The Bride Goes Wild (1948) User Reviews

Van Johnson is creepy here

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 5/10 · 10 October 2015]

Van Johnson and June Allyson were good together...if the material was good. Not so good when the material was stupid. And this material is the latter.

In the early parts of the film, Johnson seems downright creepy. He's supposed to be a bit of a playboy, but here he seems like more of a letch. Playing with Allyson's hair in a creepy way, blowing in her ear when she's clearly not inclined. Later in the film there's a bit of slapstick, which Johnson actually does quite well at, but it just seems so out of place in the film. Of course, later in the film he's sort of reformed once he begins falling in real love with Allyson.

And then there's Allyson. Well, somehow I just didn't find Allyson that funny as a drunk.

Perhaps the problem here is the plot and how they characterized Van Johnson's role. A children's' book writer who hates kids and is a playboy. It had potential. Unfulfilled potential, and the ultimate outcome was so obvious from the beginning.

If the film is saved by anyone, it is -- perhaps a bit, at least -- by Hume Cronyn as the publisher, and by Butch Jenkins, the child actor who portrays a child sort of "rented" to pretend Johnson has a son. More disappointing is a rather poor role for the very talented Una Merkel (although this was in the period of her career when she wasn't too popular). Arlene Dahl also had a disappointing role here; Dahl was quite a good actress, but never made it beyond supporting roles or starring in B pictures.

This film had potential, but turned out rather disappointing. It has its moments...for example a rather funny Indian sequence. But overall, this seems like a very long 98 minutes.

Fun and funny and a bit too formulaic to stand out

[secondtake · 6/10 · 20 July 2014]

The Bride Goes Wild (1948)

This is a common kind of entertainment film using a catching, breezy plot and high profile actors, but filmed with bright simplicity and without attempting too much more that the basics.

And all of these basic goals are met here—cheerfully, and rather enjoyably. That is, if you take it for what it is, this is a warm and well made romantic comedy. It excels most for the sweet and subtle acting by June Allyson, and by the surprise depth of the buck-toothed boy character in the movie, Jackie Jenkins. The leading man has never been a favorite of mine—Van Johnson, but he holds up his end well enough.

The plot is a clever set up, reminding me for some reason of the mixed-up plot of "Christmas in Connecticut," which has the same lighthearted feeling. People pretend to be one thing and get into a comical—and romantic trap—by trying to maintain the farce. Everyone is lying, in a way, even the innocent woman who at first is purely innocent. (She ends up pretending, or changing you might say, for different reasons, which the audience appreciates.)

This is no screwball comedy. It lacks the insanity, and the wit, and maybe even the inevitability (even though you know how it ends, more or less). It's a good romp with some excellent acting to shore up the feeble plot. There are lots of great moments, and even an oddly spectacular bit of nonsense near the end where a whole room full of character actors get truly nutty at the same time. Quite funny.

Little orphan Danny

[jotix100 · 6/10 · 22 September 2006]

June Allyson and Van Johnson were paired by their studio in several pictures. Once MGM type-casted someone, or Hollywood, for that matter, an actor, or an actress, went to appear in other films performing, basically, the same role. Which seems to be the case with "The Bride Goes Wild", directed by Norman Taurog, a veteran film director who always made pleasant movies.

The premise in this film is just an excuse for presenting all these players in a comedy typical of the times. After all, the times were hopeful and happy right after the WWII and a semblance of normalcy was the intention. This is a silly comedy that wouldn't have been made today.

In the other comment submitted to this forum, the contributor links what appears to be a gay subtext to all one sees in the movie, and in many aspects, it makes sense. Hollywood was notorious for being a gigantic closet where gays were safely kept even though everyone seemed to realize what really was going on.

June Allyson and Van Johnson are given the same roles to play. Butch Jenkins, a child actor, appears as Danny, the orphan that Greg Rawlings, the Van Johnson character, is passing as his own son. Arlene Dahl doesn't have much to do. Hume Cronyn, Una Merkel and Richard Derr play the supporting roles.

Watch the film as a curiosity as long as you don't have any expectations.

butch freckles

[petershelleyau · 26 October 2002]

This 1948 MGM comedy is enlivened by the sight gags utilised by director Norman Taurog, and the performance of June Allyson as Martha Terryton, a Vermont school teacher who is made an illustrator for `wild' New York children's book writer `Uncle Bumps' aka Greg Rawlings (Van Johnson).

