Sorry, this movie sucks

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Forty-something Claudette Colbert (she was 48 at the time) is waiting for her divorce decree to become final. She lives in a beautiful home in southern California which she shares with her married daughter and her husband (Barbara Bates, Robert Wagner). He works at a local resort hotel with his father-in-law (Macdonald Carey) who keeps coming around the house to tend his roses and talk Colbert out of the divorce. He has a gambling problem.The daughter (Bates) is a whiny, annoying little thing who wants mommy to wait on her, cook, and help with the baby. Wagner wants to move out, but Bates wants to stay to help her parents get back together. Enter millionaire Victor (Zachary Scott), a former rival for Colbert's hand.Scott is about to land a big government appointment and has returned to his home town for publicity and moves into the resort where Carey is PR director. Also staying there is Miss Cucamonga (Marilyn Monroe), who's out for all the publicity she can get.Of course Scott ignores Monroe and zeroes in on old flame Colbert, much to the annoyance of Carey. The divorce becomes final and Colbert announces she will marry Scott. Daughter Bates goes into a tizzy at the thought of losing mommy and having to set up her own home with Wagner.What settles Colbert's mind in the matter is when she learns why Scott did not propose to her 20 years before and why Carey did. Will she really marry Scott or will she reconcile with Carey? Seems far-fetched by today's standards, but in 1951 divorce was still a big deal. The stars all do well here with Monroe notable in her "build-up" period with 20th Century-Fox. Colbert looks great though she's a decade older than her suitors.Co-stars include Kathleen Freeman, Frank Cady, and Vici Raaf.Bates' character is truly annoying and selfish and almost ruins the film.

Let's Make It Legal is an amiable lightweight comedy that gave Marilyn Monroe a featured role in her days on the rise as a legend. The stars are Claudette Colbert and MacDonald Carey who are calling the marriage quits after over 20 years. Waiting in the wings is an old beau of Claudette, Zachary Scott who lost Claudette to Carey back in the day and has gone on to become a captain of industry and awaiting a presidential appointment besides.The reason for the divorce is Carey's drinking and gambling. His only other indulgence is his garden where he's grown some prize rose bushes.Two other interested parties are their son-in-law Robert Wagner and daughter Barbara Bates who live with Claudette with their baby girl. Bates won't leave the mother alone and wants her parents back together. Wagner wants to have their own home and if she won't get back together with Carey, Wagner will push a marriage with Scott.Carey should have done more comedy in his career, he had a nice light touch and does a marvelous drunk act. Colbert is a veteran comedy performer and the part was definitely no strain on her. Still Let's Make It Legal will never be among her top fifty. And Scott is shown up to be something of a cad in the end.The nucleus of this story is how Carey won her and what he does to win her back. Fans of the main players should enjoy Let's Make It Legal and others will to.

This is a seriously flawed movie that still manages to be interesting--an odd combination to say the least. With a slight re-write, this could have been a much more enjoyable film.The film finds Claudette Colbert living in a house with her annoying daughter and son-in-law. As for Colbert's husband (Macdonald Carey), he's about to become the ex-husband--though the divorce was not his idea. Colbert is sick of Carey's gambling and he shows no sign of changing. As for the son-in-law (a very young Robert Wagner), he's sick of living with his in-law and it's all his wife's idea. The wife (Barbara Bates) is very, very lazy and likes that her mother takes care of her and the baby--and she also holds out hopes that her parents could reunite. But Wagner is against it--and would LOVE to see Colbert marry her rich old sweetheart (Zachary Scott) as they'd undoubtedly leave to live in his mansion--and Wagner and his wife could FINALLY be alone. Much of the film consists of Colbert being wooed by Scott and Carey trying to win her back.The basic story idea is good, but the execution left quite a bit to be desired. The problem was in the characters. With the possible exception of Colbert, the rest were all very, very difficult to like! The daughter (Bates) in particular was awful and very one-dimensional--and nothing like a real human being. To call her annoying is a definite understatement and I was looking for Wagner's character to rap her in the mouth (and I usually am strongly against spousal abuse...but I'll make an exception here). Wagner is a bit selfish and hard to like--plus he needed to show some backbone. As for Carey, he WAS a gambling addict and SHOULD have been divorced! Yest, by the end of the film, he hasn't changed one bit...yet he DOES win his wife back despite this! Finally, the film is predictable and hasn't got a decent payoff.By the way, in another case of deliberately dishonest marketing, Marilyn Monroe is on the DVD case and all recent advertising. However, she's barely in the film at all---and if you're not paying attention you might not even notice her!!

This is quite possibly the worst Marilyn Monroe movie I have ever seen,it's not poor Marilyn's fault though. If you want to blame anyone for ruining this movie blame Barbara Bates and Robert Wagner. All Bates does in this movie is whine and complain , and she doesn't do it very well either.Wagner is Bates' husband who wants her to stop trying to get her divorced parents back together, and just like Bates, he gets so annoying you just want to slap him by the end of the movie. The two saving graces of "Let's Make is Legal" are Claudette Colbert and Marilyn Monroe, who doesn't have enough screen time.