My Favorite Wife

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Wife
Review: Plot: Nick marries Bianca, but a short time later Ellen, (his first wife) turns up after having been stranded on a desert island for seven years.......

My Favorite Wife is a screwball rendering of the Enoch Emery tale, an old saw about a man thought lost at sea, who returns to find his wife remarried. The twist is that it's Ellen Arden (played brilliantly by Irene Dunne) who returns to find that her children don't recognize her and that her husband, Nick (Cary Grant) has remarried to a shrewish bride named Bianca. This complication is enough to fuel the movie for about a half an hour, making the first third of My Favorite Wife one of the most sublimely silly and smoothly acted screwball comedies ever. Dunne and Grant's chemistry in My Favorite Wife (this was their third picture together) is delicious as they take turns acting out and reacting to each other's childish schemes.

Take the scene where Ellen is first introduced to Bianca. Nick hasn't gotten up the nerve to tell his bride that his first wife's come back, so Ellen pretends to be an old family friend, "from the south." She coos out one musical barb after another while Nick squirms. Cary's scene-stealing reactions to her are perfect. The fearful look in his eyes as he stirs a martini too loudly upon hearing Bianca's version of their wedding night is one of my all-time favorite Cary Grant moments.

Unfortunately for the coherency of film, the Enoch Emery bit didn't provide quite enough material for the entire movie, so some subplots were added. Nick learns that Ellen spent her seven years of exile with a man she called "Adam," played by Uberhunk, Randolph Scott. At first, Ellen convinces a short guy who works at the shoe store to pretend to be Adam, but she is soon found out when the real Adam spots her at lunch with Nick. Then Nick's jealousy prevents the couple from reconciling and of course, Ellen's still got to find a way to explain to her children that she's their mother. Add to this mess, a stereotypical psychiatrist, a bumbling judge and Bianca's hysterical crying and you've got one very busy movie.

The ending of My Favorite Wife, strongly mirrors the earlier Dunne and Grant hit, The Awful Truth. In some respects its an homage and in other ways, it's just a pale imitation of the earlier classic. Leo McCarey who had directed the Awful Truth was scheduled to make My Favorite Wife, but in one of those "coulda-shoulda-woulda" tragedies of Hollywood, McCarey was hospitalized from a car accident and unable to direct the movie. In places where the plot was clunky it would have been wonderful to have McCarey's off the cuff ad-lib style of directing to keep things breezing along.

Still, despite its flaws, My Favorite Wife is one of my favorite Cary Grant movies. Dunne and Grant are always watchable and I find something new to love in their performances every time I watch this gem.

Rating:
Summary: Great Classic Screwball Comedy
Review: Relax out there folks, this DVD presentation of My Favorite Wife
is NOT COLORIZED. Rainsilver BLACK and WHITE it is. Others have
done a excellent job here at giving the plot details and their
judgements of this film, so I won't bother. Personally, I really
enjoyed this comedy. Bring out the popcorn and ENJOY.

Rating:
Summary: "I bet you say that to all your wives."
Review: 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


Rating:
Summary: Color?
Review: The 5 stars are based on faith. I haven't actually watched this dvd or read any review about it, so this is just a speculation, but I'm quite sure the copy on this dvd will be a B&W, not a hideously colorized one. The dvd of Destination Tokyo, belonging to this same collection, includes indeed a black and white copy of the movie (according to a review I have read in the Home Theatre Forum), even though it's advertised as "format: color" in the Amazon description.

I am convinced there is a mistake in the Amazon description of this dvd, and the format is B&W and not color. If someone could confirm this, the matter would be put to rest. It would be a shame if sales of this splendid dvd were to suffer because of a simple confusion like this.

Rating:
Summary: Peerless Comedy
Review: The dynamic teaming of Grant and Dunne are on display in this superb comedy.

The plot is by now symptomatic, nevertheless in the hand,s of experts like Garson Kanin( dir) Bella & Samuel Spewak, to say nothing of Leo McCarey , how can you go wrong?

Deft comedic timing is exhibited by the whole cast with veterans such as Donald MacBride( Hotel Mgr. & Mr. Rubber Face)Granville Bates..the reflective judge, Ann Shoemaker and Randolph Scott.

" A Yale Man" " A Harvard Man" it makes no difference, the visuals and the pseudo asides are marvelous. " The Awful Truth" fine in its own respect is only a slight step down from this vibrant comedy.

