My Favorite Wife (1940)

Director:

Garson Kanin

Writers:

Bella Spewack (original story) &
Sam Spewack (original story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

17 May 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

The funniest, fastest honeymoon ever screened!

Plot:

Ellen Arden arrives 7 years after being given up for dead in a shipwreck, to find her husband Nick just remarried to Bianca...

Plot Keywords:

Jealousy | Shipwreck | Island | Trial | Stranded

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Irene Dunne	...	Ellen Arden
Cary Grant	...	Nick Arden
Randolph Scott	...	Steve Burkett
Gail Patrick	...	Bianca Bates
Ann Shoemaker	...	Ellen's mother
Scotty Beckett	...	Little Tim Arden
Mary Lou Harrington	...	Little Chinch Arden
Donald MacBride	...	Hotel Clerk
Hugh O'Connell	...	Johnson - insurance investigator
Granville Bates	...	Judge Bryson
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Dr. Kohlmar - psychiatrist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joseph E. Bernard	...	Reporter (scenes deleted)
Frank Ellis	...	(scenes deleted)
Edward Emerson	...	Reporter (scenes deleted)
Bruce MacFarlane	...	Reporter (scenes deleted)
Frank Marlowe	...	Photographer (scenes deleted)
Cyril Ring	...	Contestant (scenes deleted)
Brandon Tynan	...	Dr. Manning (scenes deleted)
Jean Acker	...	Postponed case witness (uncredited)
Murray Alper	...	Yosemite bartender (uncredited)
Leon Belasco	...	Waiter - Pacific Club poolside (uncredited)
Joe Cabrillas	...	Phillip (uncredited)
Bill Cartledge	...	Page boy paging Burkett (uncredited)
Chester Clute	...	Shoe salesman (uncredited)
Corky	...	Corky, the Dog (uncredited)
Franco Corsaro	...	Waiter bringing wine (uncredited)
Florence Dudley	...	Postponed case witness (uncredited)
Harold Gerard	...	Assistant court clerk (uncredited)
Roque Guinart	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Earle Hodgins	...	Court clerk beside Judge Bryson (uncredited)
Edna Holland	...	Johnny Weissmuller inquirer (uncredited)
Thelma Joel	...	Miss Rosenthal - Nick's legal secretary (uncredited)
Cy Kendall	...	Police detective arresting Nick (uncredited)
Ellen Lowe	...	Weissmuller inquirer's companion (uncredited)
Margaret Martin	...	(uncredited)
Horace McMahon	...	Truck driver giving lift to Ellen (uncredited)
Sue Moore	...	Maid drying Ellen's clothes (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Postponed case lawyer (uncredited)
Clive Morgan	...	Postponed case lawyer (uncredited)
George Noisom	...	Page boy bringing Steve's robe (uncredited)
Bob Reeves	...	(uncredited)
Ronald R. Rondell	...	Bellboy #1 (uncredited)
Matty Roubert	...	Page boy paging Mr. Arden (uncredited)
Eli Schmudkler	...	Janitor (uncredited)
Pat West	...	Caretaker at Arden's mountain place (uncredited)

Directed by
Garson Kanin

Writing credits
Bella Spewack		(original story) &
Sam Spewack		(original story) (as Samuel Spewack) and
Leo McCarey		(original story)
Bella Spewack		(written by) &
Sam Spewack		(written by) (as Samuel Spewack)
Garson Kanin		uncredited
Alfred Lord Tennyson		poem "Enoch Arden" (uncredited)
John McClain		uncredited

Produced by
Leo McCarey	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
Rudolph Maté

Film Editing by
Robert Wise

Art Direction by
Van Nest Polglase

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Howard Greer		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James H. Anderson	....	assistant director
Ruby Rosenberg	....	assistant director

Art Department
Mark-Lee Kirk	....	associate art director

Sound Department
John E. Tribby	....	sound recordist

Other crew
Bert Granet	....	screenplay constructor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV) (syndication)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1947) (France) (theatrical) (as RKO Radio Films)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Éditions Montparnasse (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

88 min | Germany:75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #5974)

Filming Locations:

Ahwanee Hotel, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, "Enoch Arden," about a fisherman presumed lost at sea who returns to find his wife remarried, was the basis of five prior films: Enoch Arden (1914), Die Toten kehren wieder - Enoch Arden (1919), and D.W. Griffith's Enoch Arden: Part I (1911), Enoch Arden: Part II (1911), and Enoch Arden (1915). Those films adhered to Tennyson's poem. But in My Favorite Wife, Something's Got to Give (1962), and Move Over, Darling (1963), only the basic idea of a spouse who returns is kept, with the spouse presumed lost now being the wife. However, in all of these films, the surname of the couple in question remains "Arden."

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The judge mentioned that Ellen was shipwrecked off the coast of Indochina. Nick mentioned that he went to Bangkok to interview survivors which makes sense if the shipwreck happened near Indochina. However, Ellen mentioned that she was located at Latitude 12, Longitude 128 which is 200 miles east of the Philippines and more than 1000 miles away from the closest part of the Indochina peninsula (which would be Vietnam). The nearest large city to that location would be Manila and not Bangkok.

Quotes:

Ellen Wagstaff Arden aka Eve: Oh, by the way, how was my funeral?
Ma: Lovely. Doctor Blake preached a wonderful service.
Ellen Wagstaff Arden aka Eve: Oh, I wish I had been there.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Parent Trap (1998)

Soundtrack:

Jingle Bells

My Favorite Wife

A curious one that leaves a mildly bitter taste in the mouth. It's funny alright (but never hilarious), and the acting from - and chemistry between - Irene Dunne and Cary Crant is exquisite as always. But the film's fundamental problem is that none of the characters are particularly likable. Throughout the film three of the four main characters take their turn to behave despicably, yet the new wife - a woman who's merely unpleasant - is the villain of the piece; constantly the butt of jokes and fair game for ridicule even though she's done absolutely nothing to warrant it. At times it's like watching two spoilt brats from the Hamptons bullying their visiting second-cousin from the Bronx.

The script is also strangely stunted, best witnessed in the scenes before the judge. They really should have been classic screwball moments - the ingredients were there - yet between the lengthy silences and repetitive parrot-dialogue it falls almost completely flat. The gaping plot holes and poor script continuity can't be forgiven either, even allowing for the fact the film's seventy years old.

Don't get me wrong, I laughed, and I enjoyed myself, and I thought it was a decent film. It's just that the character's actions don't stand up too well under scrutiny.