Overrated and overhyped

Admirable film.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

"Lovey Howell" (Natalie Schafer) tries to steal the opening scenes, but no-one could steal the show away from the beautiful Lana Turner. Turner is "Theo", the bride, who tries to keep her mother from butting in. James Craig is "Miles", the close friend, but she will marry "Tom West", a good soldier from Boston (John Hodiak). This was a WW II film, so of course, the issues of war, and getting married before one goes off to war were in everyone's mind. This was an earlier credited role for most of the cast, but it all comes off quite well. Not much of a deep story, but it's well done. Turner really lit up any scene, once they put a light on her. ( If you haven't seen Postman Always Rings Twice, it's her shining role!) The ups and downs of married life. It's a bit of war time propaganda... Lana always seems to be thinking out loud, voicing all her thoughts all the time, whether she's with her friends or her husband, almost in a child-like fashion. At one point, Theo looks at a sign that says "DO NOT ENTER".. and enters anyway, destroying army equipment. Seems pretty unrealistic. How entitled of her! About half way through, the plot goes off in other directions, and it gets more serious. It's almost two hours, but they could have done all this in shorter time. It's pretty good. I'm sure it carried more weight with folks who really were going through all these same issues during wartime. Directed by Robert Leonard, who had started EARLY in the silents.

Lana Turner might have been a good actress, but her personal life was a mess. She was married seven times and none of them lasted very long. So, having her star in "Love is a Private Affair" is ironic indeed. The film seems inspired by her own life, as Theo (Turner) has been brought up by a spoiled and narcissistic mother (Natalie Schafer) who seems to get married about as often as most folks change their underwear! And, not surprisingly, Theo is ill-equipped for marriage. Only eventually does she realize that marriage is not about finding the perfect partner but about being able and mature enough to be married. While this isn't a bad film and it is worth seeing, the film has two things working against it. First, having Turner star in a pro-marriage film is a bit ridiculous and today this sort of casting might make folks laugh. Second, and a more serious problem, is that the film takes a long time getting to Theo's sudden revelation and the happy ending. You know it's coming but the film seems to take forever getting there.

this is truly a collectors item. turner is at her most beautiful, all baby doll pout and velvet sincerity. production values are high. its a cult film that merits rediscovery. a big hit in 1944, it grossed 2 million at the box office, in the days when a hit was really a hit. audiences loved lana in her dimpled heyday and this film screens like a valentine to her sensuality. don't miss it. they don't make stars like lana anymore. gore vidal is on record as saying that he saw this film while young and that it had an impact on him. he mentioned it years later in myra breckinridge. tennesse williams worked on an early draft of the screenplay, and privately referred to it as a celluloid brassiere for miss turner!

I liked it. I thought it portrayed the struggles which many of us have. Lana Turner's character is undecided in life about quite a few issues, particularly marriage, though she also seems to have certain ideal views of these subjects. The last half of the movie I thought had the plot thicken so that her ambivalence would indeed make her character get stretched to the testing point. Actually quite a few testing points occur: with longtime boyfriend, husband, girlfriend, etc. After seeing the wreckage in her life and those around her, she does reach some mature decisions.While we each may not have the same marriage commitment problem this movie showed, we can nonetheless use it as metaphor for our other personal struggles.