Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)

Directed by Dorothy Arzner. Starring Fredric March, Sylvia Sidney, Adrianne Allen, George Irving, Richard Gallagher, Florence Britton, Esther Howard, Charles Coleman, Cary Grant, Kent Taylor.

Seriocomic melodrama from the pre-Code era of now-dated immorality (the title alone…) isn’t believable or especially entertaining, but it has its moments. Against her better instincts, socialite Sidney marries hard-drinking writer March, and when he predictably strays with an ex-girlfriend actress (Allen), she decides to embrace an open marriage and “steps out” herself. A few witty lines can’t redeem an unearned ending that feels imposed rather than organic—after watching the behavior of these two leads (March’s letch in particular), was anyone even rooting for that halfhearted resolution? Notable for its confirmation of Sidney’s natural screen presence, the miscasting of March, and providing an early film role for Cary Grant, afforded only a few minutes screentime as one of Sidney’s lovers. Title refers to the phrase that March utters whenever he gives a toast (and considering the lush he is, it’s heard often).

55/100