The Groom Wore Spurs (1951) starring Ginger Rogers, Jack Carson, Joan Davis, Stanley Ridges directed by Richard Whorf Movie Review

The Groom Wore Spurs (1951)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Jack Carson and Ginger Rogers in The Groom Wore Spurs (1951)

Ginger's Not Alright Jack

Beautiful lawyer 'A.J.' Furnival (Ginger Rogers) finds herself assigned to help out Ben Castle (Jack Carson) the popular singing cowboy whose movies have legions of fans including A.J. herself. Ben needs help as the last time he was in Vegas he got himself a gambling debt to a gangster and needs someone to sort it out. It doesn't take long for Ben's Hollywood smile to win A.J. over, not that it takes much anyway, and they are heading down the aisle. But as soon as they wed the realisation hits them, especially A.J. who discovers Ben is nothing like his public persona, in fact he wears lifts in his boots, can't sing for love nor money and can't ride a horse either. But that is not their only problem when something happens to the bookie Ben owed money to.

Ginger Rogers had a way of speaking which was mesmerising, when she said yes in that smooth tone it just grabs you time and again. And when you combine that voice with the way she smiles and looks at you with a sparkle in her eyes simply makes you fall in love with her. Rogers did this in ever single romantic comedy and every time no matter whom she was acting opposite would steal the scene. And frankly Ginger Rogers is the best thing about "The Groom Wore Spurs" a tame romantic comedy from the early 50s which it appears has fallen in to the public domain making it legal to watch online.

The thing is aside from Ginger Rogers' winning qualities the rest of "The Groom Wore Spurs" is only so so and requires you to leave your senses at the door and believe an attractive, career minded woman like A.J. would be so foolish and smitten with an obvious fake movie star as to marry them. It is too much of a stretch to believe this could happen and the comedy of A.J. and Ben is surprising weak and only really grabs you when Ginger is fluttering her eyelashes at him. It does make some amusing jabs at Hollywood and how stars can be very different in real life but even then it isn't great.

What this all boils down to is that "The Groom Wore Spurs" is now one of those movies which is for fans of one of its stars who want to watch it to tick it off their list. But when watched for entertainment it comes up short.


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