Marriage-Go-Round

Joy in the Morning, an addled little idyl based on a novel of the same name by Betty Smith (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn), has enough sentiment and heartbreak to fill several movies; what it sorely needs is a touch of cynicism and perhaps just a glimmer of recognizable truth. Hero Richard Chamberlain (TV's Dr. Kildare), struggling through law school during the 1920s, elopes with an Irish-American lass (Yvette Mimieux) whose tenement origins and uninhibited candor are purported to be rather embarrassing for him. Actually, Yvette conceals her social liabilities behind a peekaboo brogue and matching hairdo.

Though all dressed up for the giddy era of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joy takes place on a campus that has its spiritual roots in ooze and Oz. Beyond a tiny little bridge spanning a tiny little stream, the two beautiful Young Marrieds find a tiny little dream house in which to adjust. Even their garbage is lovely, crisp and green as a garden-fresh salad. "Sometimes it's not so bad being poor, the way we're poor," says Richard.

Tiny little problems do crop up, however. Sex. Money. Family. When his harsh father (Arthur Kennedy) cuts off support, Richard has to take a night-watchman's job. Yvette causes gossip when she befriends a pansy florist and accepts baby-sitting jobs at the home of a kept woman. But soon Yvette becomes pregnant, and spring arrives bringing birdsong, title song, birth, graduation, and a proper Catholic wedding. Short of a winning ticket in the Irish Sweepstakes, who could ask for anything more?

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