This Man Is Mine

IRENE DUNNE may have had a blossoming film career that led to much better things in the '40s, but her early '30s films were potboilers and this sophisticated comedy among the idle rich is one of them.

It's a thin comedy about a catty woman who threatens the happiness of IRENE DUNNE and RALPH BELLAMY, coming between them to the point where Dunne is all ready to sue for divorce until the woman (CONSTANCE CUMMINGS) turns to SIDNEY BLACKMER for her marriage partner. The script is full of catty one-liners but none of it is worthy of Dunne's presence. She did much better with screwball comedy material that came later.

A serious waste of time with a weak first half-hour that only picks up steam when Constance Cummings enters the scene. Ralph Bellamy is a bore as a bumbling husband in one of his rare leading man roles.

Summing up: Only for serious Irene Dunne fans.

A young married couple (Irene Dunne and Ralph Bellamy) have their union threatened when his old girlfriend (Constance Cummings) shows up freshly after having gotten a divorce. The wife's friend (Kay Johnson) provides moral support and tries to look out for her.

Despite a decent premise and the three strong female actors who all perform well in their roles, the way the story plays out is bound to irritate modern viewers, say what you will about it providing a window into the time period. The film is only 76 minutes long so while maddening, it's somewhat forgivable that the husband's head is completely turned so quickly, despite his saintly wife being so tolerant of his less than ideal nature (among other things, he jokes that she's getting fat early on). And there is a moment where she asserts herself and begins playing hardball with him and his old girlfriend, one that looked promising, but unfortunately it doesn't last.

The ending is disappointing as hell but not too surprising, and I wouldn't have actively disliked the film as much as I did for it alone, but two quotes capture aspects that sent it over the edge for me:

1. On the husband's adultery, from her friend: "Look here, Tony. You'll see Jim through pneumonia, typhoid, or even something as loathsome as smallpox, wouldn't you? ... Well, Fran is sort of a cross between a tidal wave and a smallpox epidemic, but she'll pass."

2. On a woman's black eye, from the wife: "How lovely. But I think it highly probable that every now and again Romeo took a little poke at Juliet."

The first emphasizes the central message of the film, that a wife should simply endure her husband's infidelity because it's natural. Nothing at all is said about her own sexual desires, because she's cast in the role of the saint, whereas the "other woman," the man-eating Cummings, is a devil. In this respect, this pre-Code film feels more like something from the Production Code era (and indeed, despite the indiscretion of staying out late with the girlfriend, the film explains that they haven't actually had sex, which certainly looks like it has Joseph Breen's fingerprints on it). The second quote has a woman explaining away a man's violence to another woman, that it's natural and sometimes called for, which is difficult to stomach.

There are other little annoying bits, such as the husband saying that the wife has psychologically projected her issues with her mother onto the whole thing, and this is clearly the film's view as well. Bellamy's character is just so damn unlikeable, but his meanness, adultery, violence, and gaslighting are all given such a cloak of respectability. It's a shame, because seeing Irene Dunne sing, Kay Johnson dole out world-weary advice, and Constance Cummings manipulate everyone around her made for some entertaining moments.

Irene Dunne plays Chopin and Hoagy Carmichael, paints landscapes, and has a toddler by husband Ralph Bellamy, whom she loves. Along comes Constance Cummings. She used to be engaged to Bellamy -- presumably before Miss Dunne married him -- and had abandoned him. She proceeds to wrap him around her finger and makes Bellamy ask his wife for a divorce.

This looks like it snuck in just before the Code descended on Hollywood, and while it starts off treacly and annoying as you wonder how Bellamy can fall for Miss Cummings' BS again, by the third act you accept that he's a fool. That's because Miss Dunne has decided to give him a divorce, but in New York State, where the only grounds are infidelity, and while Miss Collier enjoys taking other women's husbands from them, she doesn't think it polite for anyone to mention it. There's also the fun of Charles Starrett called up to act, and doing a decent job of it under the direction of John Cromwell, and Sidney Blackmer, before he became typecast, as a smug brute.

It's the sort of film I don't much care for, and it takes a while to get moving. However, by the end of it, it's a lot of fun.

