The Wife Takes a Flyer

"The Wife Takes a Flyer" is a strange wartime propaganda film. Strange because instead of showing the Nazis as monsters, they are more idiots in this movie...idiots easily fooled by a Dutch family and their surprise guest.

The film begins with a Nazi major (Allyn Joslyn) insisting a Dutch family billet him. Why this particular family? Because one of the residents of this house is Anita (Joan Bennett) and the horny Nazi is interested in her. As for Anita, she's married but intends to divorce her husband...a man committed to a mental asylum. But when an American pilot flying for the RAF* is shot down and wanders into the home, everyone pretends it's Anita's husband! So, the pilot pretends to be ill...but how can he pretend to be Dutch?? That, the movie never explains.

Allyn Joslyn as the major was, sadly, just terrible. He was a good actor but oddly here his delivery is weird...like the director was giving him instructions to overdo it...to over-annunciate and shout. It wasn't just unsubtle but bad. Tone, on the other hand, was completely unsubtle and weird...which actually worked considering he was supposed to be pretending to be disturbed. The rest of the cast were just fine.

So is this oddly scripted film any good? Well, it certainly is different!! It's definitely a movie that requires you to turn off your brain in order to enjoy it. After all, you are expected to believe this Yank can speak perfect, unaccented Dutch! And, the story itself is just bizarre to say the least! It also is a bit like a Three Stooges film but without the Stooges! Totally lacking subtlety and a bit stupid...but entertaining if you never, ever think as you watch.

*This story must have taken place before about 1942. Up until the US entered WWII in December, 1941, a few American pilots had volunteered to fly for the British RAF. Eventually, these pilots were transferred to the US Army Air Corps, where they then officially flew for the United States.