The Bigamist (1953)

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Excellent but underrated film

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Certainly melodramatic in spots, but overall a great, absorbing drama from actress-turned- director Ida Lupino (who takes on both duties in this picture). In some ways, the story seems like a clever re-working of Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter.' Only this time the adulterer is male (and nicely played by Edmond O'Brien) and the indiscretions are not made public but kept private. As the plot unfolds, we watch the ramifications of his actions play out. We quickly learn that he has married two women in two different towns, with each one unaware that the other wife exists. They gradually come to the realization that their husband is a bigamist, and evolve from naive to more knowledgeable-- perhaps emerging stronger because of it. Lupino and costar Joan Fontaine give impressive performances as the wives, and it is not easy to decide which one deserves to keep O'Brien before the final fade out. It's that kind of triangle. Enlivening the proceedings are some of the era's best character actors: Jane Darwell as a cleaning lady; and Edmund Gwenn as a social worker who catches on to O'Brien's duplicitous ways.

Ida Lupino, the trail blazing female director, both stars and directs in this extraordinary 1953 film "The Bigamist".Ms. Lupino made interesting films and tackled some difficult subject matter. This being one of them, the plot conveyed in the title. However, Ms. Lupino, brings sympathy and understanding to all 3 main characters, herself playing Phyllis, Joan Fontaine playing Eve, the barren wife and the travelling tortured salesman played by Edmond O'Brien. Twee in-jokes aside and a few groan-worthy melodramatic moments, the film has aged well.Eve plays the business woman extremely well. Everything starts to turn on its head when she decides she does want a child after all and they proceed with the adoption process.Lupino plays the tough farm girl, working at menial jobs in the city and all too ready to have a romance. Her vulnerability is beautifully portrayed. Her pregnancy is handled with subtlety.Edmund Gwenn plays the adoption agency investigator and does an admirable job.The climax comes in the courtroom scene and this is where some melodrama comes into play but it does not affect the restraint shown by the director in letting the audience decide the moral outcome.8 out of 10. Recommended.

With only knowledge that it is a classic drama, starring the star of one or two Hitchcock films, and featuring in the book 1001 Movies You must See Before You Die, this knowledge was enough for me to see it. Basically Eve Graham (Joan Fontaine) and her travelling salesman husband Harry (Harrison) Graham (Edmond O'Brien) are wanting to adopt a baby, but the head of the agency Mr. Jordan (Edmund Gwenn) senses Harry is keeping something secret and needs investigating. It turns out Harry actually has two wives, the second being Phyllis Martin (Ida Lupino, also directing), and a baby! Mr. Jordan obviously thinks to call the police, but Harry is prepared to explain everything, and through flashbacks we see how he and Phyllis got involved, and a little about the relationship with Eve. Also starring Jane Darwell as Mrs. Connelley, Kenneth Tobey as Tom Morgan, Defense Attorney and John Maxwell as Judge. It is a very implausible and far-fetched story, in fact I lost my way a little bit, but the performances are good enough to keep you interested. Good!

The film starts with a husband and wife, Harry (Edmond O'Brien) and Eve (Joan Fontaine), going through the procedure of adopting a child with adoption official Mr Jordan (Edmund Gwenn). Mr Jordan senses something strange about the behaviour of Harry and so investigates his past which takes him to Los Angeles where he discovers that Harry uses a different name and has another wife Phyliss (Ida Lupino) and child. The main bulk of the film is told in flashback as Harry explains the circumstances to Mr Jordan. At the end, we are left to decide who, if any, of the women will stand by him as a judge announces that sentence will be passed in a week's time.....The film plays out so that you are sympathetic to all 3 major stars - O'Brien, Fontaine and Lupino - and has an ambiguous ending to some. I find that the ending is clear as the final shot says it all. From the beginning, I thought that Mr Jordan was suspicious for no good reasons and that his delving into the past as he did was unrealistic. We are led to believe that he had made a mistake in the past to explain his thoroughness, but he was still a jobsworth to the power of a million. I didn't like him! When Harry goes on a Beverly Hills tour of houses of movie stars (where he meets Phyliss), we are shown the house of Edmund Gwenn, who plays Mr Jordan in the film. Harry should have stopped the bus and torched the place! I think the film needed more excitement but its OK.