Charming and brutal

Better Late Then Never

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Serviceman and aspiring writer Jim Scott returns home after the war to find his wife Connie had bought a rundown apartment building. With a large mortgage and no other income, the married couple work to fix up the old building. New renter Mr. Patterson seems rich but his many identities suggest a con man. He entices widow tennant Eadie Gaynor and an FBI agent comes asking questions. Jim's war buddy Bobbie rents an apartment. Connie is surprised to find the expected guy Bobbie turns out to be the sexy WAC Roberta Stevens (Marilyn Monroe). Scott friend Ed Forbes (Jack Paar) is taken with the former model. When the city orders the building to be rewired or be condemned, the Scotts face financial ruin.Obviously, Marilyn Monroe is the big draw for modern audiences. At the time, she had caught the eye of the studios before hitting it big. She has the blonde look and the beautiful smile but she's not the breathy bombshell yet. It's really only a supporting role. It's great to see an earlier version of the iconic blonde. The plot isn't much. The lead couple is sweetly charming in a white bread way although he could be nicer to her. He's still a man of his times. The laughs aren't big but it's nicely easy. Nothing is outstanding except for sexy Monroe but that's all one needs anyways.

I found this one on the "Movies!" channel, released in 1951, in glorious black and white, but set in immediate post-WW2 1946. This is primarily a romantic comedy with 1950s sensibilities.June Haver is Connie Scott, her husband has been gone for 2 1/2 years, fighting in WW2. Her husband is William Lundigan as Jim Scott. He has been sending money home as he is able, she has been saving it, so they could start their "love nest" when the war ended.Jim comes home a few days early to surprise Connie, but the surprise is on him. She used the money as a down payment to buy a multi-floor house in the city, they would live in one section and rent out the other units. The income from the rentals would pay for their mortgage, and Jim could settle in to his writing career.The problem turns out the building was not in very good shape, inspectors required the electrical wiring to be redone, the building shook every time the fire truck passed in the street, and the tenants had ongoing plumbing problems that needed to be addressed. Plus, it turns out the "good deal" Connie got was about $5000 more than it was worth, and that was a big sum in 1946.A colorful side story is added by Frank Fay as Charley Patterson, one of the new tenants. Charlie is quite the charmer, but as his whole story unfolds he is wanted by the FBI as a bigamist who cheats gullible old widows out of their money.In a minor, but important, supporting role just a few years before her big movies, Marilyn Monroe is Bobbie Stevens, a WAC that fought with Jim overseas. She returns to the city and needs a place to rent. Her being a tenant creates some jealousy, but also offers a romantic interest for Jack Paar as Ed Forbes, a friend of Jim's.Overall a very pleasant, enjoyable movie.SPOILERS: The law finally catches up with Charlie right after he marries one of the nice ladies who also is a tenant. But Charlie says he is reformed, he is now a one-woman man, and serves 18 months in jail, but also collaborates with Jim as the author, they write a best-selling book of Charlie's adventures, splitting the profits, which gives Jim and Connie the cash to make their place into the love nest they wanted.

William Lundigan plays a veteran coming home from the service. He finds that his wife, June Haver, has bought a tenement--a dilapidated one. The place is a bit of a money pit and the young couple struggles to keep the place afloat. However, when they learn that the place is about to be condemned, they seem at the end of their ropes.In this apartment complex are many interesting characters and stories. The most interesting is Charley (Frank Fay)--an older man who seems to have made a career out of romancing women. And, since he's so charming, it's easy to see why women adore him. There's also Lundigan's old army buddy--played by Marilyn Monroe. The wife is NOT thrilled to see who her husband palled around with while in the army--and she's not excited to see her move in to the vacant apartment! It's interesting to see her being wooed by Jack Paar in one of his few roles before striking it big on "The Tonight Show" on television.Overall, the film is a light and fun film. While it's not especially deep, it is enjoyable throughout--with a cute script and nice acting.

Rather forgettable sit-com story that wouldn't be worth watching at all if not for the fact Marilyn Monroe is in the film. She's fine in her sexy "army buddy" role of Billie. But the script by I.A.L. Diamond (frequent collaborator with Billy Wilder) is pedestrian at best, without a genuine laugh in the whole film. It is easily the weakest of the four Marilyn Monroe films Diamond wrote.The rest of the cast is mostly forgettable. Frank Fay is not as interesting as one might have hoped in the role of the serial womanizer and June Haver is less than memorable as the star of the film. Only Monroe has that certain charismatic screen presence that demands we watch her--especially as she gets undressed--takes a shower and wears a towel! As for the rest of the film, this nest is bare.