Merrily We Go to Hell
Encyclopedia
Merrily We Go to Hell is a 1932 Pre-Code film starring Academy Award winning actor Fredric March
and Sylvia Sidney
. The film was directed by Dorothy Arzner
. The film's title is an example of the sensationalistic titles that were common in the Pre-Code era. Many newspapers refused to publicize the film because of its racy title. March plays a man undone by alcoholism
. The title is a line his character says while making a toast
.
March plays an adulterous husband and Sylvia his wife, who, when she discovers his adultery, cheats on him with Cary Grant
. The film received a mixed review from The New York Times
upon its release.
" and that she intends to have affairs herself.
When Jerry is next seen he is making a "Merrily we go to hell" toast with Claire. In turn Joan and her date toast to the "holy state of matrimony–single lives, twin beds and triple bromides in the morning." Joan becomes pregnant, and finds out she is in poor health. She tries to tell Jerry, but he is busy with Claire, so she moves on. Jerry quickly realizes that he loved her all along. He sobers up, returns to Chicago, and works as a reporter again, but Joan's father keeps them apart. Jerry discovers Joan's pregnancy from a gossip columnist and goes to the hospital to be with her. He has to force his way into her room, and discovers his wife near death. The baby is dead. Movingly, a repentant Jerry pledges his love to her in a heartfelt plea.
...
Joan Prentice
Fredric March
...
Jerry Corbett
Adrianne Allen
...
Claire Hempstead
Richard "Skeets" Gallagher
...
Buck
George Irving
...
Mr. Prentice
Esther Howard
...
Vi
Florence Britton ...
Charlcie
Charles Coleman ...
Richard Damery
Cary Grant
...
Charlie Baxter
Kent Taylor
...
Greg Boleslavsky
, film critic for The New York Times
, gave the film a mixed review upon its release. Hall believed the film was wildly funny in stretches, and described the acting by the two leads as "excellent", but Hall felt the scenes where March played intoxicated went nowhere, and that the script was lacking. However, despite similar reviews, which often noted that it had been directed by a woman, the film was one of the more financially successful films that year.
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
and Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
. The film was directed by Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner was an American film director. Her directorial career in feature films spanned from the late 1920s into the early 1940s, a time period in which there were very few—if any—other women working in the field.- Biography :Born in San Francisco, California, Arzner grew up in Los...
. The film's title is an example of the sensationalistic titles that were common in the Pre-Code era. Many newspapers refused to publicize the film because of its racy title. March plays a man undone by alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. The title is a line his character says while making a toast
Toast (honor)
A toast is a ritual in which a drink is taken as an expression of honor or goodwill. The term may be applied to the person or thing so honored, the drink taken, or the verbal expression accompanying the drink. Thus, a person could be "the toast of the evening," for whom someone "proposes a toast"...
.
March plays an adulterous husband and Sylvia his wife, who, when she discovers his adultery, cheats on him with Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
. The film received a mixed review from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
upon its release.
Plot
Jerry Corbett (Fredric March), a Chicago reporter and self styled playwright, meets heiress Joan Prentice (Sylvia Sydney) at a party and they begin dating. Even though Jerry's economic prospects are dim and he is an alcoholic, he proposes to Joan. She agrees to marry him, against her father's objections. Even when Jerry becomes inebriated at their engagement party, Joan stands by him. Jerry writes some plays which are rejected, and fights the urge to drink. He manages to sell a play and they go to New York to see it produced. The star of the production is Jerry's former girlfriend Claire, and on the premiere night he gets drunk, and mistakes Joan for Claire. Still, Joan stands by him. When Joan catches Jerry trying to go to Claire's one night she kicks him out. The following day she tells him that they will have a "modern marriageOpen marriage
Open marriage typically refers to a marriage in which the partners agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded as infidelity. There are many different styles of open marriage, with the partners having varying levels of input on their spouse's...
" and that she intends to have affairs herself.
When Jerry is next seen he is making a "Merrily we go to hell" toast with Claire. In turn Joan and her date toast to the "holy state of matrimony–single lives, twin beds and triple bromides in the morning." Joan becomes pregnant, and finds out she is in poor health. She tries to tell Jerry, but he is busy with Claire, so she moves on. Jerry quickly realizes that he loved her all along. He sobers up, returns to Chicago, and works as a reporter again, but Joan's father keeps them apart. Jerry discovers Joan's pregnancy from a gossip columnist and goes to the hospital to be with her. He has to force his way into her room, and discovers his wife near death. The baby is dead. Movingly, a repentant Jerry pledges his love to her in a heartfelt plea.
Cast
Sylvia SidneySylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
...
Joan Prentice
Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
...
Jerry Corbett
Adrianne Allen
Adrianne Allen
Adrianne Allen was an English stage actress.Most often seen in light comedy, played Sybil Chase in the original West End production of Private Lives and Elizabeth Bennet in the 1935 Broadway production of Pride and Prejudice.She appeared in several films and was the mother of Daniel and Anna...
...
Claire Hempstead
Richard "Skeets" Gallagher
Richard "Skeets" Gallagher
Richard "Skeets" Gallagher was an American actor.He was educated at Rose Polytechnic Institute and Indiana University. He first studied civil engineering and then to become a lawyer but ended up on the stage...
...
Buck
George Irving
George Irving (American actor)
George Henry Irving was an American film actor and director who made over 200 films in his lifetime. Some of his best known movies were Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Hearts Divided, A Night at the Opera, Son of Dracula, Hangmen Also Die!, Once Upon a Honeymoon, and Maid's Night Out.-Death:Irving...
...
Mr. Prentice
Esther Howard
Esther Howard
Esther Howard was a film character actress who played a wide range of supporting roles, from man-hungry spinsters to amoral criminals, appearing in over 100 movies in her 23-year film career.-Career:...
...
Vi
Florence Britton ...
Charlcie
Charles Coleman ...
Richard Damery
Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
...
Charlie Baxter
Kent Taylor
Kent Taylor
Kent Taylor was an American actor.Born Louis William Weiss in Nashua, Iowa, Taylor appeared in more than 110 films, the bulk of them B-movies in the 1930s and 1940s, although he also had roles in more prestigious studio releases, including I'm No Angel , Death Takes a Holiday , Payment on Demand ,...
...
Greg Boleslavsky
Reception
Mordaunt HallMordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for The New York Times, from October 1924 to September 1934....
, film critic for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, gave the film a mixed review upon its release. Hall believed the film was wildly funny in stretches, and described the acting by the two leads as "excellent", but Hall felt the scenes where March played intoxicated went nowhere, and that the script was lacking. However, despite similar reviews, which often noted that it had been directed by a woman, the film was one of the more financially successful films that year.