The screenplay by Albert Beich employs the standard contemptuous ploy of a man deceiving a `prudish' woman in order to romance her. Greg pretends to be the father of 8 year old delinquent orphan Danny (Butch Jenkins) to improve Martha's perception of him, after their initial meeting where she has been repelled by his advances. This set up is made to be exposed as the climax, with the middle section devoted to supplying reasons that will help Martha make the right choice. The romance is given another angle in that she has an `understanding' ie engagement with school manual training teacher Bruce Johnson (Richard Derr) so that he exists as the sane alternative to Greg.

What gives the screenplay an unintentional subtext is our hindsight of Johnson's sexual preference, with the word `gay' used in its original innocent context. The subtext is particularly noticeable in the scenes between Greg and his publisher John McGrath (Hume Cronyn), from the actors performances (note how Cronyn squeals at the sight of a small snake) and one scene shot on a balcony. Johnson is bare-chested wearing a swimming costume, and Taurog frames the actors so that the line of the balcony ledge makes Johnson appear to be naked next to Cronyn. The subtext can also be read in Greg's fetishist attraction to Martha's long hair, and when Martha shows Greg her sketches of Bruce, where he asks `No nudes?'. Johnson's different behavior toward the Allyson as the prudish virgin and Arlene Dahl as Tilly, Greg's alleged `married' vampy girlfriend. Like the later Rock Hudson and even Cary Grant, Johnson's less stereotypically masculine persona plays off better with a less stereotypically female.

Beich's narrative allows for physical comedy, including much leg kicking by Danny, water splashing, prat falls, Greg being injured by Bruce's use of Greg's typewriter, traps at a woodland camping site, a snoring fat man on a bus, ants at a wedding, Martha offering her forehead for Bruce to kiss because of the disparity in height between Allyson and Derr, and `wild' driving, featuring terrible rear projection. John's car needing to be towed after it has stalled during his search for Greg provides for a nice link when Greg borrows the car of the tow truck business, and John's car is attached with John still inside. There is also a witty sea-themed bar with a mermaid cigarette girl, a waiter dressed in a deep-sea diver's outfit, and a gag with a fake octopus. Beich also gets a laugh from the first meeting between Greg and Danny, where they observe each others freckles.

Beich and Taurog also have fun playing with Allyson's persona. At first she makes Martha's pouting prudishness funny, her mouth somewhat reminiscent of Judy Garland in her good girl roles. What makes Greg's `No nudes?' line so funny is Martha's `Certainly not!' reaction. Allyson's sociopathic smiling is paralled with her hilarious faux-crying after Greg has got her drunk, and she also scores laughs from her parody of Dahl's vamp acting, including wearing duplicate clothes. As if to mock Greg, Martha gets her haircut for her make-over, though before that she wears a provocative Helen Rose sheer blouse under a white suit, which gives the impression of being low-cut.

Taurog does wonders with an obviously small budget. The black and white photography may have been made to down play the freckles of Johnson and Jenkins, but it merely makes them look bruised. Jenkins is very likeable, but Johnson becomes tiresome, and Dahl acts like she studied baby vamp under Lana Turner.

The Uncle And The Ants

[atlasmb · 7/10 · 19 July 2021]

Martha Terryton (June Allyson) is a Vermont schoolteacher who wins a contest to illustrate the next book by popular children's author Greg Rawlings (Van Johnson). When she meets Rawlings, whose pen name is Uncle Bump, his moral turpitude conflicts with her moral rectitude. The publisher, John McGrath (Hume Cronyn), is caught in the middle, trying to get them to cooperate. He concocts a story that Rawlings is only acting out of frustration, because his son is a hellion. McGrath then recruits a prodigious troublemaker named Danny (Jackie "Butch" Jenkins) to pretend to be the son.

The film's title seems irrelevant to the story. Nevertheless, it is a funny film that might be described as broad comedy.

Jackie Jenkins shows more range than expected. And Hume Cronyn, as usual, does a fine job in his role. The two stars plays rather predictable roles, but keep things moving. I think designer Helen Rose, as the busiest woman in Hollywood, deserves credit for the designs that flatter the actresses of this and many other films.

