Guest Wife (1945) User Reviews

Solid comedy; great appearances by Ameche and Colbert; nice twist

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 8 June 2014]

Director Sam Wood was in his heydey when he made this film ("King's Row", "Pride Of The Yankees", "For Whom The Bell Tolls"), although his snappiest comedy (IMHO) was "The Devil And Miss Jones" (1941). Nevertheless, this is a fine comedy with two stars that shine.

This type of comedy had been done before and later...always involving just whose wife a female lead was (e.g., "My Favorite Wife" with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant). But each time this type of film was done there was some interesting variation that made it a bit unique. Here, a banker (Dick Foran) is reunited with his long-time best friend (Don Ameche). Ameche has pretended that Claudette Colbert (Foran's wife) is his wife for business purposes...even though he had never met her. Foran agrees to go along with the ruse for his best friend, even though they were about to go on their second honeymoon. Colbert is despondent over the situation, but very reluctantly goes along...for a while. And just about when you think this is getting old, the plot twist comes along -- Colbert decides to pretend she is falling in love with Ameche! Claudette Colbert is wonderful here...but then again, she almost always was! Don Ameche shines...and it made me wonder how his long and shining career faded after a time. Glad he came back into the limelight later in life...he was a wonderful actor. The surprise here is how nicely Dick Foran does as the husband. Foran was a decent actor, but usually in B pictures or as a supporting actor in A pictures. He may have been underrated.

Two supporting actors who nicely here are Charles Dingle (who in some films get on my nerves) as the boss, and Grant Mitchell as the hotel house detective.

Not an A+ comedy, but definitely a B+. You'' enjoy it!

Funny and interesting plot

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 4 September 2021]

What a fantastic premise, and a great experiment to try in real life - if you're very brave. In Guest Wife, Don Ameche plays a fast-talking newspaper man who had put across the lie that he's a happily married man. When his publisher sets up a dinner party and invites Mr. And Mrs. Ameche, Don panics. Claudette Colbert is his best friend's wife, and when she gets "loaned" to Don for the party, it brings up a lot of emotions. It brings out her husband's loyalty and trust, it brings out Don's selfishness, and it brings out Claudette's hatred for Don! Or does it...?

This screwball comedy is hilarious, and since I don't normally like that genre, it must be good. It's interesting, and true to life, that you can be the best of friends with someone and not be able to stand his/her spouse. It also makes you think about marital security. Just because you're married, does that mean you can stop working on your relationship? By pretending to be someone else's spouse for a weekend, can you really get to know them? This movie argues yes, and whether or not you end up agreeing (I did), you'll certainly enjoy the ninety minutes it takes to explain it.

A successful balancing act comes off well thanks to comic writing and good performances from the leads

[bob the moo · 17 August 2005]

Married couple Chris and Mary are about to set out for a second honeymoon whenever Chris's old friend Joe comes to town. Mary doesn't like Joe because he always brings trouble and this time is no exception. It seems that Joe has been using a fictional wife to improve his job prospects – even sending pictures of his wife and letters from her to his boss to impress upon him what a great guy he is (in the eyes of his fictional wife). However when his employers request the presence of Mrs Parker in New York, Joe has to ask Mary to stand in. Being a good friend Chris says yes and, with him stuck in town, Mary and Joe head off together, apparently oblivious of the sheer amount of problems that they will create.

The basic idea behind this plot means that it is the Mary and Joe that have the best chemistry and spend the most time together on screen, this is a risk that it takes because it means the audience could have felt more for them as a couple rather than Chris as Mary's husband. This would have been a disaster (particularly at the time of release) but the film manages to keep it fresh and keep us engaged in the marriage while also enjoying the sparks between Joe and Mary. It cleverly makes a game to excuse the chemistry and stops us worrying about whether real love is blossoming or not. By doing this it keeps it light and enjoyable, consistently amusing and occasionally laugh out loud funny thanks to some sharp lines and jokes.

The cast match this effortlessly. Colbert has great fun with an increasingly playful role that shapes the film and the other characters; she is the lead and her comic performance is great. Ameche also changes across the whole film as well, going from playboy to "rabbit in headlights" easily and convincingly. Foran has the hardest role in terms of engaging the audience but he does pretty well with a rather simple lug of a character. Support from people like Dingle, Mitchell, Bacon and others in minor roles all help the generally comic air come over consistently.

