Bruce Bennett, Charles Coburn, Jean Arthur

Portly Charles Coburn makes a cute if unlikely cupid in George Stevens's smart 1943 romantic comedy. Jean Arthur is girl next door and big-city sophisticate rolled up in one bubbly package as Connie M...( read more  read more... )illigan, a single woman in Washington D.C. who sublets a room in her small apartment during the wartime housing crisis. Her new roommate, the deadpan eccentric Mr. Dingle (Coburn, who won an Oscar for his rascally performance), dislikes her stiff, bureaucratic beau and takes it upon himself to find her an appropriate boyfriend, namely the soft-spoken industrial engineer Joe Carter (Joel McCrea), whom Dingle puts up in his half of the apartment. Stevens takes a measured approach to comedy: The first morning with all three in the cramped kitchen turns a painstakingly organized schedule into a chaotic free-for-all that just gets funnier as the anarchy builds. Even more effective is the contrast between the charmingly effusive Arthur and McCrea's sauntering style, which creates not so much sparks as a slow simmer as they continue to spend time together. One of the finest craftsmen of Hollywood's Golden Age, Stevens shapes this lightweight screenplay into one of the most delectable romantic comedies of all time. --Sean Axmaker

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84% liked it

980 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

12 critics

Unrated, 104 min.

Directed by: George Stevens

Release Date: March 26, 1943

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DVD Release Date: November 2, 2004

Stats: 84 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (84)


  • July 14, 2009
    Great screwball comedy! The map and schedule bit near the beginning is one of the best bits of comedy business I've seen. Jean Arthur is lovely but a little bit of a wallflower too. Joel McCrea is tall, dark, and mysterious. Charles Coburn is so wacky with his repeated catchp...( read more)hrases, "eight girls to every fella," and "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead." Gaines as Pendergast is as square as they come complete with awful hair piece. The movie seems a little rough around the edges as if it was under-rehearsed. Especially Jean Arthur, who seems to be stumbling with quite a few of her lines. But it works for this movie, as the action looks more live theatre and spur of the moment, and Jean Arthur's character appears more real. Some of the best situation comedy and verbal jabs in the screwball genre!
  • February 3, 2009
    pretty funny for an old time-y movie
  • August 24, 2009
    Coburn is fantastic, and film is pretty good.
  • July 28, 2009
    Too slapsticky. Couldn't watch but about 10 minutes of it.
  • February 7, 2009
    This moive made me laugh so hards in some places it was pretty amazing.
  • February 4, 2009
    Yes it's from 1943, but for being from that era, it's daring, racy, and a lot of fun. The comedic timing is great and it's really been overlooked. Check it out!
  • May 29, 2008
    This is a film I only saw once about ten years ago, but I remember it as a very good romantic comedy, with the kind of enthusiasm for life you find in some of Zemeckis's movies. I don't see as many films from the 30s and 40s as I used to, but next time I fall into that phase agai...( read more)n, "The More the Merrier" will be one of the first films I'll see.
  • May 11, 2007
    jean arthur, joel mccrea, and charles coburn are simply fantastic in this film
  • February 7, 2007
    It's hilarious and has an awesome love scene (on the front steps).

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The More the Merrier Trivia


  • The 1966 release, "Walk, Don't Run" was a remake of the 1943 film titled "The More the Merrier". It marked the last big screen role for which dashing actor who counted "To Catch a Thief" and "North by Northwest" among his 73 films?   Answer »
  • fill in the blank from Mary Poppins. "The more the ____,The more I'm a merrier me."  Answer »
  • Their Final Acting Role- The 1966 release, "Walk, Don't Run" was a remake of the 1943 film titled "The More the Merrier". It marked the last big screen role for which dashing actor who counted "To Catch a Thief" and "North by Northwest" among his 73 films?   Answer »

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