The Bigamist

Released Dec 3, 1953

1 hr. 20 min.

Drama

List

73%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

50%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

San Francisco businessman Harry Graham (Edmond O'Brien) and his wife and business partner, Eve (Joan Fontaine), are in the process of adopting a child. When private investigator Jordan (Edmund Gwenn) uncovers the fact that Graham has another wife, Phyllis (Ida Lupino), and a small child in Los Angeles, he confesses everything. In flashback, Graham tells of the strains in his marriage with Eve and how he found himself falling for the kind-hearted waitress Phyllis while on a business trip.

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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 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 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 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 out of 5 stars

06/08/23

Full Review

David P

Edmond O'Brien is difficult to watch. He has such a stupid sad expression on his face it's diffiuclt to watch. This film is unusual about a subject I've never seen addressed in film. So I stuck with it. Did I mention Joan Fontaine is also unbearably fake. It's poorly directed with many standard textbook shots, not one shot that was well composed or interesting. The music is stock music. The pace and rhythm are mundane. Films like this are valuable so I know what I don't like.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/10/21

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 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

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Ida Lupino

Director

Edmond O'Brien

Harry Graham

Joan Fontaine

Eve Graham

Ida Lupino

Phyllis Martin

Edmund Gwenn

Mr. Jordan

Jane Darwell

Mrs. Connelley

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

[A] glossy yet granular melodrama about the stresses and deceptions of marriage, work, and romance.

Apr 14, 2020

Full Review

Carson Timar

Filmotomy

The Bigamist undoubtedly could have been cleaned up here and there, but overall is a worthwhile excursion into a layered and nuanced exploration of love.

Feb 12, 2022

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Lupino takes a down-to-earth look at the ethics of marriage and the moral dilemmas of bigamy, but while his melodrama has interesting moments, I have a feeling that it lacks dramatic punch. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 6/10

Nov 11, 2021

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a lackadaisical drama...

Rated: 2/4

Dec 17, 2020

Full Review

Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

Lupino's treatment of an adulterous husband is so even-handed, so sympathetic, you don't just feel for him; you understand him.

Oct 24, 2019

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

While viewers' reactions will likely vary greatly, Lupino refuses to take sides, and the result is a film that exists in a surprising moral gray area rarely seen in 1953.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 9, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

San Francisco businessman Harry Graham (Edmond O'Brien) and his wife and business partner, Eve (Joan Fontaine), are in the process of adopting a child. When private investigator Jordan (Edmund Gwenn) uncovers the fact that Graham has another wife, Phyllis (Ida Lupino), and a small child in Los Angeles, he confesses everything. In flashback, Graham tells of the strains in his marriage with Eve and how he found himself falling for the kind-hearted waitress Phyllis while on a business trip.

Director: Ida Lupino
Production Co: The Filmakers Group
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 3, 1953, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 11, 2016

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