Three Husbands

The day before Emlyn Williams' will is read, his lawyer, Jonathan Hale, hands three confidential letters to Howard Da Silva, Sheppard Strudwick, and Robert Karnes. In them, Williams confesses to an affair with each one's wife, to wit Eve Arden, Ruth Warrick, and Vanessa Brown.

They were getting pretty tired of the Production Code in Hollywood, what with the downturn in business, and Vera Caspary wrote this hot and frank story....except the Code was still in effect, so the letters only go so far as naming the women. What could they have been doing? Attending committee meetings? Music recitals? French lessons? The unnamed sin is worse than anything they might have been doing, because it's up to the blue-nosed censor in the movie seat to name what he or she considers the worst sin. It's that sniggering, leering attitude that typifies the worst of the Code era; a little casual fornication would seem wholesome by comparison, and the erotic symbols of screwball comedy erudite.

Sigh. At least they've got some good performers in this one, including Billie Burke and Jane Darwell.

I just watched this romantic comedy for the first time this afternoon on YouTube. It is delightful. This black and white film has "colorful" scenes with all the actors.

Who do you trust? This question is definitely posed to the 3 husbands regarding their wives. Flashbacks for all the husbands give us insights into all these relationships.

The film has a happy and humorous ending.

And, if you enjoy this movie, take a look at, the Ginger Rogers film, "Tom, Dick and Harry!" It is very innovative in its use of humor and special effects.

Vera Caspary teamed up the year earlier with Joseph Mankiewitz and together they came up with a masterpiece.

This was awful. I thought perhaps Eve Arden would save the film. She has saved quite a few for me in the past. No such luck. There just isn't enough of her.

This film is so unstructured and so boring I can't even follow whose husband is whose. Furthermore, I don't even care. I'm letting this turkey play out hoping Eve Arden might pop up again. I'm basically just letting it play out so I can say I've seen it.

Oh lord this film was a mess. It wasn't just bad it was painful. It downright obnoxious.

Screen Play and Story by Vera Caspary, a writer, known for "Laura" (1944), "A Letter to Three Wives" (1949), and my favorite Bachelor in Paradise (1961.)

Basic story is Englishman that moved to California, Max (Emlyn Williams) dies of a hart attack. In the process of heavenly internment, he is given a wish. He has ben a naughty boy with three men's wife's and leaves them each a letter inferring this. Now he (and we) wants to see their reaction.

The story is so, so, and we must put up with Hollywood Production Code.

On the plus side you will see many familiar faces (actors) and try to remember where you have seen them before.

Plot-- From cloudy heaven, a departed playboy gleefully watches three married couples grapple with problems he's created with incriminating letters to the husbands. Could it be that he has a hidden purpose.

Pairing the sardonic Eve Arden with the gruff Howard DaSilva has all kinds of comedic potential. Too bad they don't get more barbed screen time. Then the sometimes comedy, sometimes drama, would get more needed spark. There's clever banter among the three couples, but much of the acting, particularly Strudwick and Karnes, fails to lift beyond the blandly conventional. Nor does Reis's direction heighten the effects. Nonetheless, actor Williams manages to make his potentially dislikable character, Max, oddly likable. Also, scenes in celluloid heaven could raise a touchy 'who-rules' religious problem. However, the script finesses this by making the gate-keeper sound like a corporate auditor without indicating who's ultimately in charge.

Overall, it's an indie production that shows its limitations; at the same time, the occasional snappy dialogue amounts to the best part.