Wed 31 Dec 2014
Movie Review: THE NIGHT BEFORE THE DIVORCE.
Posted by Steve under Films: Comedy/Musicals[5] Comments
THE NIGHT BEFORE THE DIVORCE. 20th Century Fox, 1942. Lynn Bari, Mary Beth Hughes, Joseph Allen Jr., Nils Asther, Truman Bradley, Kay Linaker, Lyle Latell. Director: Robert Siodmak.
There are some funny moments in this not-so-funny film, it is true, but not too many. What makes the movie worth watching, though, is any moment that Lynn Bari is on the screen. At least in my opinion, and since she is the leading lady, she is on the screen quite often, a stunning brunette with lots of close-ups.
Mary Beth Hughes, a blonde bombshell whose whispery come-hither voice will remind you of Marilyn Monroe, even before the latter ever dreamed of making a movie, is second-billed, but if Lynn Bari never became a star, not of the household name variety, so alas did not Mary Beth Hughes.
The idea behind this film is that in many a marriage (1940s style) the man of the house would resent it if the woman of the family is more competent than he in almost everything. To George Nordyke (Joseph Allen) the final straw comes when his wife Lynn (Bari) has a lower golf score than he has ever manged to have, and she has only started to learn the game, while he has been playing for years.
Trying to nab him on the rebound, even before the divorce is final, is Lola May (guess who?), who is more than willing to play weak and dependent. To tie this in more solidy with the purported purpose of this blog, Lynn’s new would-be boy friend is bumped off, and to get George back (though I’m not exactly sure why), she takes the blame and lets George help her out of the jam.
Not exactly the funniest premise in the world, but perhaps it fared better back in the early 40s. Even back then, though, I’m willing to wager that this movie came and went without making much of a fuss.
January 1st, 2015 at 5:23 pm
When Truman Bradley is has the greatest name recognition in your film …
Bari and Hughes are well worth watching, but it is hard to believe they are fighting over Allen.
January 1st, 2015 at 5:53 pm
Truman Bradley gets the nod only if you’re old enough to remember SCIENCE FICTION THEATER. The scale goes the other way if you’re even older and look forward to Lynn Bari in any movie she was ever in.
January 1st, 2015 at 6:08 pm
Lynn is currently playing on Fox Movie Channel in Tampico.
Check the schedule for times.
January 1st, 2015 at 7:11 pm
Thanks, John. I will, indeed. TAMPICO is one of her films I haven’t seen. Yet, that is.
Here’s how her entry on Wikipedia begins:
“Lynn Bari (December 18, 1913 – November 20, 1989), born Margaret Schuyler Fisher, was a movie actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in over one hundred 20th Century Fox films from the early 1930s through the 1940s.”
January 2nd, 2015 at 2:17 am
FYI:
There’s a digital channel called THE WORKS, specializing in movies of varying obscurity, which is running SCIENCE FICTION THEATER Saturdays and Sundays at noon (CST).
So Truman Bradley ‘lives’ (after a fashion).
And come to think of it, so does Lynn Bari, who appeared at least once as a guest star …
See how this all ties together?