Her Husband's Affairs
Bill Weldon is an Ad man who craves his wife Margaret's approval of his work, instead he gets constructive (and on-target) feedback, which he hates. Things get really strange when Bill creates advertising for a wacky inventor's embalming fluid.
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- Cast:
- Lucille Ball , Franchot Tone , Edward Everett Horton , Mikhail Rasumny , Gene Lockhart , Nana Bryant , Jonathan Hale
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Reviews
one of my absolute favorites!
It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
Yes, I actually found this film annoying, particularly early on. But, I stuck with it because it has a strong cast.I've always though Franchot Tone to be an undervalued actor. Unfortunately, here, his character is just plain annoying, and clearly Tone is far more suited to drama. Lucille Ball was yet to come into her own, her television series still off a few years. I found her annoying here, also, although she had done rather nicely as a supporting actress in a number of other roles prior to this. The key supporting actor here is Edward Everett Horton, who essentially plays Edward Everett Horton...which he fine...he's always a hoot.The plot had possibilities. A husband and wife who do love each other always seem to end up squabbling because she has a lot of good ideas to supplement his profession -- an ad executive. But, he resents her interference. Then along comes a hair remover...which backfires and grows hair profusely after first dissolving the hair that was already there. There are some funny moments here, but overall it seems to be a grand opportunity for over-acting and hysteria. Please, Mr. Director, take a Paxil! It was often said that Columbia Pictures knew how to do comedy. There's an exception to every rule. What was supposed to be screwball comedy turned out to just be kinda dumb. As I said at the beginning, I stuck with this film till the end...and I wish I hadn't.
Lucy had a bit part in Franchot Tone's "Moulin Rouge" ten years prior to this film, but this time she gets the female starring role up against Tone. Right from the beginning of "Her Husband's Affairs", we see that William Weldon (Tone) gets himself into jams, and wife Margaret (Lucy) has to get him out of them every time. William's boss JB, is the awesome Edward E. Horton, made up to look quite old and bald. (Viewers will recognize Horton's effeminate, whining, voice from Fractured Fairy Tales and all those Fred Astaire films.) Our story seems to be an early version of the TV show "Bewitched", where hubby is an advertising man, and relies on the wife's quick thinking to save him. When one of the products they are involved with causes a major crisis, they must figure out a solution quickly before the newspapers get there to take pictures. Lucy had been getting starring roles for a few years now, and she does just fine in this lightweight one. The second half of the picture takes place in a courtroom, and feels like an episode of I Love Lucy (Oh Fred!)...Gene Lockhart is here as Mr. Winterbottom. Also look for a 13 year old Dwayne Hickman (played in his own show "Dobie Gillis") in the laboratory scene. Directed by Sylvan Simon, who died at age 41, just a couple years after this project. No big surprises here, but we get a fun, early look at Lucy being Lucy just a couple years before her TV show.
Lucille Ball tries to be funny but she really can't be given the written material that she is given to work with. In fact, it's really pathetic. Franchot Tone co-stars and proves that he certainly was not adept at comedy.As a husband and wife advertising team, they are always bound for Bermuda until something comes along to thwart the long delayed honeymoon. In this case, the thwarting may be attributed to the writing here.The inane subject dealing with a hair removal, hair add-on for bald individuals and a glass-like flower are just a little too much to contend with. Then, there is the plot where the scientist making these inventions is supposedly killed and Tone is blamed for the murder.I guess that Larry Parks had to do this film contractually. Fortunately, his appearance his brief. Not a great encore for the Jolson star.
There's a lot of the Lucy Ricardo personality in the wife LUCILLE BALL plays in HER HUSBAND'S AFFAIRS--only here the husband who gets exasperated with her brainstorms is FRANCHOT TONE. It starts out with an amusing idea about a scientist MIKHAIL RAHSUMNY whose embalming lotion can be used to remove beards without shaving. It does so very efficiently until several hours have passed--and then it grows abundant amounts of hair.FRANCHOT TONE is an advertising man who thinks he's going to have some successful products to launch with the help of the mad scientist, except that most of the plans go haywire thanks to the manipulations of his scatterbrained wife. The plot fizzles out after the first half-hour or so and after that it just gets sillier until the courtroom ending when things finally get straightened out in time for a happy ending.Summing up: Below average vehicle for Lucy five years before she made her big splash on TV as an even more troublesome wife in America's most beloved situation comedy I LOVE LUCY. Some laughs but the jokes wear thin long before the conclusion.Trivia note: LARRY PARKS has a bit part as himself in a scene where various big shots gather to try the new product.