Review by Alex377

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.