No confíes en tu marido

"Don't Trust Your Husband" is a 1948 film starring Fred MacMurray, Madeleine Carroll, Rita Johnson, and Buddy Rogers.

Carroll and MacMurray play a couple, Vincent and Paula Doane, who have been married five years. He's in advertising and is never home due to having to work with one Mr. Fraser. One day he says he's playing golf with Mr. Fraser. However, he leaves without his golf clubs, which Paula throws out the window.

Paula concludes there's another woman. In truth, he is trying to land an account but must deal with his ex-fiancée and doesn't want to tell Paula. Her sister-in-law (Johnson) talks her into hiring an actor to flirt with her at the anniversary dinner she and Vincent are having. Vincent finds out about it from a friend, and looks forward to it.

However, Claude Kimball (Rogers), the President of a huge tobacco company enters the restaurant, and even though the talent agent has reserved the table next to Paula and Vincent, the restaurant owner insists that Kimball must be seated there instead as it's a better table than the one where he was to be seated.

This had great potential and was good for sure, but I would have loved to have seen it with a better director and a better cast. There is nothing wrong with MacMurray or Carroll, but in the hands of, say, Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, just as a for-instance, it could have been a scream. Also it needed to be directed with a little more zip.

Enjoyable but on the ordinary side.

Frankly, I was surprised to learn that the two stars of this obscure but engaging comedy – Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll – had starred in four previous films together (all of which are, for that matter, even less well-known than this one and, curiously enough, directed by the same – here it comes again – little known director!). In fact, this was not only Carroll's fifth and final teaming with MacMurray but also her penultimate film; that said, the two stars display a nice chemistry throughout.

The plot itself recalls to a certain degree the classic THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937), where a married couple starts divorce proceedings (and new affairs) but then decide they're best suited for each other at the end. MacMurray is an advertising executive (a lot of comedies from this era were set in this milieu) and Carroll his somewhat neglected wife – he says that his constant delays at work involve business meetings, but she suspects the presence of another woman (being the type of comedy it is, she turns out to be right…and, to make matters worse, the girl – played by Louise Albritton – concerned is none other than an ex-flame of MacMurray's!). In order to make her husband jealous, she hires an actor through an agency to flirt with her at a restaurant – but a waiter's mistake lands her in the arms of a Southern tobacco tycoon (Charles "Buddy" Rogers)!

Anyway, the comic situations that ensue (typically, these usually involve misunderstanding and embarrassment) make for a pleasant and unassuming hour and a half; highlights include Rogers explaining to MacMurray how he applied logic to arrive at the name "Kim Zezyzle" for his brand of cigarettes, and Alan Mowbray – posing as Albritton's husband during a dinner engagement for MacMurray's benefit – constantly interrupting the sensitive conversation (even after Carroll has joined the table) to boorishly ask, "When do we eat?"

The title card says "Don't Trust your Husband", but this one is listed on Turner Classics as "An Innocent Affair". Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll are husband and wife, and it's the usual misunderstandings and antics as Vincent (MacMurray) entertains a client, who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend. Wife Paula is sure that Vincent is having an affair, so she tries to make him jealous with schemes of her own. Send in Buddy Rogers. The music helps add to the comedic theme here...similar to cartoon music. Music director Hans Salter was nominated for SIX Oscars! This might not have been as good as it is without MacMurray carrying the weight. He had been in the biz for YEARS by this time. Directed by Lloyd Bacon, who had worked for the greats, does a fine job directing. Pretty Good. Nothing earth-shattering, but entertaining.

Vincent Doane (Fred MacMurray) is hiding something from his wife. Although completely innocent, he's been taking an ex-fiancee out to dinner in order to land a big account for his advertising agency. He is faithful and loves his wife but foolishly he doesn't trust her to believe him. When she thinks he's fooling around or lying, she decides to hire an actor to pretend to woo her in order to make Vincent jealous. The problem is that the man who is now making eyes at her is NOT the actor she played but a rich millionaire! How's this all going to work out? See the film and find out for yourself.

The story is familiar in that later the pair keep digging deeper and deeper holes until they're headed for divorce. This aspect of the film isn't fun...though the parts leading up to it are. Overall, worth seeing and enjoyable...though a tad overlong.

The title on the DVD I purchased of "An Innocent Affair" is different – "Don't Trust Your Husband." It's a good comedy about that subject – trust, in marriage. We have all seen various renditions of comedies on the subject. Cary Grant, has played in three or four different films himself. In this one, Fred MacMurray teams up with Madeleine Carroll as Vincent and Paula Doane. The story is a good one, with both stars on the end of jealousy and mistrust. They are both still deeply in love with one another after five years of marriage. But, Vince's job as an advertising executive sometimes takes him away from home at night. The problem starts when he tells a lie to cover up the real client he has been trying to sign for two weeks. He lies because he doesn't think Paula will trust or believe him because of whom that client is. It's all downhill from there, until the very end. But naturally, that's where we get most of the comedy.

It is a good film, but not much better than that. Several things seem askew, beginning with the script. It seems a little flat – not much life in it. The same can be said for the direction. And, while both the leads do well in their roles, there just isn't any chemistry between them. I think Carroll, as a rule, is a bit more reserved than most of the main line comedy actresses (Carol Lombard, Irene Dunne, Claudette Colbert, Ginger Rogers, Myrna Loy, etc.). She did well, and there seemed to be some chemistry with MacMurray in "Honeymoon in Bali." I haven't seen their other two comedy pairings ("Café Society" of 1939 and "One Night in Lisbon," 1941). Carroll was quite good with Dick Powell in "On the Avenue," but the few other comedies she made didn't fare very well. She is a much better actress in her more frequent roles in adventure films and dramas.

Two other performances in this movie helped lift it up to the six stars I give it. Rita Johnson is very good as Eve Lawrence – Vince's sister and Paula's good friend. And, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers is excellent as Claude Kimball, the tobacco king. He plays the southern gentleman perfectly with the shock and befuddled acceptance of what he sees as the most unusual marital arrangement between Vince and Paula. How he comes to that conclusion is all part of the humor of the film. This is a good comedy, and one with a more direct message than most about the relationship between honesty and trust. I could picture Cary Grant and Carol Lombard in the roles, or Irene Dunne with MacMurray. They would have raised the laughter bar a few notches.