Retro Dating Video, 'Choosing For Happiness,' Teaches You How To Snag A Husband By Changing Your Personality

Looking to land a husband? Just make sure you don't criticize him, encourage him to try new things, or speak your mind.

That's the advice given in an educational 1950s dating movie, "Choosing For Happiness," from a series of films based on Henry A. Bowman's book "Marriage For Moderns." In the film, college junior Mary investigates her senior friend Eve's struggles to find a steady boyfriend.

"I was amazed that she wasn't engaged by now," Mary muses. Susan Patton would be proud, but given that the median age at first marriage was around 19 in the late 1950s, Mary has something of a point here.

Mary and Eve revisit what went wrong with Eve's three most recent beaus -- a womanizing footballer, a student more interested in math than anything else, and an antisocial boat hobbyist. Hardly an inspiring spread, but Mary is convinced that Eve herself is the problem. "You can't make a man over like you do a room," she warns her friend.

While it's probably good advice not to try to change the other person -- in any relationship -- self-editing to accommodate someone else or their idea of you has not been shown to be a terribly healthy or successful approach either.

Mary doesn't see it that way. "I learned that it's a good idea to change yourself first, if there has to be a change," she says.

(h/t The Gloss)