J'ai deux maris

This screwball comedy surprised me. I've already seen a few Tyrone Power-Loretta Young films and liked them very much. This one, on the other hand, was far less enjoyable and just a bit shrill--with lots of actors shouting their lines--even the usually demure Miss Young. All too often, the film seemed to try a bit too hard and ended up being a very loud and far from subtle film.

Power and Young play a couple who have divorced each other and now Young is married to dull old Lyle Talbot. When Power comes on to the scene, he claims it's all an accident and he has no intentions towards his -ex, but it's obvious to almost everyone (except poor Lyle) that Tyrone wants his wife back. In many ways, the film reminds me of several of Cary Grant's films such as THE AWFUL TRUTH and MY FAVORITE WIFE, as well as the Colbert-McCrea film, PALM BEACH STORY--though all of these films are made better. The bottom line is that there have been many similar movies that were simply written better--with better dialog and far less yelling. As a result, this is a thoroughly mediocre film and not among the stars' best.

By the way, look for Lon Chaney, Jr. in a tiny part as a reported towards the end of the film. Look fast or you'll miss him in one of his earlier roles.