An Innocent Affair (1948)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Lou Breslow (writer)
Joseph Hoffman (writer)

Release Date:

15 October 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

They're burning the Scandal at both ends...

Plot:

Vincent Doane is in the precarious position of trying to close an advertising account with his rich ex-fiancée...

Plot Keywords:

Wife | Marriage | Beautiful Woman | Misunderstanding

Cast

Fred MacMurray	...	Vincent Doane
Madeleine Carroll	...	Paula Doane
Charles 'Buddy' Rogers	...	Claude Kimball
Rita Johnson	...	Eve Lawrence
Louise Allbritton	...	Margot Fraser
Alan Mowbray	...	Ken St. Clair
Michael Romanoff	...	Venetian Room Maitre di' (as Mike Romanoff)
Pierre Watkin	...	T.D. Hendricks
William Tannen	...	Gaylord
James Seay	...	Lester Burnley
Matt McHugh	...	Ted Burke
Marie Blake	...	Hilda, the Maid
Susan Miller	...	Vocalist
Anne Nagel	...	Gladys - Receptionist
Eddie Le Baron	...	Orchestra Leader

Also Known As:

Don't Trust Your Husband (USA) (reissue title)
Under Suspicion (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:Btl

Company:

James Nasser Productions Inc.

Soundtrack:

These Things Are You

DON'T TRUST YOUR HUSBAND (Lloyd Bacon, 1948) **1/2

Frankly, I was surprised to learn that the two stars of this obscure but engaging comedy – Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll – had starred in four previous films together (all of which are, for that matter, even less well-known than this one and, curiously enough, directed by the same – here it comes again – little known director!). In fact, this was not only Carroll's fifth and final teaming with MacMurray but also her penultimate film; that said, the two stars display a nice chemistry throughout.

The plot itself recalls to a certain degree the classic THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937), where a married couple starts divorce proceedings (and new affairs) but then decide they're best suited for each other at the end. MacMurray is an advertising executive (a lot of comedies from this era were set in this milieu) and Carroll his somewhat neglected wife – he says that his constant delays at work involve business meetings, but she suspects the presence of another woman (being the type of comedy it is, she turns out to be right…and, to make matters worse, the girl – played by Louise Albritton – concerned is none other than an ex-flame of MacMurray's!). In order to make her husband jealous, she hires an actor through an agency to flirt with her at a restaurant – but a waiter's mistake lands her in the arms of a Southern tobacco tycoon (Charles "Buddy" Rogers)!

Anyway, the comic situations that ensue (typically, these usually involve misunderstanding and embarrassment) make for a pleasant and unassuming hour and a half; highlights include Rogers explaining to MacMurray how he applied logic to arrive at the name "Kim Zezyzle" for his brand of cigarettes, and Alan Mowbray – posing as Albritton's husband during a dinner engagement for MacMurray's benefit – constantly interrupting the sensitive conversation (even after Carroll has joined the table) to boorishly ask, "When do we eat?"