Feminists might get upset by this movie that insinuates that once a career woman gets hitched, she should give up her job to take care of her husband. That's the situation for doctor Barbara Stanwyck who marries an idle playboy (Henry Fonda) after taking care of him while he's recuperating from influenza. It's not as simple as that; Fonda isn't insisting that she close her practice and spend every waking moment with him, but jealously attacks all of her male patients he is sure are making advances towards her. 90 percent of the movie follows this plot until he finds something to do which causes another problem for them.
In a year where Stanwyck was really busy, three out of four films have become classics. One of them had to be a disappointment, and this is it, albeit a minor one. She was a sexy gold-digger (opposite Fonda) in "The Lady Eve", a sequined wearing gangster's moll nightclub entertainer in "Ball of Fire", and a hard-as-nails reporter in "Meet John Doe". Those films all have outstanding screenplays, something this one lacks. The comedy moments are infrequent, although when Fonda tries to disguise himself by wearing tree branches, wife Stanwyck makes an order, "and get rid of those antlers!" Hot after "The Grapes of Wrath", Fonda's whiny, cry-baby character is one of his weaker performances, but it is not his fault; His character simply isn't believable. Stanwyck here is gorgeous and filled with perfect comic timing. It's not difficult to understand why every available bachelor in town would want her medical services.
In the supporting cast are many familiar faces; Gravely voiced Edgar Buchannan as the gardener; lip-smacking Fritz Feld as the nosy innkeeper (whom Stanwyck refers to as Mr. Moto for his nosy inquiries); nasal voiced Maude Eburne as the cook; and Ruth Donnelly as Stanwyck's nurse/secretary who could deliver the best wisecracks in her sleep.
SPOILER BELOW:
What basically frustrated me besides Fonda was the attitude that a rich man can't go out and get a job because he might take the bread out of somebody else's mouth. Democratic ideals or communist? Certainly not the values of a free society. Ironically one of the actors in this scene is Larry Parks who was later accused of being a communist. Towards the end when Stanwyck decides to give up her practice and Fonda disappears after being fired from a job he's taken, the film switches gears into a political statement it never fully deals with. The ending the film does come up with seems rather rushed which lessens the impact of the message.
In a year where Stanwyck was really busy, three out of four films have become classics. One of them had to be a disappointment, and this is it, albeit a minor one. She was a sexy gold-digger (opposite Fonda) in "The Lady Eve", a sequined wearing gangster's moll nightclub entertainer in "Ball of Fire", and a hard-as-nails reporter in "Meet John Doe". Those films all have outstanding screenplays, something this one lacks. The comedy moments are infrequent, although when Fonda tries to disguise himself by wearing tree branches, wife Stanwyck makes an order, "and get rid of those antlers!" Hot after "The Grapes of Wrath", Fonda's whiny, cry-baby character is one of his weaker performances, but it is not his fault; His character simply isn't believable. Stanwyck here is gorgeous and filled with perfect comic timing. It's not difficult to understand why every available bachelor in town would want her medical services.
In the supporting cast are many familiar faces; Gravely voiced Edgar Buchannan as the gardener; lip-smacking Fritz Feld as the nosy innkeeper (whom Stanwyck refers to as Mr. Moto for his nosy inquiries); nasal voiced Maude Eburne as the cook; and Ruth Donnelly as Stanwyck's nurse/secretary who could deliver the best wisecracks in her sleep.
SPOILER BELOW:
What basically frustrated me besides Fonda was the attitude that a rich man can't go out and get a job because he might take the bread out of somebody else's mouth. Democratic ideals or communist? Certainly not the values of a free society. Ironically one of the actors in this scene is Larry Parks who was later accused of being a communist. Towards the end when Stanwyck decides to give up her practice and Fonda disappears after being fired from a job he's taken, the film switches gears into a political statement it never fully deals with. The ending the film does come up with seems rather rushed which lessens the impact of the message.