as Edith Farnham) and mature nine-year-old daughter Edith Fellows (as Brenda) arrive at the mountainous "Snowcrest Lodge" for Christmas week. Both shun male companionship, due to Ms. Astor's marital track record. Also arriving are widower Melvyn Douglas (as Stephen Blake) and, when school lets out, his ten-year-old son Jackie Moran (as Tommy). Due to weather conditions, Mr. Douglas and Ms. Astor are two of the lodge's few guests. It's definitely not love at first sight, but Douglas and Astor become mutually attracted. Their children react by fiendishly trying to prevent the inevitable marriage. It's not smooth sailing for the couple. Things go south when Douglas mistakes Astor's daughter for his son and gives him (her) a spanking. Astor is not amused. Then, the children try to bring their feuding parents together...***** And So They Were Married (5/10/36) Elliott Nugent ~ Melvyn Douglas, Mary Astor, Edith Fellows, Jackie Moran

Jackie Moran and Edith Fellowes are two bratty adolescents who fight like a dog and a cat and utilize their antagonism to prevent their single parents (widowed father Melvyn Douglas and divorced mother Mary Astor) from getting married. But each scheme they concoct only serves to bring the adults closer together and of course create an understanding between the children who, like a dog and cat, really adore each other, just too stubborn to admit it. Some of the funniest situations involve a soap-consuming dog who makes the entire ski resort lobby think he's "mad" and Moran's use of bee-bee spitwads in a crowded dining room. This is so sitcomish that I am surprised that Columbia didn't do a sequel, "And So They Were Siblings".

And So They Were Married (Elliot Nugent, 1936) is a fun romantic comedy set over the Christmas season, with divorcée Mary Astor falling for widower Melvyn Douglas at a snowbound hotel as their boisterous children (Edith Fellows and Jackie Moran) plot to keep them apart. Though the production values are a bit low - and there's little utilisation of the festive setting - the kids are great value and Douglas shows the deft comic touch and ability to subtly evoke emotion that saw him spread his screen success to stage and the small screen. There's a lovely moment where he shrugs off his broken heart by ruffling his son's hair and murmuring: "I just need a little time, son."The film is more realistic, and therefore less escapist, than Columbia's usual sparkly fare, as it effectively paraphrases the difficulties of single parenthood. There's a slight over-reliance on visual humour and the title is shamefully generic, but you can't fail to enjoy a film that features both Donald Meek as an exasperated hotel manager and Douglas Scott (young Hindley in Wyler's Wuthering Heights), scene-stealing as a breakaway mummy's boy. Once you've explored the more obvious genre gems from Columbia (It Happened One Night, A Night to Remember, Together Again), it's worth giving this one a go.

I must qualify my rating of this picture - I am a pure unadulterated Mary Astor fan, and I must ask myself, 'Would I have given this film the same rating if another actress were playing the part?' Honestly, no. I cannot say that the story isn't a bit trite. Here are two children, played by Edith Fellows and Jackie Moran, who, wishing to keep widowed and divorced parents to themselves, plot to thwart the blossoming romance between Mom (Mary Astor) and Dad (Melvyn Douglas). With predictable results. Douglas was a fine comedic actor, and his presence certainly helps lift the picture over some of the rough spots. The kids were pretty fair actors in their own right, and do not at all detract from what could have been a pretty dismal effort. In her biography, Ms. Astor confirmed that she rarely argued over the quality of a script. She went to work and did the best she could with the material given her. This is one she may have been better off choosing to be difficult about.