If you want to see what the jury system was like in Los Angeles circa 1950, this is the film for you. Before the drama begins it feels like one is watching a docudrama. The only problem is that it's so drawn out, we're itching to get to the story a lot faster than what actually transpires.
Perfect Strangers reunites the team of Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan who starred almost a decade earlier in Kitty Foyle, a box office success.
Rogers plays Terry Scott who is selected for jury duty along with David Campbell (Dennis Morgan). Terry is separated and David is trapped in an unhappy marriage with two children.
The film represents a slight slap in the face to the production code as marital infidelity is held up as not such a bad thing. Terry and David fall in love during the trial which parallels the murder case they are charged with deciding.
The trial is wholly circumstantial with a husband being accused of pushing his wife off a cliff while having an ongoing affair with a mistress.
The film is partially a comedy as the sequestered jurors all manage to argue among themselves over numerous trivial affairs as well putting forth strong opinions as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant (all in contradistinction to the judge's orders not to discuss the case).
Thelma Ritter is perhaps the most notable of the jurors playing Lena a pregnant housewife who reflects the initial majority opinion of the jurors (that being not guilty!).
The drama becomes mildly interesting toward the climax when three holdouts must be persuaded of the defendant's innocence by their fellow jurors (including Terry and David who side with the defendant as well).
Margalo Gillmore as the arrogant socialite Mrs. Bradford plays the heavy until coming around after her prejudice against insensitive husbands is exposed by an intuitive David.
Don't expect much suspense from the trial. The DA's decision to prosecute the defendant seems ill-advised as there is no real substantial evidence that the victim was actually pushed off a cliff by her husband.
And as I already implied, the jurors for the most part are quite liberal as they don't seem at all affected by the infidelity which the DA seeks to use to inflame the passions of the jury.
Nonetheless the production code cannot be ignored entirely. Terry decides not to look up David even after initially agreeing to a half to full year trial separation before deciding whether to obtain divorces from their respective spouses.
What we're left with here is a romance that goes nowhere and a coterie of unfunny caricatures that make up the rest of the cast (i.e. Terry and David's fellow jurors).
The outcome of the story proves more interesting than what comes before but overall Perfect Strangers packs little punch.
Perfect Strangers reunites the team of Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan who starred almost a decade earlier in Kitty Foyle, a box office success.
Rogers plays Terry Scott who is selected for jury duty along with David Campbell (Dennis Morgan). Terry is separated and David is trapped in an unhappy marriage with two children.
The film represents a slight slap in the face to the production code as marital infidelity is held up as not such a bad thing. Terry and David fall in love during the trial which parallels the murder case they are charged with deciding.
The trial is wholly circumstantial with a husband being accused of pushing his wife off a cliff while having an ongoing affair with a mistress.
The film is partially a comedy as the sequestered jurors all manage to argue among themselves over numerous trivial affairs as well putting forth strong opinions as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant (all in contradistinction to the judge's orders not to discuss the case).
Thelma Ritter is perhaps the most notable of the jurors playing Lena a pregnant housewife who reflects the initial majority opinion of the jurors (that being not guilty!).
The drama becomes mildly interesting toward the climax when three holdouts must be persuaded of the defendant's innocence by their fellow jurors (including Terry and David who side with the defendant as well).
Margalo Gillmore as the arrogant socialite Mrs. Bradford plays the heavy until coming around after her prejudice against insensitive husbands is exposed by an intuitive David.
Don't expect much suspense from the trial. The DA's decision to prosecute the defendant seems ill-advised as there is no real substantial evidence that the victim was actually pushed off a cliff by her husband.
And as I already implied, the jurors for the most part are quite liberal as they don't seem at all affected by the infidelity which the DA seeks to use to inflame the passions of the jury.
Nonetheless the production code cannot be ignored entirely. Terry decides not to look up David even after initially agreeing to a half to full year trial separation before deciding whether to obtain divorces from their respective spouses.
What we're left with here is a romance that goes nowhere and a coterie of unfunny caricatures that make up the rest of the cast (i.e. Terry and David's fellow jurors).
The outcome of the story proves more interesting than what comes before but overall Perfect Strangers packs little punch.