This Man Is Mine

The idle rich have little to occupy their time but playing cards and seducing each other's spouses. At least that is what the characters in "This Man is Mine" suggest. This short tired tale of marital infidelity, adapted from a play, retains its staginess and does not merit the presence of Irene Dunne in the central role. Despite her talent and beauty and voice, Dunne as Tony Dunlap fails to convince viewers that her character would try to save a worthless marriage to Jim Dunlap, played by Ralph Bellamy. Bellamy evidently has retained suppressed feelings for a former flame throughout his marriage to Dunne, with whom he has had a young son. When the former girlfriend arrives on the scene to rekindle her romance with Bellamy, the film's fragile grip on credibility crumbles. Although Constance Cummings as Francesca is an amusing conniving tart, the transparency of her character and motives makes Bellamy look like an utter idiot when he returns her advances. Viewers may be forgiven for shouting "you blithering fool" and throwing tomatoes at the screen when Bellamy falls for Cummings's tricks, especially when the other characters on screen easily see through her. Bellamy's character must have inherited wealth, because there was no way this gullible dimwit could make his way in the business world. As a father, he is ready to toss away his child for a shallow man hunter. He does not deserve Irene Dunne's attention, let alone her hand and devotion. By the final frame, "This Man is Mine" has descended into completely incredible nonsense. Only the performances of Dunne and Cummings and the handsome presence of future western star Charles Starrett offer any reason to see this annoying trifle.

This has a great cast. Ralph Bellamy is always good and here he is not an object of ridicule. Of course, I watched it for Irene Dunne. And she is the fulcrum of the piece, looking mousy but acting like a tigress. Sidney Blackmer, who became a distinguished stage actor, is convincing and quite attractive as a rich bad boy.

The two standouts are Kay Johnson as Dunne's sister-in-law and the fine actress, also a marvelous stage performer many years later, Constance Cummings.

The Cummings character is the best developed and most interesting. Just back from a divorce and ready for trouble, she is like a character from "The Women." Her role is a bit more well rounded than the characters in that movie.

Irene Dunne plays Chopin and Hoagy Carmichael, paints landscapes, and has a toddler by husband Ralph Bellamy, whom she loves. Along comes Constance Cummings. She used to be engaged to Bellamy -- presumably before Miss Dunne married him -- and had abandoned him. She proceeds to wrap him around her finger and makes Bellamy ask his wife for a divorce.

This looks like it snuck in just before the Code descended on Hollywood, and while it starts off treacly and annoying as you wonder how Bellamy can fall for Miss Cummings' BS again, by the third act you accept that he's a fool. That's because Miss Dunne has decided to give him a divorce, but in New York State, where the only grounds are infidelity, and while Miss Collier enjoys taking other women's husbands from them, she doesn't think it polite for anyone to mention it. There's also the fun of Charles Starrett called up to act, and doing a decent job of it under the direction of John Cromwell, and Sidney Blackmer, before he became typecast, as a smug brute.

It's the sort of film I don't much care for, and it takes a while to get moving. However, by the end of it, it's a lot of fun.

A young married couple (Irene Dunne and Ralph Bellamy) have their union threatened when his old girlfriend (Constance Cummings) shows up freshly after having gotten a divorce. The wife's friend (Kay Johnson) provides moral support and tries to look out for her.

Despite a decent premise and the three strong female actors who all perform well in their roles, the way the story plays out is bound to irritate modern viewers, say what you will about it providing a window into the time period. The film is only 76 minutes long so while maddening, it's somewhat forgivable that the husband's head is completely turned so quickly, despite his saintly wife being so tolerant of his less than ideal nature (among other things, he jokes that she's getting fat early on). And there is a moment where she asserts herself and begins playing hardball with him and his old girlfriend, one that looked promising, but unfortunately it doesn't last.

The ending is disappointing as hell but not too surprising, and I wouldn't have actively disliked the film as much as I did for it alone, but two quotes capture aspects that sent it over the edge for me:

1. On the husband's adultery, from her friend: "Look here, Tony. You'll see Jim through pneumonia, typhoid, or even something as loathsome as smallpox, wouldn't you? ... Well, Fran is sort of a cross between a tidal wave and a smallpox epidemic, but she'll pass."

2. On a woman's black eye, from the wife: "How lovely. But I think it highly probable that every now and again Romeo took a little poke at Juliet."

The first emphasizes the central message of the film, that a wife should simply endure her husband's infidelity because it's natural. Nothing at all is said about her own sexual desires, because she's cast in the role of the saint, whereas the "other woman," the man-eating Cummings, is a devil. In this respect, this pre-Code film feels more like something from the Production Code era (and indeed, despite the indiscretion of staying out late with the girlfriend, the film explains that they haven't actually had sex, which certainly looks like it has Joseph Breen's fingerprints on it). The second quote has a woman explaining away a man's violence to another woman, that it's natural and sometimes called for, which is difficult to stomach.

There are other little annoying bits, such as the husband saying that the wife has psychologically projected her issues with her mother onto the whole thing, and this is clearly the film's view as well. Bellamy's character is just so damn unlikeable, but his meanness, adultery, violence, and gaslighting are all given such a cloak of respectability. It's a shame, because seeing Irene Dunne sing, Kay Johnson dole out world-weary advice, and Constance Cummings manipulate everyone around her made for some entertaining moments.

IRENE DUNNE may have had a blossoming film career that led to much better things in the '40s, but her early '30s films were potboilers and this sophisticated comedy among the idle rich is one of them.

It's a thin comedy about a catty woman who threatens the happiness of IRENE DUNNE and RALPH BELLAMY, coming between them to the point where Dunne is all ready to sue for divorce until the woman (CONSTANCE CUMMINGS) turns to SIDNEY BLACKMER for her marriage partner. The script is full of catty one-liners but none of it is worthy of Dunne's presence. She did much better with screwball comedy material that came later.

A serious waste of time with a weak first half-hour that only picks up steam when Constance Cummings enters the scene. Ralph Bellamy is a bore as a bumbling husband in one of his rare leading man roles.

Summing up: Only for serious Irene Dunne fans.