''Behold My Wife!'' is a 1934

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Mitchell Leisen James Mitchell Leisen (October 6, 1898 – October 28, 1972) was an American film director, director, art director, and costume designer. Film career He entered the film industry in the 1920s, beginning in the art and costume departments. He d ...

. It stars

Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow; August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen, and film actress whose career spanned 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Academy ...

and

Gene Raymond Gene Raymond (born Raymond Guion; August 13, 1908 – May 3, 1998) was an American film, television, and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to acting, Raymond was also a singer, composer, screenwriter, director, producer, and decorat ...

. Based on a novel by Sir Gilbert Parker, ''The Translation of a Savage'',The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: ''Behold My Wife!''

AFI Catalog of Feature Films The ''AFI Catalog of Feature Films'', also known as the ''AFI Catalog'', is an ongoing project by the American Film Institute (AFI) to catalog all commercially-made and theatrically exhibited American motion pictures from the birth of cinema i ...

Retrieved November 19, 2022. the story had been filmed before in the silent era in 1920 as '' Behold My Wife!'' starring

Mabel Julienne Scott Mabel Julienne Scott (November 2, 1892 – October 1, 1976) was an American stage and silent movie actress. Biography Scott was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Joseph and Martie Scott, of French and Norwegian heritage. A graduate of ...

and

Milton Sills Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century. Biography Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henr ...

. One of the plot's themes is a white man's romance and eventual marriage to an Apache woman.

Plot

Michael Carter, a young New York socialite, returns home drunk, telling the butler that he intends to marry Mary White the next day. The butler talks to Michael's parents, and the next morning, Michael's sister Diana pays a visit to Mary's apartment and ends the relationship because Michael's family finds the girl disgraceful. Diana tells Mary that Michael has left for France, and that he often falls in love with women and promises to wed them but then leaves them "at the church." Mary can't believe it, but Diana's lies are confirmed over the phone by Michael's butler. Diana presents the sobbing Mary with a check and a ticket to California, then exits. But just as Diana is about to drive in triumph, she hears a scream and sees the lifeless body of Mary on the street below her apartment. Diana tries to make excuses to Michael, who only vows vengeance. In his despair about the loss of Mary, Michael drives out West stopping at many bars. At one bar he meets an intoxicated Apache man named Pete and invites him to share a drink from his bottle. Pete's girlfriend is the Apache Indian Tonita. Pete pulls out his pistol and in a fight he shoots Michael in the shoulder. Tonita tries to save her Indian friend, and Michael asks her to marry him as a way to get even with his prejudiced, status-seeking family. At the station the family is awaiting Michael and everyone knows about Michael and Tonita. Michael's sister Diana proposes a big reception for the newlyweds and invites important people. The evening of the reception she sneaks into Tonita's room and convinces her to wear a beautiful night dress, whereas Michael wanted to dress her in her traditional Apache clothes to embarrass his parents. Tonita is beautiful and answers cleverly to impertinent people, but Michael is furious because he feels his family has triumphed over him. He tells Tonita about his rage against his family, and she angrily leaves with Bob Prentice. Diana follows them to Prentice's apartment and tells Prentice (who is her lover) that she left her husband for him. But Prentice doesn't want her back, so Diana finds a revolver and shoots him. Tonita proposes to take the blame as she feels she hasn't any reason to live and gives herself up to the police. Michael comes to Prentice's apartment and finds the body of Prentice. Michael makes up a confession and tells the police that he killed Prentice. But at the police station, his wife Tonita said that she killed Prentice in order to save Michael. When Michael is alone with Tonita, she confesses that his sister Diana killed Prentice. The police have been secretly listening to Tonita's confession so the married couple can now pursue their own life together.

Cast

as Tonita Storm Cloud *

as Michael Carter *

Laura Hope Crews Laura Hope Crews (December 12, 1879 – November 12, 1942) was an American actress. Although she is best remembered today for her later work as a character actress in motion pictures of the 1930s, she also was prolific on stage; among her f ...

as Mrs. Hubert Carter *

H. B. Warner Henry Byron Warner (né Lickfold; 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfully moved int ...

as Hubert Carter *

Juliette Compton Juliette Compton (May 3, 1899 – March 19, 1989) was an American dancer and actress whose career began in the silent film era and concluded with '' That Hamilton Woman'' in 1941. Career Compton was born in Columbus, Georgia, on May 3, 189 ...

as Diana Carter Curson *

Monroe Owsley Monroe Righter Owsley (August 11, 1900 – June 7, 1937) was an American stage and film actor. Early life The son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Owsley, he was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a manufacturing executive, and his mother was a co ...

as Bob Prentice *

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937), '' Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), '' They Drive by Night'' (1940), '' ...

as Mary White *Charlotte Granville as Mrs. Sykes *

Kenneth Thomson Kenneth Roy Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet (September 1, 1923 – June 12, 2006), known in Canada as Ken Thomson, was a Canadian/British businessman and art collector. At the time of his death, he was listed by ''Forbes'' as the richest pe ...

as Jim Curson *

Dean Jagger Dean Jagger (November 7, 1903 – February 5, 1991) was an American film, stage, and television actor who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Henry King's '' Twelve O'Clock High'' (1949). Early life Dean Jeffri ...

as Pete *

Eric Blore Eric Blore Sr. (23 December 1887 – 2 March 1959) was an English actor and writer. His early stage career, mostly in the West End of London, centred on revue and musical comedy, but also included straight plays. He wrote sketches for and appe ...

as Benson (butler) * Charles Middleton as Juan Storm Cloud *

Rina De Liguoro Rina De Liguoro (24 July 1892 – 15 April 1966) was an Italian film actress. Born Elena Caterina Catardi, she changed her name after marrying film actor and director Wladimiro De Liguoro in 1918. She appeared in leading roles in a number of It ...

as Countess Slavotski Rest of cast listed alphabetically: *

Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson Eddie may refer to: *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linux and Mac OS X *Eddie (crater), a crater on Mars *Eddie (given name) *The Eddie, a surfing tournament Arts and entertainment * ''Eddie'' (film), a 1 ...

as Chauffeur (uncredited) *

Cosmo Kyrle Bellew Cosmo Kyrle Bellew (November 23, 1883–January 25, 1948) was a British/American vaudeville and film actor. Cosmo Bellew in 1925 Biography Bellew claimed to have been born in London, England, and claimed to be the son of noted stage actor Kyrle ...

as Mr. Lawson (uncredited) *

Neal Burns Neal Burns (June 26, 1892 – October 3, 1969) was an American film actor, screenwriter, and film director, director. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1915 and 1946. Burns was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania and attended public sch ...

as Reporter at Train (uncredited) *

Edward Gargan Edward Gargan (July 17, 1902 – February 19, 1964) was an American film and television actor. Career Gargan was born of Irish parents in Brooklyn, New York. He was the elder brother of actor William Gargan. As soon as Gargan had left colle ...

as Det. Connolly (uncredited) * Gwenllian Gill as Ms. Copperthwaite (uncredited) *

Otto Hoffman Otto F. Hoffman (May 2, 1879 – June 23, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1915 and 1944. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California, from lung cancer. Hoffman's Broadway credi ...

as Minister (uncredited)

References

External links

*
Spanish language foreign lobby poster
{{Mitchell Leisen Films directed by Mitchell Leisen American black-and-white films 1934 drama films Films based on Canadian novels Films based on works by Gilbert Parker Films produced by B. P. Schulberg Remakes of American films Sound film remakes of silent films American drama films 1930s American films 1930s English-language films