Wives Never Know
Encyclopedia
Wives Never Know is a 1936
American
black-and-white
comedy film
directed by Elliott Nugent
. Written by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan
, Edwin Justus Mayer
and Keene Thompson
, the film stars Charles Ruggles
, Mary Boland
, and Adolphe Menjou
, and was produced by Adolph Zukor
for Paramount Pictures
.
) and Marcia Bigelow (Mary Boland
) are a happily married couple. Visiting novelist J. Hugh Ramsey (Adolphe Menjou
) considers himself both too wise to ever marry and, through hubris, qualified to offer his own wild theories on what constitutes a happy marriage. He had thus written a best selling novel titled Marriage, the Living Death. Ramsey decides that the Bigelow marriage could not possibly be as perfect as it appears, and convinces Homer that his wife must be secretly unhappy because she had never had the opportunity to forgive the morally spotless Homer for any misdeed. Wishing to please, Homer decides to involve himself in a trist so that Marcia would then have something for which she could forgive him. He chooses French actress Renée La Journée (Vivienne Osborne
) who is performing nearby. Ramsey learns of the affair and discovers that the La Journée turns out to be the one love of his life that he had lost years earlier.
called the film "a delightful and hilarious comedy of married life". They wrote that Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland "carry the lead roles in inimitable manner which has endeared them to millions", and that the film marked a return to film for actress Vivienne Osborne after a two year absence. Evening Independent noted that a film combination of Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland is always irresistible, and wrote that the film "kept the preview audience laughing from beginning to the last fade-out". In consideration of the three stars, they wrote "Ruggles, Boland and Menjou make a rollicking comedy trio", and predicted that the film "should play a merry tune at boxoffices". In October 1936, The Star
listed the film as one of its 'Best Bets of the Week'.
Conversely, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
advised that fans of Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland would be in for a "considerable let-down" when watching the film. In examining the film in comparison to previous films where Ruggles and Boland reprised roles where they were husaband and wife, they wrote of Wives Never Know that "it is a listless, laborous little comedy that resembles the result of a scavenger hunt at the old Mack Sennett Studios
." They offered that there were the expected laughs to be found in any film involving Ruggles and Boland, but that the storyline itself possessed few comic qualities, and that left to their own resources, the co-stars "falter and fumble through six or seven reels of makeshift humor."
The New York Times
made note of the ongoing screen partnering of Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland, and that the film in offering Ruggles' "familiar timid-husband sequences" and Boland's "usual number of stock Bolandisms", seems to be holding "a sacrifice auction sale..." "...at a considerable reduction in humor." In addressing the film plot, they felt it was "merely an antiquated type of stage farce enacted before a camera". However, they made special note of the contribution of Adolphe Menjou, who in the role of a visiting author, was "quixotic as ever" in his character's "commendable effort to break up the Ruggles-Boland marriage." They commended that the entire cast gave their best efforts, and that "even the urbane Mr. Menjou falls into the ditch, as it were, unreservedly, without holding back a shred of himself."
May 23, 1937, and as Sikken en nat in Denmark
August 9, 1937. In 1958 the rights were purchased by MCA/Universal Pictures.
1936 in film
The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Elliott Nugent
Elliott Nugent
Elliott Nugent was an American actor, writer, and film director. He successfully made the transition from silent film to sound. He directed The Cat and the Canary , starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard...
. Written by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan
Frederick Hazlitt Brennan
Frederick Hazlitt Brennan was an American screenwriter. He wrote for over 30 films between 1929 and 1953 and was the creator of the Wyatt Earp television show....
, Edwin Justus Mayer
Edwin Justus Mayer
Edwin Justus Mayer was an American screenwriter. He wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for 47 films between 1927 and 1958....
and Keene Thompson
Keene Thompson
Keene Thompson was a story, scenario and screenwriter who worked in the film industry from 1920 to 1937.-Career:...
, the film stars Charles Ruggles
Charles Ruggles
Charles Sherman “Charlie” Ruggles was a comic American actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films. He was also the brother of director, producer, and silent actor Wesley Ruggles .-Background:Charlie Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California in 1886...
, Mary Boland
Mary Boland
-Career:Born Marie Anne Boland in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of William Boland, an actor, and his wife Mary Cecilia Hatton. She had an older sister named Sara....
, and Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born...
, and was produced by Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor , born Adolph Cukor, was a film mogul and founder of Paramount Pictures.-Early life:...
for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.
Plot
Homer (Charles RugglesCharles Ruggles
Charles Sherman “Charlie” Ruggles was a comic American actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films. He was also the brother of director, producer, and silent actor Wesley Ruggles .-Background:Charlie Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California in 1886...
