Esposa de día

Since Linda was born on October 16, 1923 and the film was released on November 24, 1939, that means she was 15 years old all the time she was making it (post production work takes TIME)! All in all, I found this film to be very enjoyable, with LD doing a great job for her age, certainly comparable to what Joan Leslie was doing at 15 years of age (Sergeant York, High Sierra, Yankee Doodle Dandy). Warren William did a great job as her lecherous boss - in fact I can't think of any other actor of the time who could have pulled it off - slick, slimy, urbane - with just the right amount of good spirits - a gifted farceur. Fun, worth the time spent, especially if you're into glossy '30s films and in lockdown, Covid or otherwise.

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.

Day-Time Wife starred Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell together for the first time, they went on to do two more films and much better ones, The Mark Of Zorro and Blood And Sand. Look very closely at Darnell she was only 16 at the time playing a relatively new bride with only two years of marriage under her belt. Back then Darnell's mother added a couple of years to her resume so she would be hired and it worked. In fact this was only Linda Darnell's second feature film all together.

The story involves the age old gambit of the spouse starting to suspect the husband is cheating on her. In this case Darnell has a candidate with the flirtatious Wendy Barrie who is Ty's secretary and would love to have him nail her. Darnell also has a confidante in the older much married Binnie Barnes who is functioning as Eve Arden here. She feeds Darnell's suspicions with a good wisecrack or three.

So Linda goes out in the working world and becomes a secretary to another man with a roving eye, Warren William. Of course that Power and William are business associates she doesn't know and finds out after she's taken the job. That's when the film gets interesting.

Joan Davis is in Day-Time Wife as the receptionist at William's office and she's somewhat subdued and a bit wasted here. Her zaniness was not all that in evidence.

Day-Time Wife will never make the list of best screwball comedies of the era nor of the top ten films of Tyrone Power or Linda Darnell. Still it's a pleasant and none too taxing diversion for the viewer.

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!

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.