Cinema, Also Showing Mar. 17, 1947

Suddenly It’s Spring (Paramount) is one of those plump, shiny comedies that Director Mitchell Leisen can pack—and Paramount can crank out—like so many frankfurters. Items: 1) the leading characters, most of whom are presented as nice people, go through their romancing about as honorably as so many rutting hyenas; 2) by glance, leer, double-take and triple-talk, the audience is continually nudged with strong suggestions of amorous hanky-panky; 3) all the bedroom-eyeing is technically codeproof because the two chief romancers are married.

Suddenly It’s Spring presents its morally dubious entertainment so deftly and with such frequent stabs of insight and spanglings of cynical wit that the show as a whole is passably amusing.

The story, this time, is about a hagridden fellow (Fred MacMurray) whose WAC wife (Paulette Goddard) uses every means to dodge giving him a divorce so that he can marry his girl friend (Arleen Whelan). Most of the plot complications center around Paulette’s efforts to entice MacMurray back into her bed. The three sides of this triangle are more than reasonably heartless towards each other, but they are outdone in misbehavior by MacMurray’s sleek companion (Macdonald Carey), who wants Miss Goddard for himself.

It is to the great credit of the players that they make themselves not only believable but, on the whole, bearable. It is still more to the credit of Director Leisen that this little stroll through the zoo somehow gives the effect of being quite a civilized movie.