My Favorite Wife
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Movie Reviews of My Favorite Wife
Movie Review: "I bet you say that to all your wives."
Summary: 4 Stars
Some may be surprised at my reviewing a film like this, as the movies I usually review tend to fall into the science fiction and horror genres, but I do enjoy all kinds of films, especially romantic comedies from Hollywood's golden age. There's something about films from 30's and 40's that I don't often see in movies today, and I would define it as class. Characters in these old films often exuded a suave, sophisticated demeanor you rarely see in contemporary releases...maybe it had something to do with the now defunct studio system in those days, one that always tried to promote it's contract actors in the best possible light, cultivating and protecting them like the valuable commodities they were, elevating their status to a level usually reserved for royalty. Nowadays, every wart, blemish, and pimple, metaphorically speaking, is exposed (remember not so long ago when Hugh Grant got caught in that tryst with that rather seedy street walker? Fifty years ago the general public would have never heard about it), revealing the stars of today are a lot like us, except for the fame and fortune...but I digress...My Favorite Wife (1940), directed by Garson Kanin (They Knew What They Wanted), reunites the stars of the earlier film, The Awful Truth (1937), Cary Grant (Arsenic and Old Lace, Notorious), and Irene Dunne (Show Boat). Also appearing is Randolph Scott (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), Gail Patrick (My Man Godfrey), and character actors Donald MacBride (The Thin Man Goes Home) and Granville Bates (Of Mice and Men).
The film opens with Nick Arden (Grant) appearing in court, attempting to have his wife, Ellen (Dunne) who's been missing for the past seven years, declared legally dead, so that he may remarry. Seems Ellen signed on an expedition as a photographer, and the ship she was traveling on was lost at sea. Well, the very day Nick convinces the court to declare her dead and marries his new wife (Patrick), a very alive Ellen reappears determined to regain her old life back (she was stranded on a island, but was able to flag down an errant ship) and Nick now must face the fact that he's an unintentional bigamist. It's obvious Nick's still in love with Ellen, but just can't seem to muster the nerve to tell his new bride that his old wife has come back. And then there's also a bit of an obstacle in that of the very handsome Stephen Burkett (Scott), also a member of the ill-fated expedition, and the man Ellen shared her island with the past seven years, and, as you may have already guessed, has the hots for Ellen...oh dear, what a mess...
Let's face it, you really can't go wrong with a Cary Grant comedy, and My Favorite Wife is no exception. The main brunt of the comedy comes from Grant's character's unease at breaking the news to his bride (she seems the high maintenance type, the kind men would normally acquiesce to rather than deal with the inevitable confrontation) about the return of his once thought deceased wife, with whom he's still deeply in love with...Grant plays the role of the seemingly normal man, who knows what he wants, but just not how to go about getting it, thrust into a downward spiral of confusion and comedic perplexity trying to adjust to an outlandishly complex situation that only gets worse as he attempts to pull himself out. The very attractive Dunne also plays her role very well as the genial, confident woman determined to pick up where she left off, believing in her heart the complexities of the situation will resolve themselves in her favor, but feeling the growing uncertainty that her husband will find the resolve to do what she knows he feels in his heart to be right. The scene where she finally brings herself to reveal her identity to her young children (she was gone for seven years, so they were too young to remember her) is very sweet, but deftly avoids the schmaltz one would see in a lesser film. These two, talented actors really work well together, giving the impression of a perfect pairing whether on or off the screen, and showing a level of familiarity that obviously comes from prior, on screen couplings. Other performances worth mentioning are that of Donald MacBride as the somewhat accommodating but soon morally flustered hotel clerk (Ellen shows up just prior to Nick and his new bride checking in for their honeymoon), and curmudgeonly Granville Bates as the flummoxed judge trying to sort the whole mess out. I guess the only problem I have with the film, an issued shared by at least a few other people, is it just feels a bit light. The actors flesh their characters out as much as the screenplay allows, and do it well, but the underlying material seemed a bit skimpy. A perfect example is Randolph Scott's character...he seemed more of just a hollow plot device rather than an integral part of the story, and his impact is felt so little that when not on screen, he's pretty much forgotten. I can't help but wonder how audiences received the material within the film, specifically the whole `bigamy' angle, if there was some level of concern from a moral standpoint. I thought the story handled it in an unlikely manner, but certainly possible one.