Overall this is a bit of a balancing act and it is to its credit that it manages to pull it off and keep the audience onside. It is all light, fluffy stuff of course but it is surprising just how enjoyable it is if you are in the mood for it. If you're looking for something inconsequential and fun then you could do a lot worse than trying this film.

Here comes our wife now.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 5 June 2010]

Guest Wife is directed by Sam Wood, written by Bruce Manning and John Klorer, and stars Claudette Colbert (Mary), Don Ameche (Joe) and Dick Foran (Chris). The story tells of a journalist, Joe, who claims to his boss that he is married because the company would like their employees to be as such, and Joe wants to take some vacation leave. But he happens to still be single. Something that's now a major problem since his boss requests the company of Joe and wife for the weekend! His pal Chris lends him his wife Mary so as to bluff his boss into agreement, however, things start to get complicated.

Obviously hampered by the strict censorship that existed at the time of its making, Guest Wife none the less is a cheeky little comedy that boasts fun acting and a safe and solid script.. Tho referred to as a screwball comedy in some quarters, I feel that doesn't quite do the film any favours. Yes the gags are breezy enough, but they are hardly of the whirlwind scattergun variety. The interplay between the wonderful Colbert and the charming Ameche is spot on, even if the heavy cloud of censorship tone downs stops the material from being fully realised into a classic comedy must see. There's an itch about just who we are supposed to root for since Chris is a nice guy and Mary clearly loves him, and of course Joe is a bit of a cad when one considers his deception. Yet we are in the company of Mary and Joe for the most part, which although it be a fake marriage, it's a nice coupling. So either way come the end some viewers will be left disappointed.

Safe and tidy, with the film as a whole more likely to leave you with a smile more than a beaming grin. 6.5/10

Amusing Little Film, and a Little Annoying

[JLRMovieReviews · 6/10 · 18 December 2014]

Claudette Colbert is married to Richard Foran and is on her way on a second honeymoon when Richard's friend Don Ameche shows up minutes before they were supposed to leave for the train. It seems Claudette doesn't like to hear from him, as he is always asking Richard for help in his outlandish schemes. The latest one is that Don's boss thinks he's married, because not only did he tell him so, but he showed him a picture of his supposed wife. Claudette doesn't like the sound of this, and rightly so, because the picture of the lady in question is her. And, he now needs her to assist him to carry out this extended farce. Forced against her wishes, she goes with Don, leaving Richard behind due to a misunderstanding. Most of the rest of the film has Claudette with Don posing as his wife, while Richard is trying to get there. The film may sound pretty fun and laid-back with the stars involved, and while it does, it tries too hard to be zany and the situations feel forced, particularly when she decides to turn the tables on Don and act like she likes the position he's put her in. You could do a lot worse, even some of her own films. I've reviewed some of Claudette's pictures that are a lot worse, but considering the stars this feels more annoying in parts than it should. Chester Clute has a memorable bit as a shoe salesman on holiday in the big city, when he recognizes her, which would jeopardize her situation, and all he wants to do is check out her shoes and feet, because he knows his customers' feet! But all he can do is sneak about on the floor under the restaurants' tables, trying to get to her with no sense of direction, startling ladies and causing a commotion! "All I want to do is see her feet!" You may find this little film amusing, but by the end, you'll reach for something better.

I can see why this one isn't more famous.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 22 September 2023]

I was surprised I'd never heard of "Guest Wife" when I found it on YouTube. After all, I adore classic Hollywood films and it stars a couple actors I really like, Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche. However, after seeing it, I can see why the film isn't more famous. It's not so much because it's bad...but it sure could have been a lot better considering the stars.

When the story begins, Chris Price (Dick Foran) tells his wife, Mary (Colbert), that an old friend of his is visiting and he wants to introduce them. However, when Joe (Ameche) arrives, he has a request...can he 'borrow' Mary as his wife! Let me explain. Joe is a bit of a jerk and isn't married nor has he ever been. He's a jerk because he's created a fictional wife in order to not only please his boss BUT to fenagle various presents for his 'wife' out of the boss! So, in order to not get caught, he wants to borrow Mary and pretend she's his wife! Any sane person would have said no....but then, there wouldn't have been a film! And, naturally, all sorts of complications ensue.

