The Marriage Playground (1929) User Reviews (9)

In the 1920s divorces were easy to obtain...

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 3 December 2021]

... birth control, not so much. And thus the dilemma of this film. At a seaside resort Martin Boyne (Fredric March) meets 17 year old Judith Wheater (Mary Brian) as she is trying to corral her younger brothers and sisters. There are at least half a dozen of them, I had trouble counting them all. It turns out Martin knows the parents - Cliff and Joyce Wheater (Huntley Gorden and Lilyan Tashman). But he didn't know that they had previously divorced, remarried others, then divorced and remarried again, and in each union there were children. And now the Wheaters are arguing again and the many Wheater kids do not want to be separated when the Wheater parents inevitably divorce.

Martin agrees to get all of the parties together - and that includes all of the ex-spouses, their spouses, and future Wheater spouses, and try to figure out a way for all of the kids to stay together. But it is futile as they start sniping at each other and eventually lose interest in the entire conversation as they have a polo match to go to.

The complicating factor is that Judith is falling in love with the older Martin, but Martin has a dragon lady of a fiancee to which he is devoted. On Judith's side, though, is the fact that she and Martin are the only real adults in the room.

It appears Judith has spent her entire life caring for her younger siblings and has not even been properly schooled, because early on she writes Martin a note and misspells common words badly. The film makes a point of showing you this, so it must have meant something.

This was a unique concept for a film - I don't think I've seen anything quite like it before - parents of means who act like children having lots of actual children and emotionally neglecting all of them. But it does suffer from some common early talkie problems such as scenes that go on too long and the necessity of having a rather static camera. What is great about it is seeing the furnishings, clothing, and manners of the well to do at the end of the roaring 20s. Also, even a little of Kay Francis and Lilyan Tashman go a long way.

So Called Adults May Have Their Fun

[boblipton · 6/10 · 8 December 2021]

Huntley Gordon and Lilyan Tashman are out traveling the world and wrangling, leaving Mary Brian to raise her five step-brothers and sister by herself. A chance meeting with Frederic March leads him to promise to get all the parents, step-parents, prospective step-parents and former step-parents together to hash things out; the basic issue being that none of the children wish to be separated from the other. Meanwhile, Miss Brian develops a passion for March, who has his own fiancee to consider.

There are lots of fine performers in this, including among the children Mitzi Green, Phillippe de Lacy, and Anita Louise, and among the adults Kay Francis and Seena Owen. I'm afraid that the varying relations among the adults reached the point of bafflement for me, arousing a sense of frustration that might be parallel to those felt by the children. One of the good points about pre-code movies is that they were not afraid to tackle the issues of divorce, not only the occasional need for it, but the problems raised by it when so-called adults.marry, have children, get divorced, and repeat, again and again, as if they and they alone must deal with the consequences. The rules of dramatic construction call for a neat ending, and there is one. Reality, alas, is not so simple.

It's still early days for talkies, which means that holdovers from the silents, like Miss Brian, sound unnatural with their lines, while newcomers like March are just fine.

Smart early talkie comedy with delightfully precocious kids and adults who act like them.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 7 August 2012]

With her constantly battling father Huntley Gordon and stepmother Lilyan Tashman too busy traveling around to take care of her six younger siblings (by various other women), 17-year old innocent Mary Brian must raise them. A chance encounter with an old family acquaintance (Fredric March) makes Brian take a look at her family situation.

This early talkie seems actually a few years younger thanks to witty dialog, a camera that does more than sit there, and some nice outdoor scenes (mostly at the beach) as well. Anita Louise and Mitzi Green are the most familiar of the cute actors playing the kids, while some amusing lines are given to Maude Turner Gordon (as the aunt of March's love interest) who cracks after receiving a telegram, "Who's dead? I hope its someone I don't like".

The 23-year old Brian, already a veteran from silent films, is an absolute doll. Tashman and Gordon are amusingly uppity as the neglectful parents who can barely stand each other (yet travel all over the world together). To add to the hilarious confusion, one of the step-mothers (Kay Francis) shows up with an ultra effeminate husband (William Austin) with her. "You may not believe it, but I make the funniest face", he says to Francis' daughter, Green. I half expected Green to retort, "Without really trying, I'm sure." Green turns step daddy into her own personal horsey, while March does all he can to prevent Francis and Tashman from ripping each others hair out when they encounter the other (in the same dress!).

