Guest Wife (1945)

A star turn for Claudette Colbert in an very amusing and well-written comedy. Happily married woman tricked into posing as the wife of her husband's best friend but the press get ahold of the story and her life and marriage are compromised. Amusing and adult script and marvelous Colbert make this a brisk, breezy and enjoyable film superbly remastered. Oscar nom for Original Score.

GUEST WIFE does not have the reputation of Claudette Colbert's greatest comedies, but it's a fine comedy with the beautiful star in fine form. Claudette plays the devoted wife of Dick Foran who finds herself forced to pose as the wife of Foran's best friend, Don Ameche. The sparkling Colbert wit and charm are in full force and the lady at 41 is every bit the beauty she was a decade earlier in her Oscar-winning triumph IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. Heck, Claudette looked fabulous into her nineties!! This United Artists release, like most of their vintage films from independent producers from the period, rarely plays on television so this video might be your only chance to see this wonderful movie. The film's print is sparkling and the movie is (unusual for a video release) introduced by Roddy McDowell.

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Guest Wife is directed by Sam Wood, written by Bruce Manning and John Klorer, and stars Claudette Colbert (Mary), Don Ameche (Joe) and Dick Foran (Chris). The story tells of a journalist, Joe, who claims to his boss that he is married because the company would like their employees to be as such, and Joe wants to take some vacation leave. But he happens to still be single. Something that's now a major problem since his boss requests the company of Joe and wife for the weekend! His pal Chris lends him his wife Mary so as to bluff his boss into agreement, however, things start to get complicated.

Obviously hampered by the strict censorship that existed at the time of its making, Guest Wife none the less is a cheeky little comedy that boasts fun acting and a safe and solid script.. Tho referred to as a screwball comedy in some quarters, I feel that doesn't quite do the film any favours. Yes the gags are breezy enough, but they are hardly of the whirlwind scattergun variety. The interplay between the wonderful Colbert and the charming Ameche is spot on, even if the heavy cloud of censorship tone downs stops the material from being fully realised into a classic comedy must see. There's an itch about just who we are supposed to root for since Chris is a nice guy and Mary clearly loves him, and of course Joe is a bit of a cad when one considers his deception. Yet we are in the company of Mary and Joe for the most part, which although it be a fake marriage, it's a nice coupling. So either way come the end some viewers will be left disappointed.

Safe and tidy, with the film as a whole more likely to leave you with a smile more than a beaming grin. 6.5/10

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