Irene Dunne is married to Ralph Bellamy. Their union is comfortable but all that changes when Bellamy's old flame Constance Cummings comes back to town. Will the the thrill of loves past dis... Read allIrene Dunne is married to Ralph Bellamy. Their union is comfortable but all that changes when Bellamy's old flame Constance Cummings comes back to town. Will the the thrill of loves past disrupt their happy home?Irene Dunne is married to Ralph Bellamy. Their union is comfortable but all that changes when Bellamy's old flame Constance Cummings comes back to town. Will the the thrill of loves past disrupt their happy home?
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film was on a "to-be-boycotted" list, compiled by the Catholic Church in Detroit, Michigan.
- GoofsWhen Fran and Jim kiss for the first time, the camera pans down and then focuses a watch worn on Jim's left wrist. However, from the perspective of the character, the watch is being worn upside down - but is probably shown this way to the camera so we can see what time it is easier, as in the very next shot the camera pulls back on another wristwatch worn by another character to indicate the passage of time.
- Quotes
Francesca Harper: What do you mean "telling the truth about me"? Haven't you got any honor or decency left?
- ConnectionsReferenced in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008)
Featured review
Great cast, awful script
A young married couple (Irene Dunne and Ralph Bellamy) have their union threatened when his old girlfriend (Constance Cummings) shows up freshly after having gotten a divorce. The wife's friend (Kay Johnson) provides moral support and tries to look out for her.
Despite a decent premise and the three strong female actors who all perform well in their roles, the way the story plays out is bound to irritate modern viewers, say what you will about it providing a window into the time period. The film is only 76 minutes long so while maddening, it's somewhat forgivable that the husband's head is completely turned so quickly, despite his saintly wife being so tolerant of his less than ideal nature (among other things, he jokes that she's getting fat early on). And there is a moment where she asserts herself and begins playing hardball with him and his old girlfriend, one that looked promising, but unfortunately it doesn't last.
The ending is disappointing as hell but not too surprising, and I wouldn't have actively disliked the film as much as I did for it alone, but two quotes capture aspects that sent it over the edge for me:
1. On the husband's adultery, from her friend: "Look here, Tony. You'll see Jim through pneumonia, typhoid, or even something as loathsome as smallpox, wouldn't you? ... Well, Fran is sort of a cross between a tidal wave and a smallpox epidemic, but she'll pass."
2. On a woman's black eye, from the wife: "How lovely. But I think it highly probable that every now and again Romeo took a little poke at Juliet."
The first emphasizes the central message of the film, that a wife should simply endure her husband's infidelity because it's natural. Nothing at all is said about her own sexual desires, because she's cast in the role of the saint, whereas the "other woman," the man-eating Cummings, is a devil. In this respect, this pre-Code film feels more like something from the Production Code era (and indeed, despite the indiscretion of staying out late with the girlfriend, the film explains that they haven't actually had sex, which certainly looks like it has Joseph Breen's fingerprints on it). The second quote has a woman explaining away a man's violence to another woman, that it's natural and sometimes called for, which is difficult to stomach.
There are other little annoying bits, such as the husband saying that the wife has psychologically projected her issues with her mother onto the whole thing, and this is clearly the film's view as well. Bellamy's character is just so damn unlikeable, but his meanness, adultery, violence, and gaslighting are all given such a cloak of respectability. It's a shame, because seeing Irene Dunne sing, Kay Johnson dole out world-weary advice, and Constance Cummings manipulate everyone around her made for some entertaining moments.
Despite a decent premise and the three strong female actors who all perform well in their roles, the way the story plays out is bound to irritate modern viewers, say what you will about it providing a window into the time period. The film is only 76 minutes long so while maddening, it's somewhat forgivable that the husband's head is completely turned so quickly, despite his saintly wife being so tolerant of his less than ideal nature (among other things, he jokes that she's getting fat early on). And there is a moment where she asserts herself and begins playing hardball with him and his old girlfriend, one that looked promising, but unfortunately it doesn't last.
The ending is disappointing as hell but not too surprising, and I wouldn't have actively disliked the film as much as I did for it alone, but two quotes capture aspects that sent it over the edge for me:
1. On the husband's adultery, from her friend: "Look here, Tony. You'll see Jim through pneumonia, typhoid, or even something as loathsome as smallpox, wouldn't you? ... Well, Fran is sort of a cross between a tidal wave and a smallpox epidemic, but she'll pass."
2. On a woman's black eye, from the wife: "How lovely. But I think it highly probable that every now and again Romeo took a little poke at Juliet."
The first emphasizes the central message of the film, that a wife should simply endure her husband's infidelity because it's natural. Nothing at all is said about her own sexual desires, because she's cast in the role of the saint, whereas the "other woman," the man-eating Cummings, is a devil. In this respect, this pre-Code film feels more like something from the Production Code era (and indeed, despite the indiscretion of staying out late with the girlfriend, the film explains that they haven't actually had sex, which certainly looks like it has Joseph Breen's fingerprints on it). The second quote has a woman explaining away a man's violence to another woman, that it's natural and sometimes called for, which is difficult to stomach.
There are other little annoying bits, such as the husband saying that the wife has psychologically projected her issues with her mother onto the whole thing, and this is clearly the film's view as well. Bellamy's character is just so damn unlikeable, but his meanness, adultery, violence, and gaslighting are all given such a cloak of respectability. It's a shame, because seeing Irene Dunne sing, Kay Johnson dole out world-weary advice, and Constance Cummings manipulate everyone around her made for some entertaining moments.
helpful•10
- gbill-74877
- Mar 5, 2022
Details
- Runtime1 hour 16 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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