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His Brother's Wife

Play trailer Poster for His Brother's Wife 1936 1h 30m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 8% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Carefree young scientist Chris Claybourne (Robert Taylor) follows his esteemed father's footsteps into the demanding field of epidemiology. Before embarking on his first research expedition, Claybourne obtains permission to go on a brief vacation. In the midst of a fierce gambling binge, Claybourne falls for seductive model Rita Wilson (Barbara Stanwyck) and gets deeply in debt to a local gangster. When Claybourne appeals to his brother Tom (John Eldredge) for help, a love triangle ensues.

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy) Esquire Magazine Everyone in the picture is so awfully straight-backed... May 5, 2020 Full Review Ann Ross Maclean's Magazine The film has its exciting moments, but it's hard to feel much sympathy with any of the people involved. Aug 7, 2019 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: B- Feb 17, 2013 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D It is hard to pull for any of these people. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/12/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is decent enough in the beginning, which has a wealthy playboy doctor (Robert Taylor) falling in love with a woman he meets in a casino (Barbara Stanwyck). He's meant to leave for the jungles of South America in ten days to work on a cure for spotted fever, so it's a whirlwind romance that they both know will be short-lived. Things get complicated when they fall in love (surprise, surprise), and even more so as Taylor owes the casino owner (Joseph Calleia) money, and seeks to borrow it from his brother. The film gets muddled from there - in character motivations, in melodrama, and in several dangling threads. The scenes in the jungle are just silly, and it's irritating when the woman starts taking the blame for things. I found my grade for the film steadily decreasing as it progressed, and hoping for it to end, which is never a good sign. It was interesting to see Samuel S. Hinds as the father, as he was George Bailey's dad in 'It's a Wonderful Life', and it was also interesting to consider that Stanwyck and Taylor would be married in real life three years later, for thirteen years. This one is for a fan of those actors only, and seeing the first thirty minutes or so would be sufficient. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Silly nonsense that Barbara makes worth watching. Robert Taylor was extremely good looking but at least at this point was a seriously bad actor. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member pleasurable romance but the drama lays flat Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Good little soaper about scientist Robert Taylor who chooses his research abroad over Barbara Stanwyck. Stanwyck then marries his brother for revenge. Stanwyck is more glamorous than in most of her films, which is kind of fun, but the soapy story is pretty good too. Also, this is a film that's never been released on video, so its fun to catch these hard-to-find films airing on TCM. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
His Brother's Wife

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Carefree young scientist Chris Claybourne (Robert Taylor) follows his esteemed father's footsteps into the demanding field of epidemiology. Before embarking on his first research expedition, Claybourne obtains permission to go on a brief vacation. In the midst of a fierce gambling binge, Claybourne falls for seductive model Rita Wilson (Barbara Stanwyck) and gets deeply in debt to a local gangster. When Claybourne appeals to his brother Tom (John Eldredge) for help, a love triangle ensues.
Director
W. S. Van Dyke II
Producer
Lawrence Weingarten
Screenwriter
Leon Gordon, John Meehan
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 30m