The Mating Game (film) The Mating Game (film) The Mating Game (1959) is an MGM Metrocolor film in CinemaScope directed by George Marshall, and starring Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall and Paul Douglas in his final film role. Reynolds sings the title song during the opening credits. The film was written by William Roberts very loosely based on a British novel, "The Darling Buds of May" by H. E. Bates, which was later adapted into a more faithful 1991–93 British miniseries, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones in the role that Debbie Reynolds plays in the film. The film has been featured on Turner Classic Movies, and was
Martha E. Cram Bates Martha E. Cram Bates Martha E. Cram Bates (August 25, 1839 – March 23, 1905) was an American writer, journalist, and newspaper editor. She was widely known throughout the Grand Traverse region, and throughout the State of Michigan as well, having been closely identified with literary work since childhood. She was, perhaps, the first woman in the state who engaged in regular newspaper work, having been connected with the "Grand Traverse Herald", of which her husband, Thomas Tomlinson Bates, was editor, since 1876. Martha Elizabeth Cram was born in Northville, Michigan, August 25, 1839. She was the daughter of Mr.