One of the best!
I can't say much here that hasn't already been said. I LOVE this movie! I don't know why it doesn't get more play. Jean Arthur's explosive crying made ME laugh until I cried. I don't think I had seen Joel McCrea in anything before this, but I definitely took notice of him after seeing this movie (and by the way, according to IMDB, Katherine Hepburn thought he was one of the best actors she had ever worked with). I was surprised by the sexual tension between McCrea and Arthur, and as another post has mentioned, the not so subtle innuendo. I mean this was the 40's and married couples were still shown as having separate beds into the 50's (I Love Lucy). Charles Coburn's character frustrates me sometimes, but he is so lovable in this. There is never a dull moment and when you think it is going to have a cliche ending it surprises you and manages not to be cheesy.

The remake, Walk, Don't Run isn't as good, but it has Cary Grant in it (need I say more?) taking over Coburn's character. It's worth watching if you love The More the Merrier.Walk Don't Run

Top Comedy
This movie is a topnotch comedy and one of the best to ever come out of Hollywood. It means a great cast and a great director, but the outstanding actor is Charles Coburn as a busy body poking his nose into other people`s private lives. There are many situations in the film that will have you smiling, chuckling, and laughing. Of course, Joel McCrea and Jean Arthur, are excellent performers. One of their best movies. Don`t miss this one. A must see.

Merrier and Merrier
Having watched George Stevens Jnr.'s documentary on his father, in which Joel McCrea, always self-deprecating, says he'd just finished a couple of movies, was a bit lazy and had a ranch to run, as his reason for not doing The More the Merrier, then to watch him prove he was perfect in the part. And George Stevens knew he would be. There are so many memorable moments in this film and I agree with another reviewer that it's easy to watch again and again. Jean Arthur, adorable in pyjamas and pigtails and Charles Coburn damning the torpedoes accompanied by the joyous film score. My fondest memory is Joe giving Connie the "wedding present" - a top grain, cowhide, travelling bag with all accessories and no strings attached - while he sits close beside her demonstrating its many facilities.

One or two reviewers seemed a bit exercised over the script's use of the word "Jap". I was born before the 2nd War and that was the word we used to describe the people who perpetrated the horrors of the Burma Railway and much else besides, for which no apology can atone, and for which no apology was given. (and yes, I've heard of Hiroshima). It is just a movie after all, and a very good one.

A Warm and Funny Comedy
Written with the wonderful Jean Arthur in mind, this warm and often funny take on the housing and male shortage during WWII has a perfect cast and a romantic charm all its own. Charles Coburn won an Academy Award in support of Arthur and McCrea, who gives another of his very fine but often overlooked performances from the 1940's.

Unlike the bold and zany tilt of Carole Lombard or the swanky sophistication of Constance Bennett, Arthur's magic in comedy was her serious reactions to often very funny situations. She was more down-to-earth than many other contemporaries and there was almost a Chaplinesque pathos, if you will, to some of her best performances. The viewer might know everything was going to turn out okay for her, but Arthur's characters always seemed to have their doubts, their happiness hanging by a very precarious, though often very funny, thread.

What Lombard and Arthur did have in common, at least in "The More the Merrier," was Lombard's photographer, Ted Tetzlaff. Director George Stevens brought out her vulnerability while Lombard's favorite cinematographer gave the audience glimpses of Arthur's more subdued but still palpable "wow" factor. It may have been only a fleeting glance, as in the rooftop beach scene, but it was certainly there, even if she joined Claudette Colbert in not exploiting it.

Here Jean Arthur is Constance Milligan, a working girl in Washington doing her patriotic duty during wartime by renting out a portion of her apartment. But the girl she'd had in mind instead turns out to be the hilariously pushy Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn). Dingle is a hoot trying to stick to Constance's rigid by-the-second schedule for everything. When he rents out half of his space and decides to play matchmaker, the film takes on a charm all its very own.

Joel McCrea is terrific as regular guy Joe Carter, about to head for Africa courtesy of Uncle Sam. He makes seal noises in the shower and is half the train trying to stick to Connie's schedule; choo choo sounds included! When Dingle discovers she's been engaged for a very long time to someone she doesn't even love, he goes full speed ahead trying to soften her heart in Joe's direction.

Her gradual submission to her own feelings for Joe is highlighted by his charming and tender confession of love for her and proposal of marriage through the partition which separates their living quarters. The stars are both warm and real here, making for a memorably touching scene not easily forgotten by romantics.

A kicked-out Dingle won't be deterred from what he knows is best for both of them. When propriety gets in the way, the sly Dingle nudges them towards each other where they belong. They make a fabulous threesome in this true film classic. You won't want to miss Coburn and McCrea reading Dick Tracy on the "beach" while a distracting Arthur, in high heels none the less, gets a tan. A marvelous reminder of just why we love the movies.

High def version
This DVD is in a high definition format and will not play on a regular DVD player. No where did I read that in the synopsis of the film. I also got no response when I complained to Amazon about it.