Father Takes a Wife

Legendary silent screen superstar Gloria Swanson comes to the rescue of this tepid romantic comedy. Her screen appearances in talkies are rare enough to make every one of them a "must-see" for devotees of show business in general and films in specific.

Here, the iconic actress actually plays second fiddle to lead Adolphe Menjou. She gamely jumps into this very minor programmer lending it a glossy sheen with her unique charm and style. Never really an actress know for her comedic skills, Swanson here demonstrates her skill at it and it apparent that she enjoys the genre.

The plot may be as lightweight as a champagne bubble, but Swanson's melodious voice and her glamorous facade certainly elevate the proceedings to a very enjoyable eighty minutes. And old pro Menjou makes a good fit for her costar because of both his age and his height, and the audience can easily believe in their relationship. Able support also comes from dashing and boyish Desi Arnaz and droll Helen Broderick.

Swanson sports some fantastic and outrageous costumes sure to delight every fan of Hollywood fashion in the 1940's. The fur ensemble that she wears in the play within the movie is off the charts in terms of luxurious glamor and style. Anyone fascinated by the beautiful and impracticable costumes of Hollywood designers will have a field day here.

If not for Swanson, I'd give this movie four out of ten stars, but because of her -- I'll add two more!

A business magnate retires to enjoy his marriage to a famous actress, much to his adult son's annoyance. Mediocre comedy from RKO that initially looks as though it might cover new ground, but which quickly falls back on the usual formula of marital suspicion and misunderstandings when immigrant singer Desi Arnaz shows up.

In the period between Sadie (28) and Sunset Blvd (50), Gloria Swanson's movie roles were rare (8) and critical review just medium. But in Father Takes a Wife, her still gorgeous glims, deftness at dialogue and flair for funny makes one wonder what might've been had she the opportunities of the slightly younger Joan Crawford (08) and Greta Garbo (05), the former set to soar (The Women), the latter leaving her best "faces" in the Silents. Directed by Jack Hively (The Saint, Lassie TV), Father co-stars Adolph Menjou, Mary Treen, Helen Broderick, Neil Hamilton, Grady Sutton, Desi Arnaz, Florence Rice and John Howard as jealous Junior, the stepson (2.5/4).

Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Swanson, Desi Arnaz, John Howard, with Helen Broderick and Florence Rice star in "Father Takes a Wife," from 1941.

Much is made of the fact in this film that shipping magnate Frederick Osborne Sr. (Menjou) is marrying a much younger woman in the famous actress Leslie Collier (Swanson). We see him exercising and doing different things to try and stay young. In truth, Menjou was around 50-51 when this movie was made, and Swanson was around 42. Not much of an age difference.

Fred Jr. (Howard) is shocked and worried -- dad has a temper, is used to getting his way, and Leslie, alas, is the same way. In fact they quarrel immediately before and after the wedding.

Their honeymoon is a sea voyage, and Fred meets Carlos (Desi Arnaz), who is a stowaway, going to New York to make it as a singer. Fred takes pity on him and wants him to stay with him and Leslie at their home.

When Leslie hears this, she hits the ceiling. Fred is thinking that since Leslie promised to quit acting, helping Carlos in show business will give her the attention she has always had. She says no.

When she is introduced to Carlos, suddenly she's all smiles and insisting he stay with them. Carlos has his own floor but he still manages to drive them insane singing the same passages over and over as he prepares for his debut, arranged by Leslie. Between the singing and the lack of attention from Leslie, Fred Sr. leaves and goes to his son's home.

Junior and Enid decide to let Carlos stay with them. Father and son then get together and decide they need to somehow have Carlos' career take place elsewhere.

I actually enjoyed the Desi Arnaz sequences the best. They were very funny. Carlos is first off, a complete egomaniac, and his rehearsals would drive anyone insane.

Swanson is very good, but this really isn't much of a story for her. She doesn't come off as Fred's young wife at all and for me, her performance was more of a stage performance.

Menjou also was very good, but I felt they made an odd couple. Each would have done better with someone else playing their spouse. For Menjou, maybe Claudette Colbert, who was 39 at the time but less aggressive; and for Swanson, perhaps Edward Arnold, who would have been funny exercising etc.

Worth seeing especially for Swanson. There are certainly opportunities to see her on film, but not a heck of a lot, and she usually played more exotic roles. This is a chance to see her in something slightly different.

1941's FATHER TAKES A WIFE was Gloria Swanson's first motion picture in seven years. This quite modest little comedy is hardly an ideal comeback vehicle but Swanson herself in her autobiography admits it was the first movie she had been offered in years. If playing second fiddle to 51-year-old Adolphe Menjou, generally a supporting player in films at this point, was a bit humbling, 42-year-old Gloria dived in and proved she was ever the pro and still durably glamorous. Menjou stars as a shipping magnate who has fallen for stage star Swanson; all business for decades, he is now in his second youth with this new romance. He hands over the business to son John Howard and the middle-aged newlyweds embark on a honeymoon cruise to Mexico. Returning to the states, Menjou discovers a stowaway on board, Desi Arnaz, who is a concert singer in his unstated native country (doubtlessly Cuba). Sympathetic at first, Menjou moves Arnaz into the family mansion so he can practice for launching a career in America but the arrangement quickly gets on his nerves as Arnaz more than makes himself at home and in particular, his resentment at wife Swanson's devotion to being the benefactress for the young protégé.

This movie is only 79 minutes but it seems longer with it's episodic turns and not particularly amusing attempts at humor. Swanson looks gorgeous in some very lovely fashions but in several scenes she saddled with a not particularly flattering hairstyle. Her voice at times a little too hesitant for her role as a headstrong veteran star, as if she may be afraid some of her character's actions may seem a bit unsympathetic but it's still a good performance. Menjou is in fine form as the bewitched if often exasperated spouse. John Howard and Florence Rice do well as Menjou's son and daughter-in-law and Arnaz is fun as the conceited if innocuous protégé. Indeed, a times the Swanson-Arnaz angle seems like a family-friendly version of SUNSET BLVD's Swanson-William Holden. Trivia buffs may want to watch for unbilled bits by Loretta Young's ex-husband Grant Withers (as Judge Waters) and Ginger Rogers' future husband Jack Briggs (as Menjou's chauffeur).

Predictable and unmemorable, FATHER TAKES A WIFE deserves at least one viewing for the rather rare chance to see the legendary Gloria Swanson in a sound motion picture.