My Favorite Wife
by Garson Kanin
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Grant Cary, Irene DunneDirector: Garson Kanin
Brand: NEW Line Home Video
Writer: Bella Spewack
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-06-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: T6749
Studio: Turner Home Ent
Movie Reviews of My Favorite Wife
Movie Review: A fine film featuring absolutely first rate comic performances
Summary: 5 Stars
MY FAVORITE WIFE is not among the very best comedies of pre-war Hollywood, but it is nonetheless quite excellent, driven by a strong script, superb lead performers, and a number of great character performances. Cary Grant is the finest comic actor film has produced and this film demonstrates that as well as any. Though he was equally as good in classics such as BRINGING UP BABY and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, those films were so marvelously directed, so superbly well written, and filled with such an overabundance of great actors that one might not notice just how outstanding Grant was (that is not the case with HIS GIRL FRIDAY, where even among an embarrassment of riches, Grant stands out and dominates the film). Here Grant is surrounded by fewer talented actors, is working with a slightly less superb (though still quite good) script, and is directed by the writer instead of the director originally scheduled for the project. Originally the plan was to reunite Grant, Irene Dunne, and Leo McCarey, the big threesome of the classic 1937 screwball THE AWFUL TRUTH. Unfortunately, McCarey had a car wreck just before shooting was begun and was unable to be on the set. Canin did a good if not spectacular job. Unlike his fellow writers Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges, both of whom became fulltime directors of their own scripts around this time, Canin primarily remained a writer for the rest of his career.
Still, the film was more successful than it should have been, mainly because of Cary Grant, though Irene Dunne was certainly a strong presence as his costar. But in rewatching the film, it becomes obvious that almost all of the great comic moments are Grant's. What is remarkable is that he essentially plays a coward. The plot is simple. A man goes before a judge to get his wife declared dead after she has been missing for several years, apparently drowned in the Indian Ocean, so that he will be free to remarry. The judge grants the request and then marries them, but of course the next scene shows the wife who has been declared dead arriving at her home, just after being rescued (why she wouldn't have called first isn't explained). Learning that her husband has remarried and is about to go on his honeymoon, she follows after. Much of the humor of the film revolves around cowardice, Grant's inability to tell his new wife that his old wife has miraculously returned from the dead, and Dunne's reticence to tell him that she had been stranded on the island with beefcake Randolph Scott. That really is about all the plot there is. They manage to get a lot of mileage out of Grant's inability to come out and say what he wants. He is the epitome of the incommunicative male. The film is also enlivened by a number of superb supporting actors. Virtually none of the great comedies off the studio era in Hollywood failed to feature a group of first rate character actors. Here the two that most stand out are Granville Bates as the Judge in a magnificently performed role and Donald MacBride as the exasperated, confused, and highly suspicious hotel clerk.
The film is interesting for the pairing of Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, about whom rumors have circulated for decades. I've never seen any good evidence that either was gay or bisexual or involved with one another, but the rumors have persisted nonetheless. The primary "evidence" seems to have been that while they were roommates during the 1930s they were unusually good housekeepers, keeping their apartment meticulous. Why neatness should be evidence of homosexuality I am not sure, but we know for a fact that both Grant and Scott dated women extensively through the thirties, but there is no evidence whatsoever of any physical relationship between the two. Sadly, the rumors of their having had a relationship apparently took a toll on their friendship. This film was made well after the rumors had begun but after they had ceased rooming together and well before their friendship largely ended.
All in all, this is one of the more enjoyable comic films of the age. It isn't a classic in the mold of HIS GIRL FRIDAY or BRINGING UP BABY or THE LADY EVE, but it is nonetheless an exceptionally easy to like and enjoy film featuring great performers at their peak.
Note: If one scans the reviews below one will note several mentions of colorized versions. I believe that these refer to the old VHS versions. Amazon often meshes reviews of DVDs with older reviews of VHS versions of films. As far as I know--though I could certainly be mistaken--I do not think this has ever been released on DVD in colorized form. At any rate, the current retail version is certainly in pristine black and white. So don't be afraid that you are about to purchase a colorized film.
Summary of My Favorite Wife
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