What was popular in 1948 seems pedestrian 70+ years later.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 20 November 2023]

The stardom of MGM's very popular Van Johnson and June Allyson is somewhat of a head scratcher today, most of their pairings clichéd and derivative. This screwball comedy has its funny moments, but they slip in out of nowhere, catching the bored viewer off guard. Neither seems to have the "it" factor, even in a 60's style of popularity, and some might find their over publicized careers of the 40's and 50's headscratching. Neither of their characters here are really likeable. He's a boorish letch, and she's a finger wagging prude, closer to co-star Elisabeth Risdon's character of Aunt Delia in the "Mexican Spitfire" series than a free spirited 20 something artist of the post war years.

On their first meeting, they have no spark. He's a children's book writer who seems to hate children, and she's a virginal staid illustrator, and even drunk (due to his manipulation of giving her coffee mixed with brandy), she has no fun side, even when she tearfully proclaims herself pie-eyed to publishing house executive Hume Cronyn and his officious secretary, Una Merkel. For some reason, they decide to utilize bratty orphan Butch Jenkins (and his snakes and ants and boobytraps) to pretend to be Johnson's son to win her over, and the script becomes sappy and sentimental in dealing with this horrid problem child.

The gorgeous Arlene Dahl is sadly underused as an old girlfriend of Van's, not really serving any purpose but to cause conflict in the screenwriter's efforts to convince the audience that Van and June belong together. Elisabeth Risdon is good as a not so harsh wealthy matron (nowhere near her Aunt Delia character), while the strong looking Kathleen Howard provides the stern auntie role. Richard Derr and Lloyd Corrigan fill other important parts. The funny parts are certainly not guided by the stars, rather bland in spite of the publicity surrounding one of their many pairings, but by director Norman Taurog who knows how to make bland characters get laughs by putting them in wacky situations. Allyson's sudden transformation into glamour girl doesn't really make sense.

middling rom-com

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 6 June 2023]

John McGrath (Hume Cronyn) is a publisher of children's books. Teetotaler Martha Terryton (June Allyson) wins a contest to illustrate a book. Problem is that drunken author Greg Rawlings (Van Johnson), under the name Uncle Bumps, hasn't started writing. He is taken with Martha. He recruits juvenile delinquent Danny to play his son.

The meet-cute is rather suggestive visually especially for the time. There is good potential. The story is a bit episodic. There's a whole section where the kids pretend to be Indians. I thought the book would be a good way to structure the story. Rawlings can write Danny into the book as the fake family has some adventure. The story slowly meanders and loses a little bit steam.

Contrived and stupid...and a waste of some real talent.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 9 October 2011]

June Allison and Van Johnson made quite a few films together. Most were very nice, but this one is pretty dreadful--thanks to some terrible writing and a super-contrived plot. In addition, instead of the usual sweet couple, the studio chose to cast Van as a real jerk--and it just didn't fit his on-screen persona. You know the film has trouble when the actor that came off best in the film was young Butch Jenkins!!

The film begins with Allison winning a contest to see who will illustrate the next book by a world-famous author of children's' books (Johnson). However, Johnson is NOT a nice child-friendly guy, but a heavy-drinking womanizing jerk. And, when he meets the nice and naive Allison, he proceeds to get her drunk and treats her like a piece of meat. The publisher is aghast and apologizes to her--and makes up a STUPID story about Johnson acting this way because he was a sad widow with a very unruly young son(?!?!?!). So, he talks Johnson into a situation where they need to borrow a kid (Jenkins) and pose as father and son. This is 100% contrived...and moronic.

Along the way, it's not surprising that the couple fall in love. But you wonder why--Johnson is a heel and a habitual liar. And, because of that, you really DON'T want them to find each other in the end. As for Jenkins, he's really good and plays a great Dennis the Menace sort of kid. This is a VERY welcome change, as MGM promoted him for years--even though the kid could barely act. Here, however, he's in his element--mostly because he's a bit older and finally had a decent role. But, it could NOT be a breakout role and the movie was a dud. Poor kid...and poor audience!5

Such a Fun Movie!

