Bigamie

This is one of the strangest films I have ever seen coming from Hollywood in the 1950s. It is a very engaging film about Edmond O'Brien and his double-life. He is married to Joan Fontaine and loves her, but there marriage is very distant--both emotionally and because O'Brien is on the road so much as a traveling salesman. Eventually, he is driven by loneliness to another woman in another town. Over and over, he vows to break it off but eventually this other woman becomes pregnant and he just can bring himself to either leave her or his wife! The movie is shown through flashbacks. And, despite the sensational plot, the movie is actually done very sedately and avoids sensationalism. Instead, it tries to portray O'Brien in a pretty sympathetic light--while not excusing his actions. And, by doing so, the movie really gets you thinking. An excellent job of acting by all, but the star of this picture is Ida Lupino who plays the second wife and so deftly directed this little film. It's well worth a watch.

PS--one very cute little inside joke was when O'Brien and Lupino were on a bus going past homes of the stars. Among the many stars' homes that were pointed out by the tour guide was that of Edmund Gwenn--who actually plays a major role in the film as an adoption agency investigator!

Selling deep-freezes has been very good for west coast salesman Edmond O'Brien. He maintains a posh apartment in San Francisco and a bungalow in Los Angeles, both equipped with all the appurtenances of post-war prosperity, including a wife in each. In the city by the bay, Joan Fontaine serves as his helpmate not only at home but at work, where she serves as his executive secretary. But those long trips south can get lonely, and one afternoon, killing time on a tour bus, he flirts with Ida Lupino. Next thing, she's pregnant and married to him, too.

He might have gotten away with living his bigamous life but for the fact that he and the barren Fontaine decide to adopt a child. Enter Edmund Gwenn, an investigator for the adoption agency. No flies on Gwenn: He delves into O'Brien's background as if he were vetting him for Secretary of Defense. Caught in his two acts, O'Brien divulges his sad saga, in flashback, to the fascinated Gwenn.

Directed by Lupino, The Bigamist looks like it's going to turn into a weeper but doesn't quite make it. For one thing, odd touches crop up. The San Francisco high-rise is decorated in chic Chinoiserie, while in Los Angeles, Lupino slings chop suey in a dump called the Canton Café. Then, on the tour of Beverly Hills mansions, the driver points out the homes of movie stars; among them is Edmund Gwenn's. Meant as a light in-joke, it ends up as a distancing ploy when O'Brien and Lupino start chatting about Miracle on 34th Street.

But, closer to the bone, The Bigamist treats O'Brien with lavish sympathy. To be sure, there are the ritualistic mentions of `the moral laws we all live by' and the like, but on the whole he's portrayed as a victim of circumstance. For every victim, however, there's usually a villain. In this case, the finger wags at Fontaine, who can't bear a child and who takes her husband's work more seriously than she takes his ego.

Much is made, justifiably, of Lupino's bucking the male-dominated system by daring to direct movies. Yet The Bigamist demonstrates how hard it must have been to buck the social outlook of America in the early Eisenhower era.

Gossipy note: Writer/producer of The Bigamist was Collier Young, Lupino's second husband. They divorced in 1951, two years before they collaborated on this movie. She went on to marry Howard Duff; he to wed none other than Joan Fontaine. It must have made for an interesting production.

Always enjoy a film in which Ida Lupino directs and stars in the same film. This story has a twisted tale about a guy named Harry Graham, (Edmond O'Brien) who is married to a very successful woman, Eve Graham, (Joan Fontaine), who devotes her entire life to her business along with her husband who is a traveling salesman for their company. When Eve found out she could not have any children, she unknowingly neglected her husband and they went their separate ways, only seeing each other maybe once or twice a month. Harry meets up with a young woman, Phyllis Martin, ( Ida Lupino ) on a tour bus in Los Angeles and they both get interested in each other. One day, out of the blue Eve Graham asks Harry if he would like to adopt a child and so they engage the help of Mr. Jordan, (Edmund Gwenn) who works for a child adoption agency. Mr. Jordan explains that he will have to investigate both of their backgrounds and Mr. Jordan begins to have his doubts about Harry. It is at this point in the film when it gets very interesting. This is truly a great 1953 film Classic; I was surprised to learn that Joan Fontaine and Ida Lupino were both married to Collier Young who wrote the screenplay for this film.

Ida Lupino, the trail blazing female director, both stars and directs in this extraordinary 1953 film "The Bigamist".

Ms. Lupino made interesting films and tackled some difficult subject matter. This being one of them, the plot conveyed in the title. However, Ms. Lupino, brings sympathy and understanding to all 3 main characters, herself playing Phyllis, Joan Fontaine playing Eve, the barren wife and the travelling tortured salesman played by Edmond O'Brien. Twee in-jokes aside and a few groan-worthy melodramatic moments, the film has aged well.

Eve plays the business woman extremely well. Everything starts to turn on its head when she decides she does want a child after all and they proceed with the adoption process.

Lupino plays the tough farm girl, working at menial jobs in the city and all too ready to have a romance. Her vulnerability is beautifully portrayed. Her pregnancy is handled with subtlety.

Edmund Gwenn plays the adoption agency investigator and does an admirable job.

The climax comes in the courtroom scene and this is where some melodrama comes into play but it does not affect the restraint shown by the director in letting the audience decide the moral outcome.

8 out of 10. Recommended.

Ida Lupino sparkles as the director and star of this deeply moving romantic drama. The subject of bigamy is unusual for a Hollywood movie of that era and is handled in an intelligent, compassionate way.

Edmond O'Brien convincingly portrays a traveling salesman in love with two women -- his cute, barren, career-minded pre-feminist wife (Joan Fontaine) and a lonely, stunningly beautiful waitress (Lupino) -- neither of whom know of the other's existence.

The direction is excellent and elicits beautifully nuanced performances from the entire cast. O'Brien is portrayed as a decent human being who becomes entangled in a romantic triangle and tries to find a viable solution for everyone. Unfortunately, his well-intentioned plan to be a loving husband to both women comes unstuck when a nit-picking adoption investigator (Edmund Gwenn) probes too deeply.

Although not classic film noir, there is some sharp, insightful dialog. For example, the courtroom scene effectively challenges traditional American values when the judge sympathetically remarks: "If you had simply taken her as your mistress instead of marrying her, you would not be here now."

This is a well-crafted and provocative movie that showcases Lupino's considerable talent as an actress, director, and student of human nature. Ida Lupino was an extraordinary woman, years ahead of her time. Enjoy.