This Man Is Mine (1934)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

Anne Morrison Chapin (play)
Jane Murfin (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 April 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Revenge | Pianist | Infidelity | Biting

Cast

Irene Dunne	...	Tony Dunlap
Constance Cummings	...	Francesca 'Fran' Harper
Ralph Bellamy	...	Jim Dunlap
Kay Johnson	...	Bee McCrae
Charles Starrett	...	Jud McCrae
Vivian Tobin	...	Rita
Sidney Blackmer	...	Mortimer 'Mort' Holmes
Louis Mason	...	Slim

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #1517-R, 11 September 1935 for re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

This film was on a "to-be-boycotted" list, compiled by the Catholic Church in Detroit, Michigan.

Quotes:

Francesca 'Fran' Harper: I've come to turn the other cheek.
Toni Dunlap: Well, turn it somewhere else. I've seen enough of your cheek!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Lilac Tree

Not a bad little flick

Fast paced and pretty good dialogue throughout, plus runs about 1 hr 15 min.

The women are given the best lines -- sharp, funny, and often catty. Though their characters are quite minor to the story, I enjoyed the lines between husband and wife Slim and Rita, or "Cookie" and "Pookie" as they called each other. It was quite funny to hear them call each other by such cute little pet names, followed by a jab or barb or criticism! I don't think they said one nice thing to each other! The other supporting couples in the flick were always snapping at each other too -- Bea and Jud, and Fran and Mort.

The two main characters, Toni and Jim, are very much in love and exhibit some nice friendly banter at the beginning of the movie. This doesn't last for long as Jim's ex-fiancé, Fran, breezes into town, freshly divorced with a new dude already lined up (Mort) and setting her sights on winning Jim back ... not permanently, just for a night. Constance Cummings is great as Fran! Toni suffers through Jim's infidelity and even forgives him as she wants to save her marriage and her family (they have a 2-yr-old boy). Eventually, however, she decides she's had enough and files for divorce.

What's interesting (and one of the reasons I like to watch these older movies) is the glimpse we get into how things were done back in the day. Jim asks Toni where she filed for divorce, and is aghast to learn she filed in the state they live in. From what I can gather, she could've run off to Reno (as Fran did, and as so many women in films from the 1930s did, and get what amounts to a 'no fault' divorce). But, since Toni filed in the state they lived in (New York?) where there was only one grounds for divorce - infidelity - this required her to name a 'correspondent' (i.e., the outside party whom the spouse cheated with). Fran is quite upset to learn that Toni has filed in state and has named her as the correspondent. I really enjoy these little snippets into how life used to be long before I was born. It adds to the enjoyment of the movie somehow, a little history lesson along with my entertainment.

Anyways ... back to the movie. Fran doesn't want to be involved in a scandal and, in addition, has since learned that Mortie is stinking rich, so she ups and marries him, hoping this will dissuade Toni from divorcing Jim (and naming Fran as correspondent). Jim comes crawling back to Toni and the movie ends with them kissing (presumably Toni's going to take him back). I'd have liked to see Toni kick Jim to the curb, but alas it looks like she's going to take him back instead.

Toni was played wonderfully by Irene Dunn, and Jim was played by Ralph Bellamy. It was nice to see what the old coot from Trading Places looked like back when he was a young man.

Pretty good, not great, but I wasn't disappointed that I watched it either. This movie appears on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) every once in a while.