The black and white, full screen, original aspect ratio picture (1.37:1) looks really sharp, despite a few, very minor flaws. The audio is also very clear, and comes through well. Provided are some interesting special features including a Screen Director's Playhouse radio production featuring Grant and Dunne, a theatrical trailer for the film, and an entertaining comic short titled Home Movies featuring popular (at the time, at least) journalist/humorist/comedian Robert Benchley. All in all, I wouldn't necessarily consider this to be one of Grant's best films, but it's still pretty darn good and definitely worth seeing.
Cookieman108
Movie Review: Let Us Now Praise Irene Dunne
Summary: 4 Stars
Although Cary Grant is justifiably remembered as a screen legend (indeed he is probably the most adept of any of his contemporaries at romantic comedy), it seems criminal that Irene Dunne is almost forgotten these days. This is the second and most lightweight of three very fruitful screen pairings they had during this period - the other two are the even more insane divorce farce, "The Awful Truth", from 1937 and 1941's child adoption tearjerker, "Penny Serenade". With her insinuating laugh and sophisticated but down-to-earth manner, she is a wonderful screwball heroine, even if she lacks the haughty glamour of Katharine Hepburn or the brazen beauty of Carole Lombard.
Here Dunne plays Ellen Wagstaff Arden returning home after seven years shipwrecked on a desert island. The problem is that her husband Nick has just gotten remarried to a high maintenance socialite named Bianca. Misunderstandings seem to multiply when it's disclosed that Ellen was not alone on the island and that her companion was an athletic Adonis named Stephen Burkett, of course a bachelor. The ending is obvious from the beginning, but there are some hilarious set pieces along the way, in particular, when Ellen recruits a timid shoe salesman to impersonate Stephen and also when her ruse is exposed as the real Stephen pops up from the country club swimming pool. In 1940, the same year he made classics like "The Philadelphia Story" and "His Girl Friday", Grant is at the top of his game, and Dunne matches him every step of the way. It does seem a bit of a stretch to think that the principal characters would be celibate for seven long years, but such was 1930's Hollywood convention.
Randolph Scott gamely plays the dumb-as-dirt Stephen, an ironic choice given the rumors of the actor's relationship with Grant. As Bianca, the glamorously venomous Gail Patrick - expert at such roles from classics like "My Man Godfrey" and "Stage Door" - knows her fate in the movie but doesn't really show her talons until the courtroom scene. In scene-stealing bits are Granville Bates as the frustrated judge and Donald MacBride as the confused hotel clerk. The only drawbacks are the overly precocious children played hammily by Scotty Beckett and Mary Lou Harrington. Breezily directed by Garson Kanin, it's a frothy confection from a bygone era, and the far inferior 1963 Doris Day remake only proves how unmatchable Grant and Dunne are. The DVD has a surprisingly pristine print transfer, and extras include an unrelated comic short featuring humorist Robert Benchley and a condensed 1950 broadcast of the movie featuring Grant and Dunne.
Movie Review: "I came here with my wife... hum... my bride really. Now my wife, not my bride... my wife..."
Summary: 4 Stars
Romantic and screwball comedy dream-team Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are absolutely hilarious in MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940), a classic comedy from the golden age which still stands up very well today.
Nick Arden (Cary Grant) has just had his wife declared legally dead, ten years after she went missing at sea during an anthropology expedition. Ready to finally move on with his life, Nick marries beautiful Bianca (Gail Patrick) and heads off on his honeymoon. Meanwhile back at the Arden house, his missing--and very much alive--wife Ellen (Irene Dunne) has reached home after a long and tiring journey from the tropical island on which she was stranded for the best part of ten years.
Following a tearful reunion at his hotel, Nick and Ellen resolve to pick up their marriage once again...but what about Bianca? And what will be Nick's reaction to the handsome "Adam" (Randolph Scott), whom he discovers shared Ellen's tropical oasis? MY FAVORITE WIFE is a fast-moving, snappy romantic comedy, perfectly suited to the breezy talents of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne.
Following "The Awful Truth" in 1937, this was the second movie in which Dunne and Grant starred for renowned producer/writer/director Leo McCarey ("Penny Serenade" would come in 1941). Irene Dunne beautifully plays Ellen's emotional state, especially during her scenes with the two children (Scotty Beckett and Mary Lou Harrington).
