The Skipper Surprised His Wife

"The Skipper Surprised His Wife" is a film that lost money when it came out in 1950. I can understand why. Now I am NOT saying it's a bad film...but it sure seemed like a sit-com episode more than a film I would have rushed to the theaters to see!

When the film begins, you see that Robert Walker (in an odd bit of casting) is a Commander of a Destroyer in the navy. His ship has been ordered back home to San Diego and he's thrilled to be able to see his wife and two boys again. However, soon after his arrival, his wife falls and breaks her leg...forcing the Commander to take over household duties. This section is a typical fish out of water sort of thing and the guy screws up again and again.

Later, using navy efficiency techniques, he decides to use the navy way to improve the running of the household. At first, it's still the fish out of water scenario, but after some time he gets the hang of things...and here's where real serious problems begin. He begins to get a fat head and this know-it-all soon is asked to speak to a ladies' group...and he makes a total mess of things. So what's next for this guy and his poor, poor family?

As I said above, this has sit-com written all over it...making it very slight and skippable. It practically screams 'time-passer' and is one that is harmless fun as well as easy to skip.

It's the supporting cast that make it fun. Eddie arnold, leon ames, and giggling spring byington. Who doesn't do much giggling in this one. Too bad. When mom daphne lattimer is injured, hubby commander lattimer must take over and watch the kids. Unfortunately, while hubby can run a multimillion dollar battle ship, he can't seem to run the vacuum cleaner. Or coffee pot. Or the toaster. We've seen those kitchen disasters before, with hepburn and tracy, in adams rib. Which was SO much better. There's little chemistry here, between walker and leslie, playing husband and wife. There is a funny sight gag, as lattimer and the neighbor are crying and sniffling, while cutting up onions, and talking about household chores. Kind of precursor to yours, mine, and ours. Or with six you get eggroll. It's okay. It feels like the script was written during wartime, but the film wasn't made until years later. Seems to be a B movie. And what's with the giant ironing machine? Was that really a thing? My mom was using a hand held iron for many years after this film was made. Directed by elliott nugent...this was one of the last films he directed. He made five films with bob hope!

If you are familiar with the dozens of Joe McDoakes shorts of the 1940's and 50's, you've seen just about all the comedy in this movie already. But where as Joe was just a bumbling "everyman", in this movie, Robert Walker plays William J. Lattimer, Navy Commander and Annapolis graduate.

When Lattimer's wife Daphne, played by Joan Leslie, breaks her ankle, the good Commander must take over the household chores. It's a bit of a stretch to see how incompetent he is at it. Mistaking bubble bath for dish soap, opening the cupboard and being hit in the head with the ironing board, etc..

It gets a bit more interesting once they burn off some slapstick, but this movie never goes beyond average. It doesn't bore you, but it doesn't excite you either. The large number of users rating this movie a 10 is a mystery to me. US users rate this 5.5, which seems about right. Non-US users rate this 8.6. I have no clue why. Maybe lots of French voters? They really seem to love their non-verbal humor.