The Mating Season (1951)

“If you’re a chicken, you can fool people about your feathers. But when you start laying eggs all over the place, they know you’re a chicken.” – Ellen

Number of Times Seen – 1 (3 Jun 2019)

Brief Synopsis – After closing down her hamburger shop in new Jersey, a wean travels to the Midwest to spend some time with her son who is trying to make a name for himself in a new business.

My Take on it – This is another film that I knew absolutely nothing about before seeing it on a list of films that have received an Oscar nomination for at least one of its performances.

The film is done really well and the comedy of errors that they present here are able to keep things so much fun and enjoyable the whole time.

The story is filled with so much energy and it’s hard not to laugh at everything that happens along the way especially when we have knowledge that the characters themselves do not.

The cast of this film is amazing and they all do wonderful jobs here.

Gene Tierney, John Lund, Miriam Hopkins and Thelma Ritter are all able to create some great and realistic characters for us to watch.

Despite the way that the censors ruled the industry at the time this was made, they were able to give us a great depiction of the life of a newlywed couple by use of innuendo and hints which allow us to get a better understanding.

The chemistry between Lund and Tierney also helps because it’s quiet easy to believe the budding relationship between the characters.

Ritter plays her character with lost of energy and was quite deserving of an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in this film.

Bottom Line – Really well done film that due to it comedy of errors manages to stay so fun and enjoyable from start to finish. Amazing cast led by Tierney, Lund, Hopkins and especially Ritter help raise the level of enjoyment of it all because of what the viewer knows and the characters aren’t even aware of. They do a great job dealing with the aspects of newlyweds by use of innuendo and hints which works well especially in the era that the censors kept a close watch on everything. Ritter was very deservingly nominated for an Oscar for Brest Supporting Actress for her work here which truly stands out among the rest. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Although playing his mother in this film, Thelma Ritter was only 9 years older than John Lund. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)