Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love Triangle, December 26, 2005
Let's Make it Legal is a film about a couple who are divorcing. The wife (Claudette Colbert) has decided that she has had enough of her husband's (MacDonald Carey) gambling and calls it quits. It is obvious that he still loves her and their grown daughter (Barbara Bates) does all she can to fix them up again. However, an old flame (Zachary Scott), now a well-known political figure, comes into town and practically sweeps the newly single wife off her feet, creating a stir in the family.
Although this film has been entered into the Marilyn Monroe collection and features her photo on the cover, this is one of her early roles and therefore she is hardly in the film. Her part is as a client of Carey. She performs the way a new actress would, slightly forced but undeniably sexily.
The real star of this film is Claudette Colbert, obviously older than she was in her prime but still quite beautiful. She plays her part confidently as the epitome of a desirable woman who takes care of her family with ease and still has time to do the things that make her happy.
Zachary Scott is attractive and somewhat reminiscent of Clark Gable, a co-star of Colbert's in several films. However, he does not have the same chemistry with her that Gable did.
MacDonald Carey, however, does. Even in the few scenes in which his character gets along with his former wife, sparks fly.
Barbara Bates is very beautiful as the daughter of the separated pair. She plays her part sympathetically as the new adult who cannot do anything for herself. She is appropriately childlike.
Overall, this film is better than one might expect. It is peppered with witty dialogue and a sweet plot. It is certainly no masterpiece, but it is a nice way to spend 76 minutes.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Colbert delights in B-comedy charmer, January 4, 2006
Claudette Colbert adds her special charms to LET'S MAKE IT LEGAL, a charming B-comedy from Twentieth Century-Fox, which also features Marilyn Monroe in one of her early "cheesecake cameo" roles.
Claudette Colbert plays Miriam, who is in the final stages of divorcing her gambling husband Hugh (Macdonald Carey). But Hugh wants to stay married and is willing to pull every trick in the book to ensure Miriam stays with him. Competition arrives in the form of Victor (Zachary Scott), Miriam's highschool sweetheart, a self-made millionaire who quickly begins wooing her all over again. It's going to be the battle to end all battles as Hugh and Victor go head-to-head in their efforts to win Miriam.
Barbara Bates and a young Robert Wagner co-star. Marilyn Monroe's role of Joyce, a client of Hugh's, is quite small, but Fox has issued this film and a few others as supplements to the `Marilyn Monroe Diamond Collection' box sets. Fans will enjoy it, but fans of Claudette Colbert will love it even more.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Movie from the Pre-TV Era, March 17, 2004
By A Customer
Let's Make it Legal was an enjoyable movie from an era before the pervasiveness of television necessitated that movies be done on scales grand enough to compete with the small screen. This is just a simple little story with an impressive cast. Great for the Robert Wagner fan, as it was one of his first roles, and he is featured prominently. Claudette Colbert is great as always. And, to the reviewer who said we shouldn't watch it because Marilyn Monroe is only on screen for eight minutes, it should be remembered that not everyone is looking for Marilyn Monroe.
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