Unfaithfully Yours (1948)

Director:

Preston Sturges

Writer:

Preston Sturges (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 December 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music | Romance

Tagline:

Will somebody "get her" tonite?

Plot:

Sir Alfred De Carter suspects his wife of infidelity. While conducting a symphony orchestra, he imagines...

Plot Keywords:

Conductor | Symphony | Jealousy | Infidelity | Detective

Cast

Rex Harrison	...	Sir Alfred De Carter
Linda Darnell	...	Daphne De Carter
Rudy Vallee	...	August Henshler
Barbara Lawrence	...	Barbara Henshler
Kurt Kreuger	...	Anthony Windborn
Lionel Stander	...	Hugo Standoff
Edgar Kennedy	...	Detective Sweeney
Al Bridge	...	House Detective (as Alan Bridge)
Julius Tannen	...	O'Brien
Torben Meyer	...	Dr. Schultz

Also Known As:

Symphony Story (USA) (working title)
Unfinished Symphony (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (certificate #12960)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The orchestral conductor Sir Alfred de Carter, is based loosely on the real life British conductor Sir Thomas Beecham. Beecham was the son of pharmacist Sir Joseph Beecham, the inventor of the laxative Beecham's Pills. Accordingly Harrison's character, Sir Alfred de Carter, is said to be named after Carter's Little Liver Pills, the American equivalent.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the rehearsal scene. A cigarette pack disappears from the podium as Harrison conducts.

Quotes:

Alfred: Well, August, what happy updraft wafts you hither?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Linda Darnell: Hollywood's Fallen Angel" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Tannhäuser

Sturges Hits the Bullseye With This Great Dark Comedy

One of Director Preston Sturges' most enjoyable films, Unfaithfully Yours is a dark comedy which uses the skills of it's leading actors Rex Harrison and Linda Darnell, to perfection.

Harrison plays Sir Alfred De Carter, a famous symphony conductor who has recently wed the beautiful and much younger Daphne (Darnell). Upon returning from a successful concert tour, Sir Alfred is confronted by his brother-in-law August(Rudy Valle), whom he had charged to look after Daphne while he(Sir Alfred)was away. Merely wanting August to drop in on Daphne on occasion, Sir Alfred is shocked to find out that August instead, enlisted a private detective to shadow his wife around town. Outraged when presented with the detective's file, Sir Alfred refuses to even look at it. However, he is eventually confronted with the sleuth's findings, which to his chagrin, reveals that while he was away, Daphne made a very suspicious late night call to a man's room wearing only a negligee. He is further devastated to find out that the rogue in question is his own right-hand man, Tony (Kurt Kreuger), a handsome, dapper fellow more closer in age to Daphne. Believing the worst, Sir Alfred's pristine world is suddenly turned upside down, and he becomes a man consumed with jealousy and suspicion.

From here we watch Sir Alfred's gradual meltdown as the thought of his wife's infidelity haunts his every moment. Even the concert stage can't provide him any solace. While performing before a sold out audience, his mind is less on the music and more on how he will deal with the adulterous duo. With his baton wailing wildly, his mind plays out various fantasies; his first thoughts are of murder, concocting an elaborate scheme which will leave Daphne dead and Tony framed as the killer. In another scenario he sees himself as the forgiving saintly husband, allowing his young wife to leave with his blessing, even going so far as to write her a check to cover their anticipated needs. Finally, he envisions himself cast him as the crazed, pitiful victim, confronting Daphne and Tony and committing suicide before their guilty eyes. As the music ends Sir Alfred has settled on murder as his method of revenge. He abruptly ends his performance and proceeds to put his plan into effect. Hilariously, nothing seems to go quite as smoothly as it had in his vision.

Harrison is masterful as the prim and proper husband who becomes the green-eyed monster bent on revenge. Under Sturges direction, Harrison succeeds in conveying the frailty of the male ego, when faced with the possibility that the little lady may have found the grass a little greener in the neighbor's yard. Darnell as Daphne looks ravishing as the suspected spouse. She ably plays innocent enough to draw doubts about her husband's charges, yet sexy enough to make you believe that the accusations just might be true. A very entertaining movie, I would definitely recommend Unfaithfully Yours particularly for Rex Harrison fans, as this is one of his finest performances.