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My Favorite Wife

Play trailer Poster for My Favorite Wife Released May 2, 1940 1h 28m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
After his wife, Ellen (Irene Dunne), disappears at sea, Nick Arden (Cary Grant) waits seven long years before finally marrying the lovely Bianca (Gail Patrick). As luck would have it, Ellen suddenly reappears in Nick's life during his honeymoon with Bianca and informs him that she's been shipwrecked on a desert island. Nick is overjoyed to see her, but becomes insane with jealousy when he learns of her only island companion -- the handsome Stephen Burkett (Randolph Scott).
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My Favorite Wife

Critics Reviews

View All (14) Critics Reviews
TIME Magazine Ninety minutes of delightfully irrational comedy. Dec 8, 2008 Full Review Derek Adams Time Out A relatively formulaic (though beautifully produced) bedroom comedy... Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Bosley Crowther New York Times The direction of Garson Kanin is spotty, and there is evidence of faults in editing -- but who cares? Mar 25, 2006 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies How can any movie fan not love the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s? Rated: 4/5 Aug 17, 2022 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Garson Kanin is not Leo McCarey, who was originally assigned to direct this screwball comedy, reuniting Cary Grant and Irene Dunne (Awful Truth), but he has made a well acted, decent, and enjoyable film. Rated: B Jan 8, 2012 Full Review Christopher Lloyd Sarasota Herald-Tribune Nowadays, we would call this the purview of a low-rent TV sitcom. Watching it play out 70 years earlier with top-flight stars doesn't make it any more palatable. Rated: 2/5 Jan 10, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Sarah D Fantastic comedy! I watch it a couple times a year. Screwball comedy. Akin to Bringing Up Baby and The Awful Truth. You can’t miss with a Grant/Dunne movie. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/27/24 Full Review Jess One of my favorite movies of all time. Does it make a lot of sense…no. Is it realistic…absolutely not. But I could watch anything with Cary grant and Irene Dunne. Together they're perfection Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/16/24 Full Review Mike F This was a fun movie I really enjoyed the tension experienced by Cary Grant when he realized the wife he thought was gone for 7 years in fact survived and showed up at his home with his new wife. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/31/23 Full Review fred j Good premise, great cast, but after a while it goes nowhere and really starts to drag near the end. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Michael M My Favorite Wife is a charming and inoffensive comedy with a strong cast, but it is held back by lost comedic opportunities, pacing issues, and noticeable plot holes. It definitely falls short of other Cary Grant comedies of the period (for instance, Arsenic and Old Lace), but it is a perfectly fine film to watch on a cold, rainy evening. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/22 Full Review paul d Garson Kanin's My Favorite Wife is a pleasant rom-com brought to life by its two leads. Irene Dunne has a sly twinkle in her eye for most of the film, and Cary Grant a beleaguered one in his. The film's charm was surely great in 1940, when its delicate and funny approach was one of the few ways to address taboo subjects such as extramarital sex and bigamy for a wide audience. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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My Favorite Wife

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Movie Info

Synopsis After his wife, Ellen (Irene Dunne), disappears at sea, Nick Arden (Cary Grant) waits seven long years before finally marrying the lovely Bianca (Gail Patrick). As luck would have it, Ellen suddenly reappears in Nick's life during his honeymoon with Bianca and informs him that she's been shipwrecked on a desert island. Nick is overjoyed to see her, but becomes insane with jealousy when he learns of her only island companion -- the handsome Stephen Burkett (Randolph Scott).
Director
Garson Kanin
Producer
Leo McCarey
Screenwriter
Bella Spewack
Distributor
RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co
RKO Pictures
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 2, 1940, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 1, 2012
Runtime
1h 28m
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