) and Marcia Bigelow (Mary Boland
Mary Boland
-Career:Born Marie Anne Boland in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of William Boland, an actor, and his wife Mary Cecilia Hatton. She had an older sister named Sara....
) are a happily married couple. Visiting novelist J. Hugh Ramsey (Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born...
) considers himself both too wise to ever marry and, through hubris, qualified to offer his own wild theories on what constitutes a happy marriage. He had thus written a best selling novel titled Marriage, the Living Death. Ramsey decides that the Bigelow marriage could not possibly be as perfect as it appears, and convinces Homer that his wife must be secretly unhappy because she had never had the opportunity to forgive the morally spotless Homer for any misdeed. Wishing to please, Homer decides to involve himself in a trist so that Marcia would then have something for which she could forgive him. He chooses French actress Renée La Journée (Vivienne Osborne
Vivienne Osborne
Vivienne Osborne was an American stage and film actress known for her work in Broadway theater and in silent and sound films.-Career:...
) who is performing nearby. Ramsey learns of the affair and discovers that the La Journée turns out to be the one love of his life that he had lost years earlier.
Cast
- Charles RugglesCharles RugglesCharles Sherman “Charlie” Ruggles was a comic American actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films. He was also the brother of director, producer, and silent actor Wesley Ruggles .-Background:Charlie Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California in 1886...
as Homer Bigelow - Mary BolandMary Boland-Career:Born Marie Anne Boland in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of William Boland, an actor, and his wife Mary Cecilia Hatton. She had an older sister named Sara....
as Marcia Bigelow - Adolphe MenjouAdolphe MenjouAdolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born...
as J. Hugh Ramsey - Vivienne OsborneVivienne OsborneVivienne Osborne was an American stage and film actress known for her work in Broadway theater and in silent and sound films.-Career:...
as Renée La Journée - Claude GillingwaterClaude GillingwaterClaude Benton Gillingwater was an American stage and screen actor. He first appeared on the stage then in 92 films between 1918 and 1939....
as Mr. Gossamer - Fay HoldenFay HoldenFay Holden , was a British-born American-based actress. She was known as Gaby Fay early in her career....
as Mrs. Gossamer - Louise BeaversLouise BeaversLouise Beavers was an African-American film and television actress. Beavers appeared in dozens of films from the 1920s to the 1930s, most often in the role of a maid, servant, or slave. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Beavers was a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American...
as Florabelle - Constance Bergen as Miss Giddings
- Purnell PrattPurnell PrattPurnell Pratt was an American film actor. He appeared in 114 films between 1914 and 1941.He was born in Bethel, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* On with the Show...
as Higgins - Suzanne KaarenSuzanne KaarenSuzanne Kaaren was an American B-movie actress who starred in stock film genres of the 1930s and 1940s: horror, western and romances. She was born in Brooklyn, New York.-Education and athletics:...
as Miss Flinton - Irving Bacon Irving BaconIrving Bacon was an American character actor who appeared in over 400 films. He played on the stage for a number of years before getting into films in 1920. Bacon was sometimes cast in films directed by his namesake Lloyd Bacon such as The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse...
as Dr. Mumford - Edward LeSaintEdward LeSaintEdward LeSaint was an American silent film actor and director who acted in over 300 films and directed over 90.-Personal life and death:...
as Mr. Banker - Henry RoquemoreHenry RoquemoreHenry Roquemore or Henry Rocquemore was an American character actor who primarily played bit parts. He appeared in 229 silent and sound films from 1927 until 1943...
as Mr. Merchant - Edward EarleEdward EarleEdward Earle was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in almost 400 films between 1914 and 1956.He was born in Toronto and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 90.-Selected filmography:* The Purple Dress...
as Mr. Lawyer - Roger Gray as Farmer
- Arthur HousmanArthur HousmanArthur Housman was an American actor in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood.-Career:Initially as a leading man, Housman later became known as Hollywood's most familiar comic drunkard in films of the 1930s, usually playing cameo parts in features but with better opportunities in short films...
as Snorter
- Tom Kennedy as Bartender
- Priscilla LawsonPriscilla LawsonPriscilla Lawson , born Priscilla Shortridge, was an American actress known for her role as Princess Aura in the original Flash Gordon serial ....
as Laboratory Assistant - Jack MulhallJack MulhallJack Mulhall, born John Joseph Francis Mulhall, was a film actor since the silent film era and appeared in over 430 films....
as Scout - Frank O'Connor as Police Sergeant
- Lee ShumwayLee ShumwayLee Shumway , was an American actor. He appeared in 417 films between 1909 and 1953.He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Flame of Barbary Coast...
