A divorced woman and a widowed man both with one child ends up at a ski resort at the same time. It will not be long before the man and woman become friends and quickly think of marriage. But the two kids are not getting along. In fact, it is the two kids that seem to want to stop the marriage and practically team-up to break the couple apart. But guess what, after they finally cause the break-up of their parent they seem to have a change of heart. Now the two team-up to see if they can get the two back together.The story just did not have any excitement. The story was straight forward and veered off the topic only a couple of times. And to be honest, it felt like the two main actors, Melvyn Douglas and Mary Astor, just were not interested with the script or with each other. It does not speak highly of the movie when the kids are the best actors in the film.Perhaps the movie would have been better if the two parents would have been someone that the public could relate. Instead they were actually snobby rich adults with maids and cooks that had all the comforts of money. The viewer could not feel any compassion for the two when their plan was to vacation in Europe for months until the meeting at the ski lodge. Was suppose to be a heartwarming love story but felt more like a bothersome tale.

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.

And So They Were Married (1936) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A man hating divorcée (Mary Astor) goes to a snow lodge where she meets a woman hating widow (Melvyn Douglas) and the two quickly hit it off but their children decide to make sure they don't get married. This romantic comedy has a lot going for it but the screenplay starts to go off in all directions and it doesn't go after the most appealing aspects of the film. Astor and Douglas are both terrific in their roles as they manage to be quite charming, romantic and endearing. The two have wonderful chemistry together and they shine whenever they're together. The problem comes when the children (Judith Fellows, Jackie Moran) start to take over the picture. Their fighting and bickering works for a while but when it starts to take the story away from the adults it becomes rather annoying. There's one hilarious sequence where the kids feed a dog soap and when it takes off through the hotel it sets off a panic that the dog is rabid.

Recent divorcée Mary Astor (Edith Farham) and daughter Brenda, spend Christmas at a fashionable mountain hotel - ski lodge. At the same time, Melvin Douglas (Stephan Blake) a long time widower arrives awaiting his ten-year-old son, also to spend their Christmas holidays together. Brenda is a man hater, apparently because daddy left her and mommy. When Steve's son (Tommy) arrives both children take an immediate dislike of one another -- to the point of physically beating each other up! Both children can't stand the fact that Edith and Steve are becoming attracted to each other, and both are determined to derail any chance of Steve and Edith becoming a couple. In most romantic 1930's comedies kids are not as mischievous or in fact, as delinquent as this pair is, but it's done in funny ways that keeps the kids from becoming obnoxious. A good cast with fine supporting actors drives this film merrily along. Columbia Pictures was good at making comedies. This is worth a look, if you like that genre.