My Favorite Wife

"Oh, by the way, how was my funeral?"

"Lovely.  Doctor Blake preached a wonderful service."

"Oh, I wish I had been there."

Seven years after being lost at sea, Ellen Wagstaff Arden (Dunne) returns home.  She was declared dead, and her husband Nick (Grant) is preparing to remarry.  Her children, Tim (Beckett) and Chinch (Harrington), don't remember her.  She is too late to stop the wedding, but goes to the hotel where Nick and his new bride Bianca (Patrick) are celebrating their honeymoon.

Nick is thrilled to see Ellen, but doesn't know how to explain the situation to Bianca.  He gets rooms at the hotel for both women, confusing the staff and infuriating both women.  All three return to the Arden home, adding to Nick's stress over the situation.  He is shocked to learn that Ellen wasn't alone on the island: her companion was the athletic Stephen Burkett (Scott).  Can Ellen save her marriage, or will she have to start over alone?


They planned to remake this film in 1962, called Something's Got to Give, with Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin, but Monroe died before the film could be completed.  The studio decided to continue with the remake, but changed the title and recast the film.  The new film was released in 1963 as Move Over, Darling with Doris Day and James Garner.

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne made three films together.  This was the second of the three, after The Awful Truth in 1937 and before Penny Serenade in 1941.  They were hired after the success of The Awful Truth and have excellent chemistry here.  Dunne is the lead and gets the top billing.  Grant gets to make the big, over-the-top reactions and bring in the big laughs.  Together, they are a great team.  Gail Patrick is the right amount of annoying... and Randolph Scott is the perfect foil for Grant.  It is a funny film, and I worth checking out.

My Favorite Wife (1940) 88 minutes
Director: Garson Kanin
Starring: Irene Dunne as Ellen Wagstaff Arden
Cary Grant as Nick Arden
Randolph Scott as Stephen Burkett
Gail Patrick as Bianca Bates
Ann Shoemaker as Ma
Scotty Beckett as Tim Arden
Mary Lou Harrington as Chinch Arden