Seena Owen plays the cold-hearted Rose, Brian's rival for March's affections. Yes, the plot is a bit convoluted, and it takes some sorting out to remember whose child is whose, but it is all so funny. The romance between Brian and March develops slowly (as he is in love with someone else), but it helps the viewer deal with the obvious age difference between the two characters. There were few comedies of the early sound era that manage to hold up today, and this is one of them.

Crappy Parenting 101.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 22 November 2023]

"The Marriage Playground" is an interesting film. While it is a Pre-Code film (since it came out before July, 1934), its sentiments are both Pre-Code AND Production Code at the same time. While Production Code films almost never talked about divorce in this sanitized version of Hollywood, poor behavior was nearly always punished. In the case of "The Marriage Playground", it does talk about divorce, like many Pre-Code films, it also seems to condemn it...especially when it comes to its effect on children....making it strongly in line with the virtues of the Production Code era. As for me, I loved its message...as too often in divorces, the kids seem to get the short end of it and the film points this out vividly.

Martin (Frederic March) meets a nice young lady, Judy (Mary Brian), and it taken with her. She is quite upset because yet again, her parents are in the midst of a divorce...and this means that the family will be ripped apart. Some of the kids will go with their father and some with their mother, as the couple have already been divorced in the past. Judy is angry and hurt, because she's the oldest and the caretaker for her sibs...many of which she might not see again. She has seen it before and loathes to see it again, so she tries to get Martin to help her scheme to keep her parents married.

For 1929, the sound quality of this film is pretty good, though compared to later talkies, it does sound a bit flat and the characters tend to stay in one place due to the limitations of early sound films. This makes the film a bit more stilted than 1930 and later films, but it's not terribly so.

So is the film any good? Well, considering that it stars March, it can't be bad! I appreciated its message about selfish parents and terrible parenting...there aren't that many films which dare to tackle this. The ending is a bit easy to predict, but considering it's a nice happy ending, I didn't mind. Overall, for 1929, it's a swell picture.

Stilted amateurish acting, poor direction, dismal comedy

[bbmtwist · 2/10 · 22 October 2013]

The other three reviews thus far seem to be addressing a different film altogether. The pacing here is funereal, the actors don't act their lines, they speak them, slowly and haltingly, as if we were at a first rehearsal of a high school drama performance. There is no talent to speak of, even Kay Francis is subdued. Fredric March is embarrassingly bad. Some of the facial expressions are truly laughable.

I have not yet read the novel, THE CHILDREN, from which this is derived, but I doubt it was a comedy. Irresponsible playboy/girl rich adults behaving like children and leaving a wake of seven stepchildren in their entourage, constantly being torn apart, as the adults switch marriage partners, yearning to remain together as siblings - hardly stuff of comedy - perhaps it was a further indication of the distorted times during which the film was made that it was adapted in this fashion.

This was remade in France in 1990 under its original title, but the film is not available on DVD for comparison.

A real chore to sit through and a colossal bore to boot.

Fredric March surrounded by children disappoints

[hollywoodlegend · 2/10 · 11 March 2014]

I am eager to see all of Fredric March's pre-1940 films. Some of them are brilliant. Others are just OK, but his performance is always top-notch, regardless of the material. Or so I thought. If this were the first time someone was seeing March, they would never know he was a professional actor.

Mary Brian plays March's college friend's daughter. A series of marriages and divorces has left a large collection of children in her primary care. She is only seventeen. After a whacky meeting on the beach, the young girl and the kids are all smitten with March. However, March's character is engaged to a widow he has allegedly loved for a long time. You see where this is going. The age difference is supposed to seem acceptable, though March initially protests, and viewers are left to see which woman he finally chooses to marry.

If you want to see young Mitzi Green, with her loud mouth, or young Anita Louise, you might enjoy this film. Lilyan Tashman always turned in a good performance when playing a villain. The delightful Kay Francis is less than enjoyable here though. Mary Brian is probably the best performer in the cast, but I didn't like her character. March's devotion to the children seems unnatural, and I couldn't see him as a believable husband to either woman. I came in wanting to like this film, but after viewing it, I don't understand the good reviews it got at the time.

Makes divorce look so simple

[CinedeEden · 4/10 · 2 October 2022]

Big fan of the early talking pictures because of their historical purpose in the history of film. I love the shots of the beach and the clothes these people wear everyday as well as the furniture of the time. This film however besides its historical importance quiet dull to my eyes. What is intresting is the actors and actress of the early days of the talking picture and how their careers formed later on in the 30s-40s Mary Brian who plays judy stared in films with cary grant and james cagney. Lilyan Tashman is very intresting she starred in 3 lost pictures such as "no, no nanette" (1930), "gold diggers of broadway" (1929). And "the cat creeps" (1930). She was popular in her day and she passed in 1934. Fredric March would go on the be in "the best years of our lives" (1946). A young Anita Louise appears in the film and was famous to play along side Shirley temple. And even appeared in another sought after lost film called "4 Devils" (1928).