To say the plot is contrived is putting it mildly. In fact, it's pretty silly and hard to believe...and it's even harder to believe they didn't just call the whole thing off when things got too complicated. As a result, the film manages to be both pleasant and enjoyable...as well as dumb and hard to believe! And because my feelings are so mixed, I'd place this in the category of a 'time-passer'...worth seeing but also easy enough to skip.

Good "Fake Husband" Comedy

[boblipton · 6/10 · 16 September 2023]

Foreign correspondent Don Ameche has never met Claudette Colbert, the wife of his best friend, Dick Foran. He has been using her picture and the claim she is his wife to get a lot of bonuses from his employer, Charles Dingle. Now back in the States, he wishes to borrow her for his New York meeting, and through the usual situation comedy mix-ups, does

All three leads are practiced farceurs in this sort of comedy, and under the direction of skilled director, Sam Wood, this is good, if not particularly remarkable movie. The best bits are carried out by others, like house detective Grant Withers, who thinks he has Foran's number, and Wilma Francis, one of Ameche's girl friends who thinks she can recognize true love when she sees it. Chester Clute and Irving Bacon have small but amusing bits.

Ameche had been the highest-paid actor in the world when his contract with Fox expired Suddenly, his movie career collapsed, although his radio, television, and Broadway career did very well for decades. It would not be until the 1980s that he came back in favor, and he made the most of his last ten years before dying in 1993 at the age of 85.

Don Ameche shines!

[Maxi-14 · 9/10 · 17 May 2001]

Don Ameche steals the show in this black and white romantic comedy. Don Ameche is in wonderful form. He not only delivers his lines with perfection but his use of his eyes makes his character, Joe, come to life. This movie promises many laughs. Claudette Colbert also offers up a good performance as Mary, the wife that Joe borrows from his best friend Chris.

Yawn

[AAdaSC · 4/10 · 22 November 2016]

Dick Foran (Christopher) is happily married to Claudette Colbert (Mary) but will do anything for pal Don Ameche (Joe). Ameche needs a wife to impress his boss and so Chris lends him Mary. Hilarity ensues. Or does it?

I'll answer that right now – no it doesn't. This is a weak and boring comedy. I fell asleep because it was so dull. Foran is a complete duffus that you can't relate to and Colbert plays it as a silly schoolgirl acting out juvenile frolics. The relationship between Foran and Ameche is based on some kind of retarded fraternity bonding whereby they play immature games with each other for one-upmanship – a kibble. We are subjected to this stupid notion of a kibble on several occasions and it really wound me up. There are rare moments of comedy that actually work but it's all under par given the cast. Pretty boring stuff.

A merry mixture of bedroom farce and light romance!

[JohnHowardReid · 9/10 · 10 August 2017]

Claudette Colbert's first film as a free-lance artist. She declined to renew her Paramount contract, stating that she wanted to have the freedom to choose her own roles at whatever studios were prepared to pay her price — $150,000 per picture. "I have worked hard to attain both economic and artistic freedom. Now I am going to do what I wish."

What Claudette didn't say was that a lot of her dissatisfaction with Paramount arose not from the studio's choice of her films, but from the way they were possibly to be photographed.

Like Marlene Dietrich, Claudette Colbert was a fanatic on lighting and camera angles. Unfortunately, whereas Marlene had an expert knowledge of cinematography, Claudette had not. But she knew what she liked, and what she did not. She insisted — despite evidence to the contrary — that the left side of her face photographed more attractively than her right. Thus she would never allow herself to be photographed in any other direction but facing left. You think I'm kidding? I have William K. Everson's book on Claudette in my hands right now. In every single one of the 58 photos reproduced from pages 74 through 144, Colbert is facing or looking left. In all but six of these photos, she stands or sits at the extreme right hand side of the picture. We have to go right back to 1934 where "It Happened One Night" to find a still of Claudette facing slightly to the right.

Colbert felt that if she stayed at Paramount, her turn in front of Seitz's camera was bound to arrive sooner or later. And Seitz was not a photographer who would take "suggestions" from anybody - not even the producer or the director, let alone a member of the cast! Claudette was unwilling to face this confrontation. Who will blame her? This gave her yet another reason not to sign again with her former employer, but to free-lance.

