Coronet Instructional FilmsMarriage Is a Partnership (1951)

Flashback on the problems, adjustments and transformations occurring in the first year of a couple's married life.

This item is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Coronet Instructional Films
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Marriage; Gender roles

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: ERD - - February 22, 2006
Subject: Dated but nice film

Not all women have the luxury of giving up their jobs in today's modern world. However, the concept of a successful marriage having to be a partnership is excellent. Ajusting to various problems does take some time to work out; Communication is an essential ingredient in doing this. Thus while this film is dated, it still has some good points

Reviewer: iljc116 - - October 17, 2004
Subject: Parents NEVER go away!!!!

When I first saw Dotty alone on the train, I thought they had separated(which probably seemed almost impossible at that time)! And, at least for me and my boyfriend, our parents never seem to go away - our apartment is 2 hours away from mine, and 6-7 hours away from his, and they still butt in!

Reviewer: Marysz - - July 19, 2004
Subject: Postwar Marriage Problems

Newlyweds Dottie and Pete move into PeteÂs momÂs two family house. Pete works with DottieÂs dad at the factory and the couple has trouble separating from their respective parents. This films shows us a more close-knit (and claustrophobic) America than today. To make matters worse, DottieÂs quit her job so she has nothing to do all day except cook, have bridge parties and get annoyed with her widowed mother-in-law. Dottie becomes desperate for compliments from Pete about her cooking and housekeeping becauseÂshe admitsÂher life seems Âunimportant and dull. Despite this filmÂs brave mention of sex, the film is doesnÂt question why Dottie quit her job for no reason other than getting married. If sheÂd kept her job, she would have been grateful to have her mother-in-law around and wouldnÂt have cared if Pete popped upstairs to visit his mom on the way home from work. And Pete has problems with DottieÂs dad, who he feels is keeping him from developing his own identity down at the plant. This is the old industrial America; the America that manufactured its own goods and employed workers at a living wage.

Pete gets offered a new job in Central City and the couple decide that they both need to grow up and separate from their families. In a sight that looks incongruous today, they make their move by getting dressed up and taking a train to Central City. Dottie narrates the film. As the wife, sheÂs the one whoÂs expected to put the most work into the marriage. Now she can lead the same boring life in Central City that she did in her home town. Actually, it will be worse. If she has a baby, sheÂll be even more isolated. Much as she resented her mother-in-law, sheÂll miss not having any family around to help out with child care. Marriage may be a partnership, but it looks like DottieÂs had to give up more than Pete.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - November 4, 2003
Subject: The Honeymoon is over!

Pretty surprising film coming from Coronet about the "Honeymoon Is Over" drama that newlyweds face. the cute couple is faced with the bored housewife (Husband convinced wife to quit her job) and the bothersome attachment husband had with his mother, who lived upstairs. Just when Wife was going to say "It's her or me!" Husband says he got a job offer in Central City, and wants to move away from the pressures of HER father, so it instantly swerves to take the load and pressure off the husband again. An interesting ending to a movie you wouldn't expect from the folks at Coronet.

Reviewer: Lewis Payne - - February 13, 2003
Subject: Remarkable, perhaps a bit long

More or less similar to other social guidance films, but perhaps different in it's promotion of marriage as an equal partnership. The marriage between Dotty and Pete is still pretty traditional - Dotty quits her job to be a homemaker once they are married - but some more modernistic ideas come out, such as the idea that the two newlyweds decide together how the money that Pete earns will be spent, and the small mentions of sex. Apparently, the "educational collaborator" listed at the beginning, Lemo Rockwood, was a professor at Cornell University who's marriage course advocated sexual frankness and pre-marital experimentation, so it's easy to her (albeit limited) stamp on this film. A bio of Rockwood and info on her course can be found here - <a href="http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/homeEc/bios/lemorockwood.html" rel="nofollow">Lemo Rockwood</a>

Shotlist

DOTTY, ON A TRAIN BY HERSELF, REFLECTS BACK ON FIRST YEAR OF MARRIED LIFE. FLASHBACKS DRAMATIZE SOME OF THE MAJOR PROBLEMS THAT AROUSE BETWEEN PETE & DOTTY; THEIR FIRST APARTMENT, ARGUMENTS, RESPONSIBILITIES, DECISIONS, FINANCIAL & PERSONAL ADJUSTMENTS.


MARRIAGE COUPLES WIVES HUSBANDS FAMILY LIFE IN-LAWS APARTMENTS CAREERS JOBS