The Bigamist

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nick s The production was fine, but the plot rather dull. As soon as the flashback started you were just waiting for it to get back to real time, and the wait was interminable. There is a certain expectation you have with the title "the bigamist" - racy, cheeky, indulgent. This movie wasn't that. It was one dry cracker. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/10/24 Full Review Ashley H The Bigamist is a decent film. It is about a man who is secretly married to two women feels the pressure of his deceit. Joan Fontaine and Ida Lupino give good performances. The script is a little slow in places. Ida Lupino also did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the drama. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/17/23 Full Review Red T A Hidden Gem Classic. Lupino's direction is excellent with great dynamic camera movement and well framed shots that capture the acting very well. It feels like Curtiz or Hitchcock is behind the camera at times. Everything else is really well done. The only complaints really is the first half of this is set up like a thriller and does a good job at it, but than turns into a character study melodrama. It defintely is unexpected but works well but kind of messes with the pacing somewhat as it does slow down somewhat in the second half. Also wish Fontaine had a bit more devlopment but she's still really good. O'Brein is excellent and the best thing in this. This does a great job at presenting its characters as people and not stereotypes. Anyone who is a fan of any actors in this, the director, or hidden gem dramas will like this a lot. Was very suprised how good this was. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A little slow and a little boring at times but I had a really good story to it watched all of it and I recommend you watching it to James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas, June 6, 2023 Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Unusual story, oddly sympathetic to all characters, even though their own self-interests don't always align. Moral ambiguity for any time - not just the 50s when it was filmed. I especially appreciated the inconclusive ending, inviting viewers to judge for themselves. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review matthew d A curious melodrama from master director Ida Lupino. Ida Lupino's romantic melodrama The Bigamist (1953) is interesting precisely because Lupino directs it with an ambiguous moral compass. Only in the end does The Bigamist condemn this man for cheating on his first wife with a new mistress he marries and even parents a child. The rest of the film allows him to feel justified in the sense that he was a lonely salesman, so that you sympathize with this decent regular guy, all while ignoring the pain he is putting these women through, especially once they find out about his infidelity. Lupino's direction is fascinating because she allows the man to be sympathetic as we follow him. She always keeps you emotionally invested in each romantic encounter as they feel like real conversations. Collier Young's script feels so strangely sexist as he goes to great lengths to excuse this cheating bigamist's behavior as the desperate attempt of a man going through a midlife crisis to be happy. Ida Lupino should have told this story from the perspective of the ladies finding out about this man, instead The Bigamist is left ambiguous as to who he ends up with and truly loves, but the viewer knows by the end really. I think Young's writing feels realistic in how people speak and in understanding the longing the lonely feel. However, he spends too long pretending that it's morally okay for this supposed protagonist to cheat on his wife with another woman, when he is basically the villain of The Bigamist. Ida Lupino is phenomenal as the lonely lady living on her own in Los Angeles named Phyllis Martin. She directs herself with a zeal and amorous affection. Phyllis is totally realistic as she feels like a genuinely lonesome woman wanting love, only to be devastated by her husband's infidelity. Lupino has such fiery dialogue and sheer willpower. Her every line bites and comes across like Phyllis is a seriously cool lady. Joan Fontaine is likewise fantastic as Harry's first wife Eve Graham. She is a sincere, independent woman, who finds renewed energy as a business woman instead of merely one man's wife. Both actresses hurt you emotionally as you must witness their pain in their eyes and body language over this foolish cheating bigamist. Edmond O'Brien is excellent as Harry and Harrison Graham. He lets you feel for this terrible man. He has little charisma or charm, so you cannot believe Ida Lupino or Joan Fontaine would have fallen for him, so perhaps Ida should have cast someone younger and more charming. However, O'Brien delivers raw emotion with a nuanced performance far more than you'd expect from a Code era film that must condemn this bigamist. Edmund Gwynn is great as the elderly adoption agent, who is honestly shocked at the scandal he uncovers. Stanford Tischler's editing is nicely succinct for this simple dramatic premise. His cuts keep The Bigamist down to a tasteful 80 minutes alongside Ida Lupino's emotionally earnest direction. George E. Diskant's cinematography looks striking with long panning shots that hold on the lead, so you always are thinking about what he is doing or feeling. Edward G. Boyle's set decoration looks like they're really lived in homes for both households. Leith Stevens' score is nice with a pleasant romance to his melodies, while dark during the harder dramatic scenes. In short, The Bigamist is provocative, ahead of its time, and thoughtful with a sincerity and fairness from Ida Lupino that is absorbing. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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