Three Husbands

After suffering a fatal heart attack, confirmed bachelor Emlyn Williams (as Maxwell "Max" Bard) gives heavenly greeters his last wish - he would like to observe events on Earth for the next twenty-four hours. And, with good reason. Mr. Williams has left not only a will, but also letters to "Three Husbands" admitting affairs with each of their three wives. The three men are poker playing pals Shepperd Strudwick (as Arthur Evans), Robert Karnes (as Kenneth Whittaker), and Howard Da Silva (as Dan McCabe). Their respective wives are Ruth Warrick (as Jane), Vanessa Brown (as Mary), and Eve Arden (as Lucille).

Mr. Strudwick, who is having an affair with attractive Louise Erickson (as Matilda Clegg) nevertheless takes the news hard.

Mr. Da Silva thinks the letter is a dead man's a joke, until Ms. Arden hints otherwise. And, happily married Mr. Karnes becomes frantically jealous. The admissions of infidelity threaten all three marriages, as everyone wonders if Williams was writing the truth… This lighter, low-budget take on the hit "A Letter to Three Wives" (1949) is surprisingly adroit, for what it cost; though, obviously, it would have had a greater impact if done ten years earlier, or updated decades later. Williams leads a fine ensemble cast, with bartender Jerry Hausner, butler Benson Fong, and elevator man Frank Cady given memorable "bit" parts.

****** Three Husbands (3/8/51) Irving Reis ~ Emlyn Williams, Eve Arden, Shepperd Strudwick, Robert Karnes

Screen Play and Story by Vera Caspary, a writer, known for "Laura" (1944), "A Letter to Three Wives" (1949), and my favorite Bachelor in Paradise (1961.)

Basic story is Englishman that moved to California, Max (Emlyn Williams) dies of a hart attack. In the process of heavenly internment, he is given a wish. He has ben a naughty boy with three men's wife's and leaves them each a letter inferring this. Now he (and we) wants to see their reaction.

The story is so, so, and we must put up with Hollywood Production Code.

On the plus side you will see many familiar faces (actors) and try to remember where you have seen them before.

4/20/18. I have forgotten why I originally wanted to watch this. Well, it wasn't that much of a romantic comedy and it didn't hold up too well over time. Enjoyed seeing Eve Arden though.

Plot-- From cloudy heaven, a departed playboy gleefully watches three married couples grapple with problems he's created with incriminating letters to the husbands. Could it be that he has a hidden purpose.

Pairing the sardonic Eve Arden with the gruff Howard DaSilva has all kinds of comedic potential. Too bad they don't get more barbed screen time. Then the sometimes comedy, sometimes drama, would get more needed spark. There's clever banter among the three couples, but much of the acting, particularly Strudwick and Karnes, fails to lift beyond the blandly conventional. Nor does Reis's direction heighten the effects. Nonetheless, actor Williams manages to make his potentially dislikable character, Max, oddly likable. Also, scenes in celluloid heaven could raise a touchy 'who-rules' religious problem. However, the script finesses this by making the gate-keeper sound like a corporate auditor without indicating who's ultimately in charge.

Overall, it's an indie production that shows its limitations; at the same time, the occasional snappy dialogue amounts to the best part.

The day before Emlyn Williams' will is read, his lawyer, Jonathan Hale, hands three confidential letters to Howard Da Silva, Sheppard Strudwick, and Robert Karnes. In them, Williams confesses to an affair with each one's wife, to wit Eve Arden, Ruth Warrick, and Vanessa Brown.

They were getting pretty tired of the Production Code in Hollywood, what with the downturn in business, and Vera Caspary wrote this hot and frank story....except the Code was still in effect, so the letters only go so far as naming the women. What could they have been doing? Attending committee meetings? Music recitals? French lessons? The unnamed sin is worse than anything they might have been doing, because it's up to the blue-nosed censor in the movie seat to name what he or she considers the worst sin. It's that sniggering, leering attitude that typifies the worst of the Code era; a little casual fornication would seem wholesome by comparison, and the erotic symbols of screwball comedy erudite.

Sigh. At least they've got some good performers in this one, including Billie Burke and Jane Darwell.