Perfect Strangers

Another recent movie watch was the British film Vacation from Marriage (original title Perfect Strangers), which, due to its interesting provenance, is actually available on DVD courtesy of the Warner Archive.

Robert Donat plays Robert Wilson, a bookkeeper married to Cathy (Deborah Kerr) in London in April, 1940. This is of course during World War II and the time of the Nazi blitz on London. Robert has decided he's going to do his part for the war by joining the Royal Navy, but he's a bit meek, having the same routine day after day and being a bit afraid to ask his boss to make up the pay difference since he's a few weeks short of the five-year tenure to get that. However, Robert feels that he has to be the protector of Cathy, who is even more fragile than he is.

Robert goes off and shows he's go no experience with naval life, although he does slowly begin to take to it. Cathy has been left in their London flat, a place that she really didn't like even though she never told Robert this because she thought Robert needed the stability thanks to his meekness. So now that he's gone, she decides that she too is going to do her part by joining up with the WRENs (the Women's Royal Naval Service), the UK equivalent of the WAVEs.

Cathy quickly makes a friend in Dizzy (Glynis Johns), but like Robert she too is not ready for the women's equivalent of naval life. However, also like Robert, she does slowly being to open up in the WRENs, especially when she gets the chance to do something slightly heroic by taking a message to headquarters by boat, the road and telephone both being out. She even gets over her constant colds.

Time goes on, and both halves of the couple become more changed persons, even meeting a person who might be falling in love with them. Neither one is certain about having anything more than a friendly relationship with the new person who loves them, but both of them are uncertain that they want to go back to their old relationship after the war, having seen what life can really be like.

So after three years apart, the two each get ten days' leave at the same time, and each decides that they're going to bring up the idea of divorce. They don't realize, of course, that the other partner has changed, and that divorce might not actually be necessary.

Director Alexander Korda and his London Films signed a contract with MGM that was supposed to lead to three pictures, although this turned out to be the only one. The movie works out well, mostly thanks to a really strong supporting performance by Glynis Johns. I'm not the biggest fan of Donat, and at times his character seems off to the point of dislikeability. Kerr is much more sympathetic here.

If you like little pictures that work, then Vacation from Marriage is certainly one worth watching.