For her first independent vehicle, she chose to go with the sort of role at which she was especially adept: — the loving girl who is forced to act out a phony part in order to attract or keep the man she really loves. Light, romantic, fluffy stuff in which a series of misunderstandings and complications are winsomely spun out for eighty minutes or so and then majestically resolved in five or ten.

To keep herself the center of attention, the heroine of this airily elegant romance — these stories always take place in the most opulent surroundings — needs at least two leading men, plus a chorus of disapproving elders. Don Ameche, a little inclined to over-do the double takes and facial mugging, provides one corner of the triangle, whilst Dick Foran (here rather oddly billed as "Richard Foran" instead of the more familiar "Dick") holds up the other most ingratiatingly. The disapprovers include such masterful cameo players as Grant Mitchell, Charles Dingle, Edward Gargan and Chester Clute — the last in one of the funniest roles of his career as an inquisitive shoe salesman. Director Sam Wood keeps the mixture of bedroom farce, light romance and comic cut-ups frothing merrily and stylishly.

Nice Situation Comedy.

[theowinthrop · 11 December 2004]

This is one of those patented situation comedies that are repeatedly used in the movies or television. So and so has a job, and his boss is a believer in the sanctity of marriage. Somehow the boss learns that so and so is married, and has a nice marriage. When he gets an opportunity, the boss invites so and so and his wife to spend the weekend at his home...which panics so and so because he really is not married, but circumstances (ah, those perennial circumstances) have led to his having claimed he was married. Now his job and his future are on the line...what should he do?

Why, borrow the wife of his best friend, of course!

Variations appear everywhere: Christmas IN CONNECTICUT, for instance, has Barbara Stanwyck usurping the home of her friend Reginald Gardiner to impress her sanctimonious boss Sydney Greenstreet (who has another great "rounded" fat name - Alexander Yardley). On television a failed series in the middle 1960s was OCCASIONAL WIFE, which had an executive in a baby food company requiring a fake wife for the happiness of his employer. He uses his neighbor two floors beneath his apartment (the hero and heroin frequently have to meet on the fire escape of the apartment between theirs, leading to a running joke of the reaction of the man who owns that apartment. About the same time Jack Lemmon made his film GOOD NEIGHBOR SAM, where a married man has to help his neighbor (Romy Schneider) inherit her wealth by pretending he is her husband (Mike Connors). Connors reciprocates by pretending to be married to Lemmon's real wife Connie Stevens (leading to some complicated incidents of both men purposely making each other jealous -and almost driving neighbor Robert Q. Lewis crazy in the process).

Despite it's repetitive use it is not a bad plot, and in GUEST WIFE it was well handled. Here Ameche is a reporter for a newspaper - magazine chain, who has had to make up his marriage to make his copy more relevant. It has made Ameche a major news figure, and his boss (Charles Dingle, pleasantly using his pompous threatening characterization to comic use - and quite well) wants to meet the little woman, who behaved so bravely in the Far East. As Ameche has based her on Claudette Colbert (the wife of his best friend Dick Foran), he goes to Foran to get permission to borrow Claudette for a few hours (for dinner with Dingle). Foran is willing, but Colbert is tired of the number of times Ameche has somehow manipulated Foran into doing things for Ameche that were not in the interest of either Foran and Colbert.

But she goes along, until she finds that Dingle has become more plans for them in the coming weekend. Ameche, for fears for his job, willingly expands the time that Colbert is with him, but this slowly gets the formerly subservient Foran to resent his friend more and more. This leads to some nice pieces of comedy with hotel detective Grant Mitchell and with nosy neighbor Chester Clute. And Colbert, sensing an opportunity she won't miss, takes advantage of the situation to keep turning up the heat on a flustered Ameche. It turns out to be a nice little comedy, well worth viewing and even watching again.

