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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 July 2023
Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? (hereafter, referred to as Honeymoon) is a small-scale 80-minute British comedy with all the hallmarks of a B-movie despite its talented Anglo-American cast and distinguished veteran director Maurice Elvey. As explained in Chapter 2, although well on the way to becoming a major movie personality in Britain and the States in 1953, Dors had to wait another two years before she could truly be considered a film star. Consequently, Honeymoon wasn't a Dors’ star vehicle but rather an ensemble comedy in which the American actor Bonar Colleano received first billing for his role as the main protagonist. Nevertheless, Dors outshone him and everyone else here despite maintaining an understated and naturalistic performance. The twentyone- year-old actress is spectacular in Honeymoon, which is only partly due to her youthful beauty and slender physique. In a leading role, she asserts her star qualities with a supremely self-confident performance. My focus in this chapter is therefore on how Dors performed her role in Honeymoon as if she was a major movie star.
The saga of an unnecessarily fraught and farcical honeymoon with two wives
American naval commander Laurie Vining (Bonar Colleano) arrives in England with his new bride Gillian (Diana Decker) only to have his honeymoon gatecrashed by his first wife. The glamorous model Candy Markham (Diana Dors) believes that she's still legally married to Vining on the grounds that his American-obtained divorce is not binding in Britain. Consequently, having moved into the guest room of his hotel suite, she refuses to leave until a once-promised £5,000 settlement is honoured. Vining tries to keep this from his bride, summoning his lawyer Frank Betterton (David Tomlinson) to assist him in getting rid of Candy. It subsequently transpires that the sexually inhibited Frank has always been in love with Candy, who eventually falls for his bumbling boyish charms.
Prior to getting his heart's desire, Frank is repeatedly humiliated. Having been forced to spend a night in a bathtub, for instance, he wakes to find that the taps have been turned on, soaking his borrowed garish pyjamas. Meanwhile, Laurie is exhausted after spending much of the night standing on his head while attempting to avoid his new wife's sexual advances.
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