My American Wife

A number of comedies were made in the 1930s and 1940s that centered around a wealthy American marrying into European aristocracy. Most of them were rich daughters or heiresses who were seeking their princes. But sometimes it was the male nobility seeking a bailout for the lost or in-debt family estate. Both types were just high society and snobbish versions of the more familiar type of American situations with gold diggers and goldbricks. Of course, the ever erudite movie audiences of those days - in the Americas or Europe, knew that a rose is a rose by any other name. And so, most of these films were just lots of fun and entertaining.

Well, "My American Wife" does a sort of turn around of the usual formula. Francis Lederer comes from a European nobility. He is Count Ferdinand von und zu Reidenach. Linguists may see the play on words in his very title - he is von und zu, or from and to. He and Mary Cantillon, played by Ann Sothern, have real love and were married in Europe. Now they are coming back to her hometown, Smelter City, somewhere in the American West. Her family are among the upper crust of the community. That is, all but grandpa Lafe Cantillon, played by Fred Stone. He holds honor among the common folk as being one of the last of the pioneers who established the town. The film opens with a golden jubilee celebration of the town.

With a title like Count Ferdinand von und ze Reidenach, anything might happen. And, in "My American Wife," it does. Francis Lederer turns upside down the usual formula for comedies that include European titles. Instead of resting on the laurels of title to marry into American wealth, this new groom of Mary Cantillon wants to be a real American. Though, while she loves him for who he is and not his title, it does have a little hold on her. And her parents and in- laws do relish having nobility in their family. That is, all but grandpa Cantillon. He harkens back to the pioneer days when people fought and worked hard to build America.

Well, there are some good chuckles here, and a little come-uppances for Mary and her family. Freddie wins Grandpa's heart by taking to the land to work also. So, he and Lafe eventually win out over the rest of the clan. All of this supporting cast of familiar faces of the day give good performance's, including Billie Burke, Grant Mitchell, Ernest Cossart and others. It's not a laugh-out-loud comedy or one with clever dialog. But the situations range from warm to funny throughout.

Ann Southern has married very noble Hungarian Fracis Lederer. This pleases everyone in her home town in Arizona, except for her grandfather, Fred Stone. He fought Indians to claim the land, and he and his family are wealthy. What he's proudest of is being American. So he's not impressed by Lederer, who claims to love his wife, but is even more in love with America. But even as he comes to win Stone around, the rest of the family grows more disturbed by the fact that the eclat of his background seems out of step with the rest of them, and gradually, Miss Sothern.

It's more of a drama than a straight-up comedy, which you would not expect from some of the names in the cast, including Billie Burke as Miss Sothern's mother. However, although she had a sure hand as a snobbish but good-hearted nitwit, it's fascinating to watch her move to the other side of amusement into a character whose lack of understanding extends to important issues. Lederer, alas, is off a bit in tone, and the stuffiness and wrong-headed family makes this occasionally unpleasant rather than raising sympathy. But Stone is a delight.