JEAN ARTHUR, FRED MacMURRAY and MELVYN DOUGLAS are the kind of stars who are able to turn formula stuff into gold that glitters. This may have been based on an original play by Somerset Maugham, but it's just another spin on MY FAVORITE WIFE from the same year.
The fun is wonderful while it lasts--for the first forty-five minutes. But soon it veers into repetition with a series of scenes showing Arthur unable to make up her mind as to which hubby she prefers.
MELVILLE COOPER is fun as the befuddled servant and HARRY DAVENPORT is delightful as Arthur's father. And FRED MacMURRAY and MELVYN DOUGLAS are especially funny in competitive moments, with Fred showing off his athletic prowess by jumping over furniture while Douglas fumes. But Claude Binyon's script is unable to overcome the one joke premise of the whole thing.
It threatens to run out of steam before the situation is resolved with a wacky nightclub scene in which all three kick up their heels for the finale.
It's formula comedy but there's no denying that all three stars were gifted at this sort of comedy and work extremely well together.
Trivia note: Like many a Jean Arthur film in the '30s and '40s, this one opened at Radio City Music Hall, a showcase for prestigious family films.
The fun is wonderful while it lasts--for the first forty-five minutes. But soon it veers into repetition with a series of scenes showing Arthur unable to make up her mind as to which hubby she prefers.
MELVILLE COOPER is fun as the befuddled servant and HARRY DAVENPORT is delightful as Arthur's father. And FRED MacMURRAY and MELVYN DOUGLAS are especially funny in competitive moments, with Fred showing off his athletic prowess by jumping over furniture while Douglas fumes. But Claude Binyon's script is unable to overcome the one joke premise of the whole thing.
It threatens to run out of steam before the situation is resolved with a wacky nightclub scene in which all three kick up their heels for the finale.
It's formula comedy but there's no denying that all three stars were gifted at this sort of comedy and work extremely well together.
Trivia note: Like many a Jean Arthur film in the '30s and '40s, this one opened at Radio City Music Hall, a showcase for prestigious family films.