If you have had a bad day...fire it up!

Rating:
Summary: NOT MY FAVORITE MOVIE...
Review: This early nineteen forties film is a romantic and comedic farce. It centers around a married couple in which the wife was believed lost at sea and presumed dead. It turned out that she was marooned for seven years on a desert island with another man until finally rescued inadvertently. She arrives home on the morning in which her lawyer husband has had her declared dead and remarried another woman. Let the games begin!

Irene Dunne and Gary Grant are the star crossed couple who find each other again. Cary Grant is excellent, while Ms. Dunne, who is usually sensational, palls a bit in her role, in part due to her difficulty in deciding what accent she should use when reciting her lines. She is still quite good in her role, however, due to her innate ability to charm the viewer. Gail Patrick is excellent as the second wife, giving an icy hauteur to her character. Randolph Scott is terrific as the hunky man with whom Irene Dunne was marooned. Ann Shoemaker is very good as the mother-in-law who warmly welcomes Irene Dunne back into the fold. Look for two absolutely marvelous performance by old time character actors, Donald MacBride, as the confused and outraged hotel manager, and Granville Bates, as the drolly funny judge. They practically steal the show.

The movie has its moments and can be quite funny, at times. The funniest moment is the pool scene in which Cary Grant views his rival for the first time. His reaction to his rival's attractiveness and athleticism at the pool is quite priceless. At other times, the scenes seem a bit forced. While this is not a bad vintage, screwball comedy, it is not the best. There are better ones out there, though those who enjoy vintage films should enjoy this one. ...

Rating:
Summary: VINTAGE SCREWBALL COMEDY...
Review: This early nineteen forties film is a romantic and comedic farce. It centers on a married couple in which the wife was believed lost at sea and presumed dead. It turned out that she was marooned for seven years on a desert island with another man until finally rescued inadvertently. She arrives home on the morning in which her lawyer husband has had her declared dead and remarried another woman. Let the games begin!

Irene Dunne and Gary Grant are the star-crossed couple who find each other again. Cary Grant is excellent, while Ms. Dunne, who is usually sensational, palls a bit in her role, in part due to her difficulty in deciding what accent she should use when reciting her lines. She is still quite good in her role, however, due to her innate ability to charm the viewer. Gail Patrick is excellent as the second wife, giving an icy hauteur to her character. Randolph Scott is terrific as the hunky man with whom Irene Dunne was marooned. Ann Shoemaker is very good as the mother-in-law who warmly welcomes Irene Dunne back into the fold. Look for two absolutely marvelous performance by old time character actors, Donald MacBride, as the confused and outraged hotel manager, and Granville Bates, as the drolly funny judge. They practically steal the show.

The movie has its moments and can be quite funny, at times. The funniest moment is the pool scene in which Cary Grant views his rival for the first time. His reaction to his rival's attractiveness and athleticism at the pool is quite priceless. At other times, the scenes seem a bit forced. While this is not a bad vintage, screwball comedy, it is not the best. There are better ones out there, though those who enjoy vintage films should enjoy this one, whether in the original black and white or the colorized version. I myself prefer the 1963 remake titled "Move Over, Darling", starring James Garner and Doris Day in the lead roles.

Rating:
Summary: Garson Kanin,s Magic!!!
Review: This film is the second pairing of Irene Dunne and Cary Grant( The Awful Truth). . Get some bandages ready because you might need them for some riske side splitting lines that are timed perfectly.in this gem. The courtroom scenes alone are off the charts in laughs. Gail Patrick does her usual stuffy and prim lady act. Randolph Scott was never so hilarious...and watching Donald MacBride as the hotel manager contort his face is well worth the viewing. It took many years to finally release this comedy to video( RKO cat # 6061)..lets hope its back out there soon.

Rating:
Summary: It's One Of My Favorite Movies!
Review: This is one of Cary Grant's best movies and he is outstanding, and Irene Dunne is very good too. The movie is good hilarious fun and I highly recommend it. I have one question though, Why isn't this available on dvd? Whoever owns the rights to this movie needs to get their act together and get it on dvd!

Rating:
Summary: Cary Grant at his best!
Review: This movie is one of my favorites! Cary Grant is funny and charming and keeps you laughing throughout the entire movie. The actors that play his children are adorable and very talented. This is a must see and once you see it you'll have to own it!