Day-Time Wife (1939)

Directed by Gregory Ratoff. Starring Linda Darnell, Tyrone Power, Warren William, Binnie Barnes, Wendy Barrie, Joan Davis, Mildred Gover, Joan Valerie.

First of several pairings between Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell when the latter was just a teenager, so try not to think about that when she celebrates her two-year anniversary with her onscreen hubbie co-star. It’s best not to think at all during this badly-outdated trifle, one which sets up a one-sided battle of the sexes without nearly enough gloss or humor to distract the viewer. Power doesn’t just forget all about his wedding anniversary; he’s also carrying on an affair with his “day-time wife” secretary (Barrie). Darnell plots her revenge by going to work with a known womanizer (William), but how exactly she intends to get him back is unclear since she has no intention of breaking her marital vows herself—I hardly think inspiring jealousy is fair-and-balanced retribution, and how is the husband supposed to get jealous if he hardly notices his spouse in the first place? It all builds up to a farcical climax where husband, husband’s secretary, wife, and wife’s boss share an awkward dinner of misunderstandings, but since nothing about the tone or predictable story construction suggests the adulterous rat is actually going to pay for his deceit, there are no stakes, just a vague sense of poor taste. It’s the kind of thing the French could probably pull off, but not Hays Code-era Hollywood, and the leading lady is such a pushover (“If a woman can’t hold her man, it’s her own fault”), it’s hard to even watch her go about her silly little schemes. Leonid Kinskey of Casablanca famehas a small role.

42/100