Too Many Wives

60 minute thrill ride starring the adorable Anne Shirley packed with comedy, surprises, and a magnificent car chase. It even has Jiu-Jitsu! Never jump on the back of someone who knows Jiu-Jitsu!

A dog walker gets a job at a newspaper by telling lies and it gets him into all kinds of hot water. And of course he becomes smitten with Anne Shirley because everybody becomes smitten with Anne Shirley, including and especially me! That's why I call her The Adorable Anne Shirley. She had a screen innocence and adorability rivaled only by the great Judy Garland and the great Shirley Temple.

This movie moves fast. I don't like slow moving movies (I'm looking at you Stanley Kubrick!) and this is never slow. It's always moving forward, forward, forward. It's relentless. And it moves faster and faster as it moves along. This is a gem.

And the ending is wonderfully fun and adorable.

Light, fluffy piece. Story moves right along. typical misunderstandings.... if only everyone had told the truth from the beginning. Anyhoo. Jack Carson in his FIRST credited role! Anne Shirley and John Morley star in this silly film where Morley pretends to be numerous Walter Mitty type roles to help out his newspaper editor boss (Dudley Clement). Every time someone complains, Barry Trent (Morley) pretends to be the one responsible for the goofup, and saves the day. Gene Lockhart is the girlfiend's dad. It all ends well, of course. Fluffy, silly caper. Ain't no thang. Another one of those white-washed, yackity yack films from the 1930s. Directed by Ben Holmes. He was king of the short films. He DID make full lengthers in the 1930s... this being one of them. Kind of a three stooges type ending.

I admit I only watched this one because I have a soft spot for Anne Shirley. Anne was fine in the role. She was matched up with John Morley. Also fine with a Dick Powell like appeal. I enjoyed seeing Jack Carson in a very early bit part and Gene Lockhart. The plot isn't much: Its lack of wit masked by it's frenetic pacing, fast talking, and wacky but unfunny plot chockful of misunderstandings which still only manages to stretch the length out to 60 minutes or so. It was too long even at that.

Too Many Wives clocks in at 61 minutes so it doesn't ask you to commit much. After watching it, I'm surprised that they were able to stretch the movie that long. It's more like a series of screwball antics and hijinks, or as one reviewer said, "sitcom misunderstandings", than a fully realized movie and plot.

That said, there were some parts of the movie that were fun and enjoyable. I love screwball comedies and the ending was fun, albeit kind of ridiculous. The main character's rival tries to expose his lies, which leads to the zaniness of the last third of the movie. It's one of the dumbest set-ups I've ever seen in a movie. I can only believe that the writers didn't know how to segue into the ending they wanted so they created a plot device that one wouldn't buy even in the most basic sitcom. It's just one of the reasons the movie never really comes together like it should.

John Morley, who was an actor I wasn't familiar with, does a fine job with the material he's been given and provides some humor as the protagonist vying for Anne Shirley's affections. There are humorous scenes as he works as the scapegoat to a newspaper owner's miscues. His scenes with Barbara Pepper, who I also wasn't familiar with, were some of the best and most believable scenes in the movie. There are early performances from Anne Shirley and Jack Carson, who would both go on to bigger and better things, but if you're a fan of theirs it's nice to see them in these early roles.

All in all, not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination but not a bad way to spend an hour.

Anne Shirley moved into the leading actress category in 1937 after a decade as a child star. She is good in this screwball comedy about John Morley, who's the blame-taker at the local newspaper -- $25 a week. The ins and outs of who is who is a little too much to list here, but there's a fine supporting cast, including Gene Lockhart, Jack Carson in a very early role, and Barbara Pepper, slightly miscast -- the plot overwhelms this 61-minute programmer, and everyone talks faster than in a Warner B.

Morley is a bit stiff and out of his class in the lead role -- he can't seem to speak fast enough -- but Miss Shirley acquits herself well enough. A few more gags would have helped, but that might have required a few more minutes, and director Ben Holmes, RKO's specialist in churning 'em out quick, probably lacked the patience -- even if it was a slow year for him, he had two other pictures to direct.