Designing Woman

A comedy about the marriage of a couple from entirely different worlds. Mike is a sportswriter. His work is boxing, racing and casinos. Marilla is a fashion designer; her world is theatre, design and society. They meet on holiday and marry in haste. Then they return to New York, start living in the same flat, and discover they have nothing in common. The comedy comes from the collision of those circles: boxers and choreographers gather at the flat on the same evening. In the side line, the mob is after Mike over a piece he wrote; that line of threat feeds the comedy too. What the film is known for is its screenplay; it won the Oscar for original story. Gregory Peck plays Mike and Lauren Bacall plays Marilla. Vincente Minnelli directed; the use of colour and the costume design carry the film's visual spine. A pleasant choice for anyone who likes 1950s colour Hollywood comedy and the template of two worlds colliding. For a viewer looking for a modern perspective, the film is bound to the period's idea of marriage and some of its resolutions look dated now.