[Maleejandra · 8/10 · 30 August 2007]

A famous children's' story writer named Uncle Bumps (Van Johnson) needs someone to illustrate his latest book. A contest is held, and an artist is chosen, Miss Martha Terryton (June Allyson). Martha is an uptight, prudish woman with little tolerance for wasting time. Uncle Bumps is really Greg Rawlings, a young playboy with no work ethic and a penchant for young women. He attempts to work his magic on Martha, and after hard work and trickery, including telling her that he has a son (Butch Jenkins), it begins to work. That's when his married girlfriend (Arlene Dahl) comes into the picture and messes everything up.

This movie has the same sentiment that another Johnson and Allyson film does: Too Young to Kiss. There is the same love-hate relationship between the two with the obvious ending, but plenty of fun along the way. The two had a strong chemistry, which is why they made so many films together.

Another wonderful addition to this film is Jenkins, the same kid from The Human Comedy. He's a little older here, and such a lovable little boy, though he isn't traditionally cute, but he's lots of fun to watch.

The title is a misnomer...

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 27 January 2010]

June Allyson doing her thing. This time, she's a down-home gal and ace illustrator who wins a contest for her artwork to be used in a new children's book penned by the beloved Uncle Bumps, a modern-day Hans Christian Andersen. Turns out Uncle Bumps is really a hard-drinking, free-wheeling bachelor who dislikes children--yet he is so taken with this uptight artist once he meets her, he attempts to woo her under an alias. Why? It doesn't matter, for this is a vehicle for Allyson and Van Johnson (movie favorites at the time), and the script treats their characters like human bumper-cars just to keep star-watchers on their toes. Johnson's ruse is soon exposed, forcing him to emulate an honorable guy--which includes 'borrowing' an orphan to pose as his son. June threatens to dislodge him from the ranks of celebrity by reporting him to her cousin, a banner of controversial books and plays (she actually seems to proud to know such a person). Throw in an obnoxious hometown beau waiting in the wings, a wedding overcome with ants, and Hume Cronyn as a publisher on the brink of a nervous breakdown, and you have all the ingredients for a laughless family fracas done with neither style nor merit. *1/2 from ****

Mediocre Comedy

[dougdoepke · 11 October 2015]

The movie's more a collection of sometimes funny schtick than a satisfying whole. The premise of Johnson being a rather obnoxious author of children's books shows promise, especially when he tangles with prudish illustrator Martha (Allyson). In order to win Martha back Greg (Johnson) schemes with publisher Mc Grath (Cronyn) to adopt a kid (Jenkins) who turns out to be a little hellion. As they say, complications ensue. On the whole, the film's series of skits tends to crowd up without building comedic impact. For example, the climactic car ride appears more frantic than funny.

Johnson manages the madcap pretty well, while Allyson gets a straight-man role unfortunately subverting her usual sparkle. At the same time, that required restraint undercuts the pairing of its usual compelling chemistry. Of course, buck-toothed Jenkins steals the film with little boy antics for which he was so well suited. Still, his frustrated desire to be adopted does provide a poignant note. However, for me, seeing Cronyn in a slapstick role takes some getting used to since I identify him with the scary Nazi-like warden in the prison classic Brute Force (1947). He was quite an actor.

On the whole, the comedy's a decent time-passer with enough set-ups to generate a few laughs from most anyone. But a well-crafted, efficient slice of madcap, it's not.

Not Bad but Not Great

[thatdogoliver-1 · 4/10 · 20 August 2022]

Bumpy film with good stuff strewn about here and there, but it's far from a seamless ride. Doesn't often add up to more than it's various parts until the peculiarly funny ending. The leads are swell and Hume Cronyn, as an effete fussbudget, is a surprise. Richard Derr, a gorgeous hunk of man-meat if there every was one, plays a klutz.

Uncle Bumps

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 27 January 2010]

Van Johnson and June Allyson team up with young Butch Jenkins in The Bride Goes Wild, really a rather inaccurate title. She doesn't go wild at all, in fact Allyson's a very proper young lady. But she does have a rather wild wedding through no doing of her own at the climax.

She's an illustrator who is hired by a publishing company to do pictures for a series of children's books that are published under the name of Uncle Bumps. The character of Uncle Bumps as described seems to be a more civilized version of Gabby Hayes. But like Mark Twain is a creation of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Uncle Bumps is the pseudonym for Van Johnson who's a rather wolfish sort and just eagerly contemplating how to get better acquainted with June.