Gail Patrick (best-remembered for playing Carole Lombard's snotty sister in another screwball classic, "My Man Godfrey"), is also very strong here in the underwritten role of Bianca; it's a shame that she doesn't really get a big payoff, though.
Randolph Scott and Cary Grant used to share a house in Los Angeles, and were very good friends in real life; so it's great seeing them together here and playing out a well-plotted comic rivalry for Irene Dunne's character of Ellen. The cast also includes Donald MacBride, Granville Bates, Pedro de Cordoba and Anne Shoemaker.
Later re-made in 1963 as "Move Over, Darling" starring Doris Day, James Garner and Polly Bergen (which was originally to have starred Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse under the title of "Something's Gotta Give", until Monroe's accidental death during filming).
Movie Review: Amusing Farce.
Summary: 4 Stars
Here is another fun DVD for fans of classic romantic comedies. I found it to be consistently amusing, although it is not in the same class as "Bringing Up Baby" or "The Philadelphia Story".After seven years of grieving over the apparent loss of his wife in a shipwreck, Nick ( Cary Grant ) marries another woman, Bianca, ( Gail Patrick ), only to discover on his honeymoon that wife # 1--Ellen ( Irene Dunne ) is back, very much alive and kicking. Naturally, Ellen wants to pick up where she left off with her husband, as well as a young son and daughter. Nick is "dazed and confused"--as only Cary Grant can be--and makes the situation much worse through his reluctance to break the news to Bianca. At the same time, Nick discovers that his "first wife" spent the better part of the seven years on an island, alone with another man--a hunky, athletic guy named Burkett ( Randolph Scott ). How will this hilarious mess turn out ? Get the disc and see.
We have another superb comedic perfomance from Cary Grant. Irene Dunne is fine as Ellen, "returned from the dead" and determined, by any means, to win her husband back. Gail Patrick's performance is a nice contrast to her sudden "competition"--icy, haughty and seriously "not amused" !
Randolph Scott--usually quite stoic in his many westerns--seems to be having a ball here. In support, special kudos to scene-stealing Donald MacBride as the hotel clerk, who has to book separate suites for each of Cary's "women"--his incredulous face is priceless.
The DVD is black and white, and shows a fair bit of wear in places--not enough to spoil your fun though. Keep in mind, the film was made in 1940. The disc also includes a trailer for the film, a radio program with Ms. Dunne, and a funny short film starring humourist Robert Benchley on the perils of showing "Home Movies" to your "lucky" friends ! On the whole, a very nice package.
Bottom line--a witty script and a solid cast will give you a very pleasant hour and a half's entertainment. Good fun for fans of old-fashioned comedy.
Movie Review: Very Funny
Summary: 4 Stars
Nick Arden's wife Ellen disappears after an accident at sea and after she is missing for seven years, he has her declared legally dead so he can remarry. As luck would have it, Ellen returns the very day he remarries and tracks him down at his honeymoon hotel. The second he sees Ellen, Nick realizes he still loves her but he has to first break the news to Bianca, his new wife, as well as tell his children that their mother is still alive. Hilarious complications ensue as Nick tries to find just the right time to tell Bianca and when he discovers that Ellen was marooned on the island with the hunky, athletic Stephen Burkett.
This is a very funny movie. As with all screwball comedies, you have to take everything with a grain of salt (what are the odds that Ellen would return the very day Nick remarries?) and not think too much about it (just what happened between Ellen and Burkett on that island?) but the laughs are worth it. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments, especially when Ellen convinces a shoe salesman to pose as Burkett. The movie skips over the issue of bigamy by hinting that Nick's second marriage wasn't consummated and while Burkett seems to be in love with Ellen, she only has eyes for Nick. Or course, it would have been easy for Nick to simply tell Bianca that Ellen was his wife, but that would have taken away from the fun of the movie.
The actors are excellent. Cary Grant was a great actor and could make you laugh without saying a word - the scene in which he first spots Ellen is a perfect example. Irene Dunn is a delight as Ellen; Gail Patrick is a cool if puzzled Bianca; Randolph Scott is a hunky Burkett. Donald MacBride as a confused hotel manager and Granville Bates as a befuddled judge almost steal the movie.
This is a delightful screwball comedy.