Tonight's Movie: Married Before Breakfast (1937)

MARRIED BEFORE BREAKFAST is a cute MGM "B" movie starring Robert Young as an inventor who comes into a financial windfall when he sells his razorless shaving cream formula. In the space of a single night, Young uses his newfound wealth to bring joy to his friends in his boardinghouse, gets mixed up with mobsters and milkmen, and ditches his stuffy fiancee (June Clayworth) in favor of a pretty travel agent (Florence Rice).

You can see the plot coming a mile away; the fun is in following Young and Rice through their madcap night. They make a good team, and a scene where they're hiding in a janitor's closet and start to see each other in a different light is charming. The film is by no means a classic, but it has an attractive cast and is a pleasant, fast-paced diversion.

The supporting cast includes a young Hugh Marlowe as Rice's fiance, plus a number of recognizable character actor faces such as Mary Gordon, Leonid Kinskey, Tom Kennedy, Barnett Parker, and Tom Dugan.

Florence Rice was a lovely blonde leading lady who spent nearly a decade on the screen, including a long stint at MGM, yet she never hit the top ranks of the profession. One of her best roles was costarring with Melvyn Douglas in the first film in the Sloane mystery series, FAST COMPANY (1938). Other Rice films previously reviewed here are DOUBLE WEDDING (1937) with William Powell and Myrna Loy, and a diverting "B" movie about student nurses, FOUR GIRLS IN WHITE (1939), costarring Kent Taylor, Ann Rutherford, and Alan Marshal.

MARRIED BEFORE BREAKFAST was directed by Edwin L. Marin. It runs 70 minutes.

This film can be seen on cable on Turner Classic Movies. The trailer is here.

May 2019 Update: MARRIED BEFORE BREAKFAST will be released on DVD by the Warner Archive.

July 2019 Update: My review of the DVD may be found here.