Bless The Bride

[writers_reign · 8/10 · 11 December 2009]

I find it interesting that whenever something like this crops up on television (as this has just done) we tend to over appreciate it because of what it is up against in terms of contemporary film-making. Thus, compared to the insipid still water that masquerades as romantic comedy today this entry from 1945 sparkles like vintage champagne whereas in its own time it was just one of dozens of similar quality and may well have got lost in the shuffle. Colbert and Ameche were old hands at pretending to be married, they did it in Midnight in 1939 and what's more they did it to a Billy Wilder screenplay which even Mitchell Liesen couldn't ruin, a screenplay that leaves this one dead in the water but, as noted, so starved are we in the oughties for even half decent sophistication we are in danger of mistaking bling for a Faberge egg. Colbert steals it, of course, going away, Ameche is competent and since presumably Ralph Bellamy was working elsewhere Dick Foran makes a reasonable fist out of the Bellamy role as the 'nice' husband who allows Ameche to 'borrow' his wife in order to convince his (Ameche's) boss that he is, in fact, married. In Midnight pretend marriage led to real nuptials and it's a nice twist that here Colbert and Foran ride into the sunset together. Highly entertaining.

Dishonesty is the best policy for laughs

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 17 September 2014]

This is a smart sophisticated comedy starring Claudette Colbert. It was the first one she made after her long contract at Paramount. Produced in mid-1945 by Jack Skirball and released through United Artists, it reunites the actress with her leading man from 1939's MIDNIGHT, Don Ameche. In fact it was the second of three pictures the duo made together...their third venture would be the thriller SLEEP MY LOVE in 1948.

The premise for GUEST WIFE is as follows...Colbert is married to banker Dick Foran and they live in a small Ohio town. Ameche is Foran's buddy dropping in for a visit. The guys were college football stars, and we learn that Foran had run interference for ball carrier Ameche on the field, something he still does in a metaphoric sense even now.

Ameche works as a reporter in foreign locales. He is a playboy who has never been married. However, he told his New York-based boss (Charles Dingle) that he finally settled down and married a nice woman. He sent photos of his "wife" from Asia. And yup, you guessed it, he sent a pic of his pal's wife-- Colbert.

Because Dingle is anxious to meet the lucky bride in person, Colbert must pose as the wife to help out her husband's friend...even though she would rather not. So off they go to New York, where they end up staying at a posh hotel.

Silly situations occur after they check in at the hotel. Foran has been delayed and is stuck back in Ohio. Ameche's boss really believes Ameche is wed to Colbert. One hilarious running gag involves a businessman from back home (Chester Clute) staying at the same hotel. He knows Colbert and doesn't understand why she now has a different husband on her arm. He keeps stalking them trying to prove Colbert is Colbert, not someone else that Ameche is passing herself as, to remain in good standing with the boss.

Finally Foran shows up, and Dingle catches him making a move on Colbert, whom he still believes is Ameche's "wife." So the plot gets more outlandish and even funnier, as Dingle tries to save Colbert's "marriage" to Ameche by persuading Foran to back off.

Since Colbert spends so much time with Ameche, and the ruse is not yet over, Foran starts to get jealous of Ameche being with his wife. The situation escalates with additional misunderstandings, involving a suspicious hotel detective (Grant Mitchell). As well as an attractive female (Marlo Dwyer) that Ameche is interested in, but can't have because he's still "married" to Colbert.

Meanwhile Colbert contrives to be reunited with Foran, and this sets up the third act that takes place at Dingle's country estate. Ultimately, the only way out is for Colbert to "run away" from Ameche, and to jilt him for Foran.

This film has an original screwball premise, and the leads pull it off superbly. There are several laugh-out-loud moments, and Claudette Colbert is as glamorous as ever. A real winner.

Passable comedy, but it's hardly Midnight

[rick_7 · 20 April 2010]

Guest Wife (Sam Wood, 1945) reunites the stars of the brilliant romantic comedy Midnight, as happily married Claudette Colbert ends up spending an inordinate amount of time posing as the wife of her husband's best friend (Don Ameche) in a bid to save the guy's job. It's OK, but the comic situations are often more stressful than funny, and the usually reliable Ameche is both cartoonish and flat. Still, Colbert does her best with the material, while character comedians Charles Dingle and Grant Mitchell work wonders in their supporting parts. Dozens of familiar faces crop up in small roles, including Irving Bacon, Harry Hayden and Chester Clute, playing a town gossip accused of voyeurism. The climactic sight gag is the best joke in the film.