Bretaigne Windust directed Perfect Strangers (aka Too Dangerous to Love), a serio comedy set in the courtroom.
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Theatrical release poster
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Grade: C+ (** out of *****)
Edith Sommer wrote the script from an adaption written by George Oppenheimer, based on the 1939 play “Ladies and Gentlemen” by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht.
Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan play jurors who fall in love while sequestered during a murder trial.
Thelma Ritter, Margalo Gillmore, and Anthony Ross co-star in supporting roles.
The film was released by Warner on March 24, 1950 to mixed critical response.
Terry Scott (Ginger Rogers), who is separated from her husband, and unhappily married David Campbell (Dennis Morgan), the father of two children, meet when they are selected to serve on the jury of the Los Angeles trial of Ernest Craig (Ford Rainey).
The defendant is charged with murdering his wife because she refused to grant him divorce. While sequestered during the lengthy proceedings, Terry and David get to know each other and fall in love.
Some dramatic tension is added to the plot by juror Isobel Bradford (Margalo Gillmore), a snobby socialite who tries to sway the panel to vote for the death penalty.
The film marked a reunion between Rogers and Morgan, who had previously co-starred together as lovers in the highly successful 1940 Kitty Foyle, for which Rogers won the Best Actress Oscar.
Lacking any narrative energy, the two stars are stuck with routine, borderline dreary roles, while it’s the secondary cast that provides some interest–and fun.
Cast
Ginger Rogers as Theresa “Terry” Scott
Dennis Morgan as David Campbell
Thelma Ritter as Lena Fassler
Margalo Gillmore as Mrs. Isobel Bradford
Anthony Ross as Robert “Bob” Fisher
Howard Freeman as Arthur Timkin
Alan Reed as Harry Patullo
Paul Ford as Judge Byron
Harry Bellaver as Bailiff
Note:
TCM showed the movie on May 12, 2021.