Fast paced and pretty good dialogue throughout, plus runs about 1 hr 15 min.

The women are given the best lines -- sharp, funny, and often catty. Though their characters are quite minor to the story, I enjoyed the lines between husband and wife Slim and Rita, or "Cookie" and "Pookie" as they called each other. It was quite funny to hear them call each other by such cute little pet names, followed by a jab or barb or criticism! I don't think they said one nice thing to each other! The other supporting couples in the flick were always snapping at each other too -- Bea and Jud, and Fran and Mort.

The two main characters, Toni and Jim, are very much in love and exhibit some nice friendly banter at the beginning of the movie. This doesn't last for long as Jim's ex-fiancé, Fran, breezes into town, freshly divorced with a new dude already lined up (Mort) and setting her sights on winning Jim back ... not permanently, just for a night. Constance Cummings is great as Fran! Toni suffers through Jim's infidelity and even forgives him as she wants to save her marriage and her family (they have a 2-yr-old boy). Eventually, however, she decides she's had enough and files for divorce.

What's interesting (and one of the reasons I like to watch these older movies) is the glimpse we get into how things were done back in the day. Jim asks Toni where she filed for divorce, and is aghast to learn she filed in the state they live in. From what I can gather, she could've run off to Reno (as Fran did, and as so many women in films from the 1930s did, and get what amounts to a 'no fault' divorce). But, since Toni filed in the state they lived in (New York?) where there was only one grounds for divorce - infidelity - this required her to name a 'correspondent' (i.e., the outside party whom the spouse cheated with). Fran is quite upset to learn that Toni has filed in state and has named her as the correspondent. I really enjoy these little snippets into how life used to be long before I was born. It adds to the enjoyment of the movie somehow, a little history lesson along with my entertainment.

Anyways ... back to the movie. Fran doesn't want to be involved in a scandal and, in addition, has since learned that Mortie is stinking rich, so she ups and marries him, hoping this will dissuade Toni from divorcing Jim (and naming Fran as correspondent). Jim comes crawling back to Toni and the movie ends with them kissing (presumably Toni's going to take him back). I'd have liked to see Toni kick Jim to the curb, but alas it looks like she's going to take him back instead.

Toni was played wonderfully by Irene Dunn, and Jim was played by Ralph Bellamy. It was nice to see what the old coot from Trading Places looked like back when he was a young man.

Pretty good, not great, but I wasn't disappointed that I watched it either. This movie appears on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) every once in a while.

Based on a play, "This Man is Mine" is a 1934 film directed by John Cromwell and starring Irene Dunne, Ralph Bellamy, Constance Cummings, Kay Johnson, and Sidney Blackmer.

Dunne plays Tony Dunlap, who for 4-1/2 years has been married to Jim, and they have a little boy. They are very happy. Then they learn that femme fatale Fran Harper is back in town. Fran left Jim at the altar, so she's a sore subject. Tony makes no attempt to keep her husband and Fran separated, and Fran, a beautiful glamor girl, immediately makes a play for her ex-beau. Within five minutes, he's making out with her and ready to divorce his wife and leave his child. Pretty ridiculous. Tony agrees to give him a divorce in six months, if that's what he still wants. Of course she knows in six months he'll want no such thing, but for some reason she wants to keep him around.

It goes on from there. This is a weak play with two not very believable characters, the obvious Fran and Jim, although I suppose it could be argued that as obvious as Fran is, you couldn't expect a dummy like Jim to see it.

Dunne does a great job as a smart woman who's in love and takes the clever road. She could be applauded if she weren't married to someone who doesn't deserve her.

Cummings, a wonderful actress, looks gorgeous and plays her part to the flirtatious hilt. Though she never liked Hollywood and eventually returned to both the theater and her native England, she was always a pleasure to watch. In the late '70s, she did a play, Wings, on Broadway and on tour about a stroke victim and had great success. She worked until 1986, when she was about 80, and died when she was 90. A shame she didn't make more movies.

Despite poorly fleshed-out characters and an unrealistic scenario, "This Man is Mine" is enjoyable for Dunne and Cummings, and also Sidney Blackmer in a decent role, years before he played Roman Castavet in Rosemary's Baby.