For Better, For Worse (1954)
British Quad Poster
For
Better, For Worse,
a British romantic comedy directed by J. Lee Thompson, starred Dirk Bogarde and
Susan Stephen as a young married couple facing the challenges of starting a new
life together. It’s interesting that the
themes of the film are substantially relevant today for young American couples
getting started in life, in that young couples often try to begin their life
together by generally maintaining the standard of living to which they have
grown accustomed, but they do not really have a first job that is sufficient to
support that lifestyle. I am not going
to dwell on this movie, because my primary goal in watching it was to assess
what was purported to be (by IMDB), the screen debut of Jocelyn Lane in an
uncredited appearance. Furthermore, I am
not well-versed on British films, directors, and actors of the era, so I do not
feel particularly qualified to provide commentary on the film. With that said, I found this film shot in
color to be reasonably entertaining with an 80-minute running time. Bogarde and Stephen provided good
performances. I doubt that I will ever
watch it again, but it was worth a single viewing.
According to IMDB,
the film premiered in London on September 27, 1954 and in the U.S. on June 20,
1955 (as Cocktails in the Kitchen). Based on the release date in London, I would
think that the film was shot in the spring of 1954, but I have not seen any
information to confirm that.
As for Jocelyn, I
could not spot her in the version that I watched by way of a youtube VOD
rental, which had a running time just short of 80 minutes. IMDB shows an 85 minute running time, so I do
not know if that makes any difference as far as Jocelyn is concerned. There was one brief scene, at the couple’s
wedding, where I thought Jocelyn might be one of the bridesmaids. One of them is never in the frame enough to
show her face, and the other mostly faces away from the camera as the couple is
leaving the church. She does, however,
turn very briefly before the scene ends.
Although it could be Jocelyn, it does not appear to me to be her. If anyone has any information on whether
Jocelyn appeared in the film, please leave a comment.
For Better, For Worse was released by the Network label on DVD in Great Britain in 2014.
Here is some British promotional material for the film. I have not seen any U.S. promotional material.
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