''Wives and Lovers'' is a 1963

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

based on the play ''The First Wife'' by

Jay Presson Allen Jay Presson Allen (March 3, 1922 – May 1, 2006) was an American screenwriter, playwright, stage director, television producer, and novelist. Known for her withering wit and sometimes-off-color wisecracks, she was one of the few women making a ...

. Directed by John Rich, it stars

Janet Leigh Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her career spanned over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, ...

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II. Johnson was described as the embodiment o ...

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

and

Martha Hyer Martha Hyer (August 10, 1924 – May 31, 2014) was an American actress who played Gwen French in ''Some Came Running'' (1958), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her autobiography, ''Finding My Way ...

. It was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in 1964 for costume design.

Plot

Husband and wife Bill and Bertie Austin and their daughter live in a low-rent apartment. He is a struggling writer, at least until agent Lucinda Ford breaks the news that she has sold his book to a publisher, including the rights to turn it into a Broadway play. A new house in Connecticut is the first way to celebrate. When Bill is away working on the play, Bertie befriends hard-drinking neighbor Fran Cabrell and her boyfriend Wylie, who plant seeds of suspicion in Bertie's mind that Bill and his beautiful agent might be more than just business partners. Bertie jealously retaliates by flirting with Gar Aldrich, an actor who will appear in her husband's play. Bill travels to Connecticut for a heart-to-heart talk, finds Gar there and punches him. But when the play is a success, Bill and Bertie decide to give married life one more try.

Cast

as Bertie Austin *

as Bill Austin *

as Fran Cabrell *

as Lucinda Ford *

Ray Walston Herman Raymond Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor and comedian, well known as the title character on ''My Favorite Martian''. His other major film, television, and stage roles included Luther Billis (''South Paci ...

as Wylie Dreberg *

Jeremy Slate Jeremy Slate (born Robert Bullard Perham; February 17, 1926 – November 19, 2006) was an American film and television actor, and songwriter. He is best known for Larry Lahr in ''The Aquanauts'' (1960–1961), Chuck Wilson in ''One Life to Li ...

as Gar Aldrich * Claire Wilcox as Julie Austin * Lee Patrick as Mrs. Swanson *

Dick Wessel Richard Michael Wessel (April 20, 1913 – April 20, 1965) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 270 films between 1935 and 1966. He is best remembered for his only leading role, a chilling portrayal of strangler Harry "Cu ...

as Mr. Liberti *

Dave Willock David Willock (August 13, 1909 – November 12, 1990) was an American character actor. He appeared in 181 films and television series from 1939 to 1979. Biography Born in 1909, Willock began his professional career in vaudeville in 1931, teamin ...

as Dr. Leon Partridge, DDS

Reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

wrote: "It's incredible that a screenplay as hackneyed and witless as this one could get past a first front-office reading in this rigid day and age, and it is pathetic that it should be directed as woodenly as this one has been by John Rich ... It is simply without style or humor, totally flat, and it is laboredly played by Miss Leigh, Miss Hyer, Mr. Johnson, and Shelley Winters and Ray Walston as a couple of drunks—the usual tireless and tedious gag-makers—who are always popping in from next door. Oh, yes—with over-time labor by Jeremy Slate as the Hollywood star. The only difference between this endeavor ... and those of the nineteen-thirties is that the latter were usually better and more—more sophisticated. That's the word I believe they used to use." Writing in the ''Los Angeles Times'', critic Philip K. Scheuer wrote: "'Wives and Lovers'—title included—might be relegated to the familiar classification of Just Another Sex Comedy, Hollywood Style, but for one rather rare (for Hollywood) distinction. It probes a bit deeper and comes up with a still fundamental, ingrained characteristic of most Americans: Although they may make a great outward show of being 'sophisticated' and morally promiscuous, the Puritan in them usually waggles a warning finger when the sheets are really down."

References

External links

* * * 1963 films 1963 directorial debut films 1963 romantic comedy films 1960s sex comedy films American black-and-white films American comedy films American films based on plays American romantic comedy films American sex comedy films 1960s English-language films Films about infidelity Films about marriage Films about writers Films directed by John Rich Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films scored by Lyn Murray Films set in Connecticut Films with screenplays by Edward Anhalt Paramount Pictures films 1960s American films {{1960s-comedy-film-stub