Allyson's a frustrated mom wannabe so Johnson borrows young Butch Jenkins from an orphanage, a kid with some behavioral issues. Today he'd be on all kinds of meds, but back in the day that wasn't available.

As Johnson is running into a creative dry spell, young Jenkins proves to be something of a muse. And he does actually draw Johnson and Allyson closer together despite the fact they have some long term involvements, he with Arlene Dahl and she with Richard Derr.

I think you see where this is going. I wish The Bride Goes Wild, misnamed title though it has was run more often. It's a nice family comedy and Jenkins has some real appeal as a child star. Allyson and Johnson were teamed many times by MGM and this film is a perfect example of their chemistry together.

A very good comedy with variety

[SimonJack · 8/10 · 28 February 2020]

"The Bride Goes Wild" is the fourth of six movies that Van Johnson and June Allyson were in, and one of five in which they were the leads. Their films ranged from drama, suspense and action to comedy romance. They were best in the last, and this is the best comedy they made.

Except for an occasional barb or slight jab, the comedy in this film isn't built around clever and funny dialog. Instead it has a variety of antics and humorous situations, including pratfalls by Johnson. In one scene, Johnson's Greg Rawlings has miscue after miscue with a nemesis character of Bruce Johnson, played by Richard Derr. Johnson's Rawlings has a pen name for the children's story books he writes -- "Uncle Bumps." Well, in this one scene with Derr, he has more lumps than bumps. He gets hit in the forehead by a gold ball, his fingers get smashed in his typewriter, he hits his head on a table, he has a door shut on his face, the typewriter carriage returns and smacks him in the face as he's getting up off the floor, he trips and falls over his typing chair, he steps on a golf ball and does a pratfall, and has a door bang into his head as he's lying on the floor.

This is one of those films with a title that leads one to wonder what the moviemakers were smoking at the time. June Allyson plays Martha Terryton, an artist who has been selected by a panel of children to be the next illustrator for a new book planned for Uncle Bumps. Rawlings snookers the country girl Martha into having a cup of coffee with him, and after several Tasmanian Coffees, Allyson plays one of the best performances on film of a happy inebriate. She's very good, very realistic, and very funny.

Hume Cronyn plays John McGrath, the publisher of the leading children's author in America (Uncle Bumps). Una Merkel plays his secretary, Miss Doberly. They mix well and add to the comedy. Arlene Dahl is Tillie Smith Oliver and Lloyd Corrigan plays Pops - booth of whom provide for some humorous moments. The other main character is Danny, the "meanest" boy in the orphanage. But looking at Jackie Jenkins with his two prominent front teeth and face full of freckles, one has to stretch to see him as mean. He is a practical joker, however, for some added light humor.

The plot is a good one and the screenplay keeps the film moving with considerable action. So, while it's not a laugh-a-minute comedy, it has a running sense of humor with some funnier injections in places that raise this well above the average comedy. It's a film that the whole family should enjoy.

Hollywood made several movies in the mid decades of the 20th century with themes of publishers bailing and and/or sobering up problem authors. While those were all fictional, the frequency of the theme in films leads one to think that perhaps that was a difficult situation with some publishers of the period.

Here are some favorite lines from this movie.

John McGrath, "See if the idol of young America has made any more of those speeches against children."

John McGrath, "Off the record, your bull was the best by far." Martha, "Oh, thank you. I just tried to think as a child thinks."

John McGrath, "Greg, you've got to grow up. You're Uncle Bumps. You okayed your pen name. You agreed to be wholesome, edifying and lovable. Greg, you're an institution. Children adore you. Their parents trust you. "

Martha Terryton, "What you need is a cup of coffee." Greg, "Oh, you're so right. A cup of coffee, then home to my typewriter. I wonder if I could." Martha " Well of course you can. Greg, "Oh, but you wouldn't have a cup with me?" Martha, "Oh, I... I'm afraid not." Greg, "That's always the way isn't it? One needs a helping hand, a grain of sympathy - one gets advice. Talk is cheap."

Greg Rawlings, "You're going too far, McGrath. McGrath, "You blew in her ear, I didn't."

Pops, "Is he a friend of yours?" Greg, "Off and on."