Hochzeit wider Willen

Ray Milland plays a doctor who meets Young at a little vacation lodge one afternoon. Young is trying to get back to her home in the city, but unfortunately is forced to ride with Milland after learning that the lodge's only train has already left for the night. Milland and Young immediately hit it off (I'm kidding, they hate each other's guts) and only descend deeper into dissension after Milland unknowingly insults the books Young writes. Any guesses as to what kind of books Young writes? If you said "I don't know, anything to do with anti-marriage/female empowerment," ding ding ding! We have a winner (not that there's anything wrong with female empowerment, mind you).

Young and Miland make a brief stop while a wedding is going on. Unfortunately, a little boy, on a mission from God mistakes the wedding vehicle and puts a "Just Married" banner on the back of Milland's car, unbeknownst to either Young or Milland. The press ends up following the two back to Young's apartment and put 2 and 2 together. Unfortunately, they put 2 and 2 together and ended up with 5. Assuming that this prominent anti-marriage authoress has gotten married, they then proceed to print the news all over town, not realizing that this is a case of jumping to conclusions, or "ignorant slander," if you will.

Young's boyfriend Johnny has the idea that the 2 should pretend like they actually ARE married in order to help Young's upcoming book sell very well (the upcoming book has to do with the joys of marriage, etc). Boy, didn't see this coming (wink, wink). After some strong protest from Milland, Young finally gets her way and the two proceed to live together somewhat peacefully until Milland's girlfriend Marilyn (Gail Patrick) shows up and begins to wreak havoc (Gail surprised me in this, she doesn't play her borderline venomous, straight-shooter kind of role in this; she's more of a young Ann Miller-type?)

All in all, things get all wrapped up with a nice red bow at the ending, which I wasn't really expecting (wink, wink). I'd give this one a 7/10, as I've seen funnier (case in point, Bringing up Baby, Merrily We Live with Constance Bennett, or My Man Godfrey with Powell/Lombard). But Loretta Young is quite funny in this.

Doctor Takes a Wife, The (1940)

*** (out of 4)

Minor but entertaining screwball-comedy about a feminist writer (Loretta Young) and a doctor (Ray Milland) who meet while on vacation but hate each other from the start. After a mix up the media makes a mistake an announces that they were married so the two must pretend to be so that they can keep their careers. There's nothing overly special about this film but it does contain enough laughs to make it entertaining. It was nice seeing Young play a feminist as she's constantly shouting and holding her head up high while at the same time playing the sweet and loving wife as a joke. Her sweetness mixes perfectly well with Milland's dry humor and he really shines with his comic timing. The only really weak segment of the film comes when Milland is rushing between two apartments while trying to keep his girlfriend from finding out Young is in the other apartment. Reginald Gardiner and Gail Patrick add nice support as the editor and Milland's other girl. Edward Van Sloan has a small, thankless role as well.

In a role that was obviously first intended for Cary Grant, Ray Milland through an innocent series of misunderstanding finds everyone with the mistaken impression that he's married to Loretta Young. That would be all right, but the unmarried Young has just written a best selling book that has become a feminist manifesto in its day about how unattached women need not feel inferior. At least one of her readers feels she's a traitor to the breed.

Milland is a doctor, but not of the practicing kind, he's an instructor at a college with hopes of a professorship which is granted to him when the folks in charge of his college think he's now married. He had intended to marry Gail Patrick once again in her typecast part as the other woman. She doesn't like it at all.

On the other hand Reginald Gardiner as Young's publicist is perfectly willing to go with the flow. He's got plans in the wind for a book on the joys of being a newlywed if Young will keep up the charade.

So how will two people who really can't stand each other keep this up? That is the crux of the plot of The Doctor Takes A Wife.

Milland has a drunk scene which he does well and might have led to his casting in The Lost Weekend. He certainly fills Cary Grant's shoes quite nicely in the film. Young also does well as does the rest of the cast.

I also have to single out Frank Sully and Gordon Jones as a pair of amiable lunkhead football players who Milland passes to keep their eligibility. They look to return the favor and see how they do it.

The Doctor Takes A Wife is not a top drawer screwball comedy, but it certainly will amuse.

Unlike some other reviewers who found Loretta Young (as June Cameron) off-putting in the first part of the film, I liked her. It was rather Ray Milland (Dr Timothy Sperling) who came across as a misogynist blockhead. I don't know what attitudes were common in the USA c. 1940, but my guess is that Sperling's crass biologist views about gender roles were pretty marginal even back then. Still, director Alexander Hall evidently intended viewers to agree with the doctor rather than with the successful female author; after all, it is her who changes in the course of the film while Sperling stays the same.

In any case, once you put modern sensibilities aside and suspend disbelief long enough to accept the extremely unlikely setup of the storyline, this is a very good screwball comedy with witty dialogue and some absurdly comical situations. Both Young and Milland have great comic timing. So does Gail Patrick, to my surprise. I have seen here in other comedies (My Man Godfrey, Mad About Music), and while in each case she played quite different types of female roles (cold temptress, anxious mother) she was never really funny. Here she is, and that's great to see. In sum, The Doctor Takes a Wife is an enjoyable comedy that is well-worth watching.

Loretta Young (Kismet, zillions of romantic stories on love & marriage) is successful author June Cameron, who gets tangled up with Dr. Sterling (Ray Milland - Lost Weekend, the Major and the Minor). He agrees to help her out of a jam, but of course, their "resolution" causes problems in his own life, and later, problems in her life. Supporting roles by Reginald Gardiner and also Gail Patrick. Many similarities here to the 1945 film "Christmas in Connecticut" with Barbara Stanwyck, but they credit different authors. Also similar to "Third Finger Left Hand".. (Lionel Houser wrote Christmas in CT.. and Third Finger..) Loretta Young always reminds me of Ann Marie from the TV show "That Girl" -- thru a series of misunderstandings she herself has caused, she drags everyone around her into this huge ball of confusion, and has to straighten everything out at the last minute. Silly but fun. This flick could have been an episode of "Three's Company".