Three Husbands (1950)

Memorable, crazy movie

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Plot-- From cloudy heaven, a departed playboy gleefully watches three married couples grapple with problems he's created with incriminating letters to the husbands. Could it be that he has a hidden purpose.Pairing the sardonic Eve Arden with the gruff Howard DaSilva has all kinds of comedic potential. Too bad they don't get more barbed screen time. Then the sometimes comedy, sometimes drama, would get more needed spark. There's clever banter among the three couples, but much of the acting, particularly Strudwick and Karnes, fails to lift beyond the blandly conventional. Nor does Reis's direction heighten the effects. Nonetheless, actor Williams manages to make his potentially dislikable character, Max, oddly likable. Also, scenes in celluloid heaven could raise a touchy 'who-rules' religious problem. However, the script finesses this by making the gate-keeper sound like a corporate auditor without indicating who's ultimately in charge.Overall, it's an indie production that shows its limitations; at the same time, the occasional snappy dialogue amounts to the best part.

As with many major studio successes, Poverty Row jumped on the Fox boxoffice bandwagon with a copycat of Letter to Three Wives entitled Letter to Three Husbands (1951), a title quickly changed to just Three Husbands when Fox threatened to sue.Although promisingly based on a Vera Caspary story and script, "Three Husbands" is a rather dull and supremely tedious low-budget affair. I will admit that the Eve Arden and Howard Da Silva episode is reasonably entertaining and certainly comes off best, but it means that you will be obliged to sit through not only the tedious Shepperd Strudwick and Ruth Warwick's plodding plot, but the even more totally boring Robert Karnes.In fact, I've never heard of Mr. Karnes, and no wonder! His credits are mostly in television roles and I never watch TV! And as for Vanessa Brown (Jane in 1950's Tarzan and the Slave Girl), she has little to offer as well. (The Mill Creek DVD is of excellent quality, but who wants to waste time watching it when you could be entertained by at least fifty thousand better programs).

In 1949, Joseph Mankiewicz wrote and directed a perfect or nearly perfect film, "A Letter to Three Wives". I loved everything about the movie--the acting, the writing the direction. However, only a year later, someone came out with "Three Husbands" and I can only see it as a bald attempt to steal the plot from the original film-- it couldn't have been made without A LOT of inspiration from the first picture! When the story begin, it is just stupid. There's a nonsensical scene in Heaven that is just badly constructed in every way. It made no sense AND instead of showing anything, they just show a bunch of clouds and you hear a voice-over--talk about cheap! The story itself is about the death of the guy talking in the beginning of the film. His last wish when he gets to Heaven is that he be able to watch the hilarity (?) that would occur when his three male 'friends' all got letters he'd written and left for them with his executor. The letters inform the guys that the dead guy is saying he's sorry, but he's slept with their wives! What follows is the story about the marriages and how the husbands apparently have been taking their wives for granted and it serves them right. Then in a bizarro ending, there are so many misdirections it's confusing as to whether they happened or not (I have my impression...but will keep it to myself). The film has adequate acting--and some is good. But NONE of the acting reaches the quality of the top-notch actors in the original, all the changes to the script were bad and the film just wasn't entertaining and was as funny as cancer. I could see how this one slipped into the public domain!By the way, the only GOOD reason to see this is to watch and listen to Billie Burke in a small role. She, for once, drops her put-on silly warbly voice and sounds like a normal person here....and I assume this is the REAL Burke talking.

I just watched this romantic comedy for the first time this afternoon on YouTube. It is delightful. This black and white film has "colorful" scenes with all the actors. Who do you trust? This question is definitely posed to the 3 husbands regarding their wives. Flashbacks for all the husbands give us insights into all these relationships. The film has a happy and humorous ending.And, if you enjoy this movie, take a look at, the Ginger Rogers film, "Tom, Dick and Harry!" It is very innovative in its use of humor and special effects.