as Police Sergeant - Edward GarganEdward GarganEdward Gargan born July 17, 1902 in Brooklyn, New York, USA and died February 19, 1964, aged 61 in New York City, New York, USA. He born of Irish parents, he was one of the most prolific bit players in the history of the movies ; the Internet Movie Database lists 293 feature films to his credit...
as Officer - Lee PhelpsLee PhelpsLee Phelps was an American film actor. He appeared in over 600 films between 1917 and 1953, mainly in uncredited roles...
as Doorman - James PierceJames PierceJames Hubert Pierce , of Shelbyville, Indiana, was the fourth actor to portray Tarzan on film.-Early life/College/Early film career:...
as Dentist - Ernest ShieldsErnest ShieldsErnest Shields was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 113 films between 1914 and 1944.He was born in Chicago, Illinois and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...
as Drunk - William IrvingWilliam Irving (actor)William Irving was a German-born American film actor. He appeared in 174 films between 1916 and 1941. Irving died of a heart attack on Christmas Day, 1943.-Selected filmography:* Whose Baby?...
as Drunk - Billy BletcherBilly BletcherWilliam "Billy" Bletcher was an American actor, comedian, and voice artist, a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.-Career:...
as Drunk - Lillian WestLillian WestLillian West was an American film actress. She appeared in 104 films between 1916 and 1958.She was born in New York, New York and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Shadows...
as Gossip - John M. SullivanJohn M. SullivanJonathan Mark 'John' Sullivan is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 47th District since 2002. The district is anchored by Quincy and Macomb....
as Director - Ben TaggartBen TaggartBen Taggart was an American actor.His first movie was The Woman Next Door in 1915; from 1931 to 1945 he appeared in a number of minor roles, listed as "uncredited" on IMDB. Credited roles include The House That Shadows Built as Mr...
as - Ellen DrewEllen DrewEllen Drew was an American film actress.Born Esther Loretta Ray in Kansas City, Missouri, Drew worked various jobs and won a number of beauty contests before becoming an actress...
as
Critical response
Lawrence Journal-WorldLawrence Journal-World
The Lawrence Journal-World is a daily newspaper published in Lawrence, Kansas by The World Company.-History:Though the Journal-World title only came into existence in 1911, according to the volume number of the current masthead of the paper, the paper dates itself back to 1858.The Simons family...
called the film "a delightful and hilarious comedy of married life". They wrote that Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland "carry the lead roles in inimitable manner which has endeared them to millions", and that the film marked a return to film for actress Vivienne Osborne after a two year absence. Evening Independent noted that a film combination of Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland is always irresistible, and wrote that the film "kept the preview audience laughing from beginning to the last fade-out". In consideration of the three stars, they wrote "Ruggles, Boland and Menjou make a rollicking comedy trio", and predicted that the film "should play a merry tune at boxoffices". In October 1936, The Star
The Star
The Star may refer to:* The Star , a 2002 Russian film* The Star , a 1952 Bette Davis film* The Star , a casino in Sydney, Australia* The Star , a Thai singing competition reality television show....
listed the film as one of its 'Best Bets of the Week'.
Conversely, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
advised that fans of Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland would be in for a "considerable let-down" when watching the film. In examining the film in comparison to previous films where Ruggles and Boland reprised roles where they were husaband and wife, they wrote of Wives Never Know that "it is a listless, laborous little comedy that resembles the result of a scavenger hunt at the old Mack Sennett Studios
Keystone Studios
Keystone Studios was an early movie studio founded in Edendale, California in 1912 as the Keystone Pictures Studio by Mack Sennett with backing from Adam Kessel and Charles O. Bauman, owners of the New York Motion Picture Company...
." They offered that there were the expected laughs to be found in any film involving Ruggles and Boland, but that the storyline itself possessed few comic qualities, and that left to their own resources, the co-stars "falter and fumble through six or seven reels of makeshift humor."
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
made note of the ongoing screen partnering of Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland, and that the film in offering Ruggles' "familiar timid-husband sequences" and Boland's "usual number of stock Bolandisms", seems to be holding "a sacrifice auction sale..." "...at a considerable reduction in humor." In addressing the film plot, they felt it was "merely an antiquated type of stage farce enacted before a camera". However, they made special note of the contribution of Adolphe Menjou, who in the role of a visiting author, was "quixotic as ever" in his character's "commendable effort to break up the Ruggles-Boland marriage." They commended that the entire cast gave their best efforts, and that "even the urbane Mr. Menjou falls into the ditch, as it were, unreservedly, without holding back a shred of himself."
Release
Released theatrically in the United States September 13, 1936, the film was released as Jos rouvat tietäisivät in FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
May 23, 1937, and as Sikken en nat in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
August 9, 1937. In 1958 the rights were purchased by MCA/Universal Pictures.
External links
- Wives Never Know at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...