Super Screwball Comedy Gem

[arthursward · 10/10 · 4 November 2002]

Here are the quickest 75 minutes of your life. A delightful pre-code cocktail recipe. Take three couples (add gin and tonic), their several divorces and the seven children/stepchildren of their intermarriages and blend thoroughly, and you have a mixture a too-young-to-believe Frederic March will try to straighten out.

Whew! That said, let me straighten out a possibly intentional preconception. These sophisticated couples, with an early flirting reference, seem to be playing to the naughty implication of the title. You'll comprehend the title once you've met the kids, because they are the heart of this film. Now a cast including Frederic March, Lilyan Tashman, Kay Francis and Seena Owens giving great performances can't be upstaged, right? Well this batch is the best I've seen. They steal every scene and are given lines which mirror just what you're thinking. And they deliver them like bullets. It's timed like some successful stage play where the comedy has been closely honed in front of an audience. March is doing his job just keeping a straight face!

It all works thanks to a wide open Mary Brian as the oldest (17) of the kids. Her full throttle approach to the role locks all the elements together. She has to work vigorously to keep stability in the kids custodial situation. Indeed, spying on her charges, she discovers them playing Divorce Court.

Director Lothar Mendes loaded the film with brilliant touches. Mary Brian as Judy has a full, puffy coiffure while the other females have close, short hairstyles. The eternally effeminate William Austin's on hand to be Kay Francis' "big, strong (rich) man". Mitzi Green teaches him what its like to be a father, making him her pony. The children interface with adults on adult terms, playing them like violins. I won't disclose some delicious scenes as they should be yours to discover. Have fun!

Mary Brian Outshines Them All !!!

[kidboots · 10/10 · 11 October 2011]

I have read many of Edith Wharton's novels and I have found "The Children" to be the one I liked least. It told the story of a group of children, products of the marriages of a group of wealthy jet setters who party their way across Europe. The children, under the guidance of the eldest, Judith Wheater, are being raised, trying to keep them all together. The narrator, Martin Boyne, finds himself falling in love with Judith, and I thought it a bit too much - Boyne was in his 40s and Judith, at the start of the novel was 14!! I just wondered how a film would work but with Kay Francis, Mary Brian, Lilyan Tashman and Mitzi Green I was intrigued and I have to say it worked very well.

After a run-in with a group of unruly children Martin Boyne (Frederic March) makes the acquaintance of the eldest, Judy (Mary Brian) and finds her father, Cliff Wheater, was an old school friend. He also finds out that all the children are the offspring of his friend's different marriages - boy is he "reeling"!!! Judy is determined to keep all the children together, she even gives them lessons, she wants to give them a real home. The children are boisterous and gorgeous there's Blanca (Anita Louise) who is in such a hurry to grow up, precocious Zinny (Mitzi Green) and sickly Terry (Phillipe De Lacy) among them.

"Are you forgetting I'm the mother of your children" says saucy Lilyan Tashman, when she is accused of flirting. "No" replies Wheeler "but I guess they have"!!! Martin promises Judy he will stay longer than planned and help her parents patch things up for the sake of the children - so they will not have the constant fear of being separated. A disruption is caused by the arrival of Zinnia DeCross (Kay Francis) mother of Zinnie, who wants to take her away. By the time Zinnie gets through "befriending" her new stepfather (William Austin) he will be happy if he never sees her again!!

This movie is such a lot of fun, helped along by Mary Brian, who outshines everyone with her portrayal of Judy, going up so fast yet still enough of a kid to be put out when Zinnia gives her present to Blanca instead. Brian proved she had more in her than her title of "the sweetest girl in movies" seemed to indicate. This was the first film of Mitzi Green who became very popular as one of the first "movie brats" of the thirties, she often co-starred with Jackie Searl. Anita Louise was an exquisite child star who portrayed Greta Garbo as a child in "A Woman of Affairs". She never really went through an "awkward" age and was popular right through the 30s in films like "Marie Antoinette" and "The Sisters". Phillipe De Lacy was popular in the 20s, he played in 2 Garbo films - "Flesh and the Devil" and "Love".

Seena Owen was obviously typical of the silent stars who with a huge career behind them found they just couldn't handle dialogue. As Martin's mercenary fiancée Rose, she sounded stilted and recited her part with no feeling.