Sauce for the Gander

In 1940, Alan Ladd was an unknown actor who had only bit parts in films. Two of his projects that year had a common thread...these B-movies ("Blame It on Love" and "Sauce for the Gander") were actually ads for Hotpoint appliances. But instead of everything being about Hotpoint, the films are stories about young couples....and Hotpoint makes their lives better.

When the story begins, a 'man on the street' reporter (Ladd) is interviewing folks. One of them, Mr. Tupper, makes an idiot out of himself by essentially saying that housework was easy and men could easily do it themselves. The man is an instant pariah....and folks all over town hate him and reporters flock around him. As for Mrs. Tupper, she isn't overtly angry but instead suggests that if her job as a housewife is so easy, he should try it and she should go work in his office.

This plot, if you've seen any television from the 1950s-70s, is one of the more familiar ones....and tons of TV couples used this plot. And, like all these shows, the movie greatly exaggerates the work of housewives and husbands in order to make a comedic point...as well as to sell appliances in the case of this film!

So is it any good? Well, it is mildly amusing and enjoyable but some of the humor (particularly when the wife is driving a tractor) is very broad and low-brow. Of course, the same can be said for this plot in the sit-coms! But what cannot be said of the television plots is that they'd have a commercial not so subtly placed within the program...which you get in this film as the housewives show off their wonderful kitchens and go on and on about Hotpoint appliances! It makes for a very weird viewing experience!

By the way, as the summary mentions, IMDB is incorrect....this film is not lost and is available on YouTube.