Esposa de día

1939 may have been the shiniest of Hollywood's Golden Years, but this gilded stinker should certainly keep us from getting too gassy about the whole thing.

Yes, the principals are pretty, and given that (if you can believe the biographical info) Darnell had barely entered puberty by the time she was outfitted in this ermine-lined straitjacket, she acquits herself fairly well (altho her girlish piping seems bizarre vis a vis the later, memorable alto of "Letter to Three Wives").

But if you ever needed proof that Tyrone Power was no Cary Grant, brother, stop here. His double-takes and eye-rolling are appalling and his comic timing non-existent. Power looks heroic in a dinner jacket, but otherwise he's just plain rotten here.

So is most of the dialogue. And the direction.

I suppose "Day-Time Wife" merits some historical attention as one more '30's "comedy of remarriage," but its essential feature is its mind-boggling stupidity.

A light-as-air confection, with very dark overtones. The very young, fresh-faced Linda Darnell is stood up on their second anniversary by husband Tyrone Power. The always delightful Binnie Barnes, her poisonous often-divorced friend Blanche says he's fooling around. Darnell refuses to believe it.

But believe it she must as evidence piles up. So, under the guide of shopping all day, she takes a job as a secretary. Her goal: finding out what about their secretaries appeals to men. (It must be noted that a husband willing to accept five-day-a-week, all-day shopping expeditions goes against many conventions.) Ushered in by goofy but knowing receptionist Joan David -- THE Joan Davis, that divine comedienne here in an early, rather small role -- she interviews for a job. Her boss is Warren William, at his slimiest. He comes on to her like nobody's business, his own wife notwithstanding.

Darnell is determined to keep working rather than depend on Power's money and to pursue her plan: What makes these guys fall for these girls? William and Power are business associates and they all, secretaries and his wife included, end up at a nightclub. She is very firm with Power but in the end makes up with him.

It's an early feminist movie. And in its own gentle way it's a subversive one, too. Unlike Catherine Deneuve in "Belle de jour," she does not become a call girl. But she scandalizes her chauvinistic, narrow-minded husband by becoming a working woman -- and a very smart one at that.

When Linda Darnell was a teenager, she had a picture of Tyrone Power in her bedroom. Little did she know that she'd play his wife in only her second film when she was the ripe old age of sixteen, and wind up acting alongside him in four more movies! Isn't that an adorable story, and doesn't it make you want to rent the cute marital comedy Day-Time Wife? If it does, you'll be in for a treat.

Linda wasn't remembered for playing anyone sweet, but after watching this romantic comedy, I wonder why. She's totally adorable! She and Ty make a very sweet newlywed couple, and after worshipping him the year before, I'm sure she was thrilled by all the smooches they got to share. The plot of the movie sounds pretty silly, but the screenplay is cute enough to make it entertaining. Linda suspects Ty is cheating on her with his secretary, so to understand the appeal, she works as a secretary to one of his business associates, Warren William. Warren oozes suave experience, so you can tell it's only a matter of time before he hits on Linda. Sure enough, it only takes him a week before taking her out to lunch and giving her a silver fox cape. "Your mouth is very pretty when you say 'no.' Have you heard that before?" he says, in a smart and clever come-on.

While Linda juggles her secret job during the day and trying to get proof of Ty's affair during the evening, the audience waits for the inevitable: a confrontation. When it finally happens, it's hilarious. Don't even think about pressing pause for a bathroom break. Linda, Ty, and Warren spar so beautifully off each other, you almost hope nothing gets resolved so they can continue. However, this is a romantic comedy, so you can make a safe bet that the ending doesn't leave too much up in the air. And in case you have any doubt as to the meaning of the title, you'll have to wait until the last line is spoken for an explanation. But it's fun while you're waiting!

Sixteen-year-old Linda Darnell has been married to Tyrone Power Jr. For two years and reports are that some of those business dinners he's been stuck on have been tete-a-tetes with his secretary. Wondering what this strange fascination secretaries hold on men is, Miss Darnell goes out and applies for a job as secretary to Warren William. When she admits to playing backgammon, he hires her and tries dating her as a relief from his wife. Of course, Power is trying to get a contract with William, and....

I have speculated that Preston Sturges had blackmail photographs of people high up in the Hays Office. This movie, although not as overt as the scripts Sturges typically got approved, doesn't hide its consideration of subject under as many as seven veils. It plays nicely off Williams' predatory boss characters in Warner Pre-Codes, and has nice small roles for Binnie Barnes, Wendy Barrie and Joan Davis. Power was said to hate roles like this, and I can't blame him. Playing whiny second banana to Miss Darnell can't have done much to satisfy his yearning to be an actor.

Just 7 reviews on this one by the time I'm writing this, with a couple of them being very very negative.

Bla, bla, bla... 1939 was the best year in Hollywood history (since when? who said that?) ... bla, bla, bla...Tyrone Power is terrible... bla, bla, bla... they should have casted Cary Grant.

NONSENSE. The script is fairly good (as long as someone has seen a couple of 1930's films more than just "Holiday" and "Bringing Up Baby") and Tyrone Power is quite descent and very funny.

Furthermore, someone who has watched just a few of the dozens of romantic - screwball comedies of that era, would have known that there were MANY other male leads besides Cary Grant, actors who gave as wonderful performances as C.G. gave in some of his films. They would also know that even though Cary Grant was magnificent, he also had done some VERY BAD movies through the 30's.

Finally, a request for the IMDb stuff. It's terribly unfair for a movie to have on it's main page a 100 word review with the title "Simply awful!". Especially when this review gives absolutely no reasons on why the movie is "awful". The fact that 22/26 people who have read the review, DISAPPROVED it, speaks for itself.