My Favorite Wife (DVD)

“My Favorite Wife” reunited Cary Grant and Irene Dunne two and a half years after their great success in “The Awful Truth”. They would be teamed one final time in “Penny Serenade”, which was a tear-jerker. I wish they had done at least one more comedy together. Like “The Awful Truth”, this was a Leo McCarey project, basically a follow-up that put the actors into another comedy-of-errors, mixed up marriage setup, though as completely different characters.Unfortunately McCarey was in a serious automobile accident and could not direct the picture. The directorial duties went to Garson Kanin, who was mainly known as a writer and had only directed four films previously, though he had assisted George Abbot on Broadway and directed a Broadway play himself. He did a good job, but the film missed the inspired improvised scenes that McCarey was known for. As good as it is, and it is a good film, it’s not quite on the level of wackiness as “The Awful Truth”.Cary Grant plays Nick Arden, his name mirroring Enoch Arden, the character in the Tennyson poem after which the plot was modeled now with reversed genders. In the poem, Enoch was a sailor who, presumed dead, comes home after ten years to find his wife married; here, it’s Ellen Arden (Dunne) who returns home after seven years, only to find her husband has just remarried. The plot insists that these two must get back together, and the fun is in watching how.Gail Patrick plays Nick’s new bride, Bianca, and I must admit it was almost shocking to see a huge smile on her face when first onscreen. She specialized in playing haughty, mean-spirited women as she did in “My Man Godfrey” and the smile was so wildly out of character. Here she’s seen to be a bit vain but otherwise a decent person. It helps that she gets more and more angry as the film progresses. Dunne is at her scheming best here, though her schemes never reach the level of sheer wackiness of pretending to be Grant’s burlesque star sister as in “The Awful Truth”.Things are bad enough for Grant, who realizes that he must sever all ties in his new, unconsummated marriage when he’s suddenly presented with a new predicament. Up to now he’s assumed Ellen was alone on the South Sea island where she was marooned. But he finds out that a man, Stephen Burkett, was with her the whole time, and that they called each other Adam and Eve. He soon looks Burkett up, only to find him played by a super-athletic Randolph Scott. Grant’s facial reactions to this cascading turn of events is one of the funniest parts of the film.There are also a couple of funny bits by character actors in the film. Donald MacBride is great as a suspicious Hotel Manager, who, after Nick checks in with his new wife, can’t help but wonder who Ellen is. For those too young to know, this was an era when hotel staff were expected to be morality police and no reputable hotel would allow any hanky panky by its guests. His growing exasperation is hilarious.Best of all is Granville Bates as Judge Bryson, who bookends the film with appearances in his courtroom. He has a wonderfully strict, no nonsense demeanor, controls his courtroom with an iron fist, and has some of the funniest lines in the film. And it’s not just the lines, but also Bates’ perfect timing and delivery that puts them over. His appearance near the end was added after McCarey himself edited the film and noticed the way it is less funny near the end as the plot has to work itself out. He suggested a new scene with the judge, and it works perfectly to create some big laughs .This film was the basis of a 1963 remake (of sorts, with many new scenes and updated dialogue) by Doris Day and James Garner. It’s one of the rare films that remakes a classic successfully. Day and Garner are hilarious as are some of the new bits, as when Day impersonates a Swedish masseuse. It’s the best of Day’s later films.

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

A great romantic comedy with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. Love it!

I have loved this movie for years. Now my grandkids even love it!

I love Carey Grant and Irene Dunne! My Favorite Wife is one of my favorite classic movies.

This DVD is not in colour, despite Amazon UKs description.If you want it in colour you will have to get a VHS tape from America. Even in Black and White,it is a good package. I t has a Robert Benchley comedy short and an audio recording of a USA radio broadcast of the film adapted for radio.

Wonderful!

Cary Grant joue un veuf, père de deux enfants, sur le point de se remarier. Sa femme, qu'on croit disparue dans un naufrage réapparait au bout de 7 ans passés sur une île déserte en compagnie d'un autre naufragé. C'est bien ce qui inquiète notre héros, qui vous l'avez deviné est toujours épris de sa femme. Celle-ci tente de le rassurer en tentant de lui faire croire que son compagnon d'infortune est un petit gros d'âge respectable. En réalité, le naufragé en question s'avère être un bellâtre beau et musclé ( joué par Randolph Scott ) qui s'apparente au "blond" de Gad Elmaleh, ou au rival ( généralement Owen Wilson ou Paul Rudd ) des films avec Ben Stiller. Mention spéciale à Gail Patrick(,la frangine cruelle et garçouille de Carole Lombard dans "My man Godfrey") abonnée aux rôles de garces, hilarante et antipathique à souhait dans le rôle de la fiancée de Cary Grant. Dans la vie, Cary Grant et Randolph Scott, loin d'être rivaux, étaient amis, colocs et peut être plus, on ne l'a jamais su avec certitude. Au moment de sa mort, Marilyn travaillait sur un remake de ce film, "Something's got to give ", film qui ne verra jamais le jour suite au décès prématuré de l'actrice. Irene Dunne est parfaite comme toujours dans le rôle de l'épouse retrouvée, auquel elle apporte humour et légèreté. C'est l'occasion aussi de souligner les exceptionnelles richesse et variété de la carrière de Cary Grant, sans doute due au fait que, contrairement aux acteurs de l'époque, il n'était attaché à aucun studio en particulier. Du drame à la comédie, en passant par le suspense, il possède une large palette due justement à cette indépendance : alors que les autres acteurs, liés par des contrats de 7 ans, devaient être prêtés ou "punis" pour tourner dans un autre studio, Cary Grant se payait le luxe de tourner un petit film pour RKO par exemple. Cela rend sa carrière très intéressante et ses meilleures comédies, de "l'Impossible Monsieur Bébé" à la "Dame du vendredi", doivent beaucoup à ce fonctionnement. Si cette comédie de "remariage" produite par Leo Mac Carey,maître ès comédies,et réalisée par le talentueux et mythique Garson Kanin(Madame porte la culotte,La blonde et moi,Une femme qui s'affiche) ne vous fait pas hurler de rire, je mange mon chapeau.

Une excellente comédie en noir et blanc.

Irene Dunne and Cary Grant are a match made in heaven. The chemistry shared between them is genuine. Dunne plays wife who is supposedly lost at sea and when assumed dead Grant decides to remarry. Dunne's return from her island paradise brings them back together and their witty and clever banter keep the laughs coming thoughout this charming romantic classic. Their antics to one-up each other to save face for having innocently developed new-found relationships during their unwlecome separation of seven years offer a series of misunderstandings and schemes that keep the story interesting. Both Grant and Dunne demonstrate their comedic genuis making this is a must-see film for classic screwball comediy lovers.