Prismark10 Rodeo cowboy Chris (Fred MacMurray) has a whirlwind romance while visiting New York for a charity gig where he meets song writer Kay (Irene Dunne.)After rapidly getting married she drives cross country to his ramshackle Wyoming ranch where she becomes stepmother to his two daughters from his first marriage.Much of the movie sees Kay trying to adjust to her life at the ranch and raise her new stepdaughters. Problems begin with the neighbouring rancher who holds the water rights and whose cow, Kay accidentally shoots.Kay contemplates returning to Broadway to earn money in this fish out of water comedy. The cast make the film better than it should be, there are a few songs but it really is not that funny and rather predictable.

vincentlynch-moonoi Our story begins at a charity rodeo in New YOrk City where one of the cowboys (Fred MacMurray) meets and quickly falls in love with a song writer (Irene Dunne). They are next seen after their marriage as they return to the ranch, where MacMurray has 2 young daughters from his previous marriage (which ended with the death of his wife). The ranch is a simple one that shows promise, but the overarching problem is water rights. The Wyoming folks enthusiastically welcome the new wife...except for neighboring rancher William Demarest, who holds the water rights. Dunne fits right in...except for with Demarest, whom she accidentally humiliates at a party. Much of the early part of the film traces her difficult (but good-spirited) adjustment to ranch life. Then, she accidentally kills Demarest's prize steer. She almost returns to New York where she could quickly earn money to help pay for more water rights, but she feels she is needed by the children and her husband, so declines the Broadway job. But, eventually things go from bad to worse, and she does return to New York, only for MacMurray to be dragged (or should I say carried) by Andy Devine to patch things up.This is a somewhat typical romantic comedy, but they resist the common temptation to resort to an imagined affair and jealousy as a reason to scotch the marriage and lead to kissing and making up. That's where I thought it was going, but thank goodness they followed a somewhat more realistic route. The one complaint I have is that a simple solution would be for her to work on her music at the ranch and not have to return to New York City. Ah well, that would be too obvious.Irene Dunne is wonderful here. Humorous and warm...perfect for the role. Fred MacMurray should never have taken the role on "My Three Sons"; it forever tainted his career, and people mostly forget what an important and beloved actor he was; he's very good here an believable as a cowboy/rancher. William Demarest is almost cartoonish here; they should have lightened him up just a tad. Andy Devine is seen mostly at the beginning and ending of the film, but he's good here, and important the story line. Natalie Wood again is a young girl, the elder daughter; she seemed like a natural.Nice gentle humor with a warm love story. A very nice film.

jotix100 Irene Dunne, one of the best comediennes in the history of the movies, retired from acting after completing this comedy that was not up to her best work. Ms. Dunne was seen in great films during her Hollywood career that were made better by her style, sophistication and beauty. Alas, in this one, her character, Kay Kingsley is swept off her feet to a rancher who lives out west.Kay Kingsley is part of a composing team based in Manhattan. Kay is elegant, smart, and it's hard to imagine she would fall in a short period of time for Chris, who is way out of her league, and who comes with some baggage, as he is a widower with two young daughters back home. This is a big proposition because it involves leaving behind modern plumbing and heat. Accepting that premise, Kay transplants herself to the ranch that is falling apart because of neglect and lack of money to improve it.Things go from bad to worst. The two girls, Nan, and Tina, give Kay a guarded welcome, but they come around when they see she is a good person who has had no experience with her present situation. With the help of her neighbor Jean, Kay gets a handle on things, not before running away to Manhattan to try to see if she still wants her old life back.The film was directed by George Marshall, a veteran of the movies, who tried to give the comedy some pacing, but doesn't succeed well. The problem with the film is Fred MacMurray, an otherwise perfect actor, who shows no chemistry with Ms. Dunne. Irene Dunne tries her best to make her Kay a wife and step-mother. William Demarest, Andie Devine, Ann Doran and Philip Ober are seen in supporting roles. Gigi Perreau, a child actress of the time, plays Tina, and Natalie Wood, who, as Neil Doyle points out, was probably having problems at the time and is not her usual self as Nan. See the film as a curiosity and because this was Irene Dunne's swan song at the movies.

Neil Doyle IRENE DUNNE, for some strange reason, is called "Buckshot" by her cowboy husband FRED MacMURRAY. That alone is supposed to be funny and endearing. Not.Too bad that after the smash success of films like LIFE WITH FATHER, Irene Dunne was so desperate for good parts that she agreed to settle for a film like this--tedious, predictable, banal sort of comedy that struggles manfully to be funny by putting her through some slapstick paces that are about as funny as a stubbed toe.Occasionally there's a lull in the proceedings that gives Dunne and MacMurray a chance to remind us that they're still the same old likable stars. But then the script takes over again and forces them to play a series of unlikely scenes.For good measure, they have two obnoxious girls (played by a plain looking Natalie Wood who clearly did have an awkward stage, and Gigi Perreau). They add nothing to the charm or situations which strain for laughs. One of the comedic highlights is supposedly when Dunne shoots a neighbor's pet bull. You get my drift.You can skip this one. Even the presence of two top-flight stars can't save it from being the most inappropriately titled comedy of the decade.