His Brother's Wife

Workers are dying from a fever in the tropics. The company recruits Dr. Claybourne to go down there to find a cure. His son Chris Claybourne (Robert Taylor) is also a scientist but he's a hard-partying playboy. He encounters Rita Wilson (Barbara Stanwyck) at a casino and they have a heated romance. He owes the crooked casino $5k. In order to pay off his debt, he has to leave her for the jungle. Rita marries his brother as revenge.

First, I'm not sure that disease-hunting is such a lucrative pursuit. Second, forcing Chris to go seems like bad motivation for good work. Third, Rita's action seems out of proportion. The movie really exists to bend these characters to the will of a convoluted story. There is a broken love triangle here. It does have a couple of good stars. I don't really buy this story.

His Brother's Wife is the film that brought Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor together, but since all Hollywood trivia buffs know the sadness that ended their marriage, it might not be very enjoyable to watch this film. To be honest, there aren't very many sparks flying between the two in this movie, so if you want to see lots of smooches and starry-eyes, rent This Is My Affair instead.

Robert Taylor is a biologist and a playboy-imagine the combination-and when he falls in love with Barbara Stanwyck, he vows to give up his science lab and settle down. The only trouble is he's already signed up for an important two year trip to the jungle to study spotted fever. The only other trouble is he's in debt to Joseph Calleia at his gambling house, so if he stays, he's in big trouble. Barbara comes to the rescue and tells Joseph she'll work off Bob's debt while Bob's away.

The story does get a little interesting and the movie continues, but the start is pretty slow. Die-hard Stanwyck or Taylor fans might want to check it out, but this isn't going to make the classics list anytime soon.

Folks, this one is from 1936 so we have to take it for what it is. During the early years of talkies, Hollywood came up with some very interesting tales to tell. His Brother's Wife is one of them. Robert Taylor plays the younger brother to the brother that Barbara Stanwyck marries in retaliation for Taylor's going into the depths of the Jungle to find a cure for some god-awful plague. Confusing? It is? Confusing and almost silly. Yet, there is a touch of that old classic film magic that makes it a delight to watch.

There is something about the on-screen chemistry between Taylor and Stanwyck, (most likely spurning from their real life romance), that makes you keep watching. The scenes between the two stars make the whole twisted tale worth sitting through.

Now, don't be fooled, there are many more films that have plots that are more contrived than His Brother's Wife, but there is something about the jump form New York, to the Jungle, and then back to New York, then to the Jungle again, that makes this film a little more silly than most. But, lets face it, if you choose to watch this film you are doing so all for the man with the perfect profile's smile (Robert Taylor) and The Ball of Fire's spunk (Barbara Stanwyck).

All and all this is a fun film to watch. It by no means is predictable--

most likely due to the fact that the plot is out of this world.

Enjoy. I did.

This movie is decent enough in the beginning, which has a wealthy playboy doctor (Robert Taylor) falling in love with a woman he meets in a casino (Barbara Stanwyck). He's meant to leave for the jungles of South America in ten days to work on a cure for spotted fever, so it's a whirlwind romance that they both know will be short-lived. Things get complicated when they fall in love (surprise, surprise), and even more so as Taylor owes the casino owner (Joseph Calleia) money, and seeks to borrow it from his brother. The film gets muddled from there - in character motivations, in melodrama, and in several dangling threads. The scenes in the jungle are just silly, and it's irritating when the woman starts taking the blame for things. I found my grade for the film steadily decreasing as it progressed, and hoping for it to end, which is never a good sign. It was interesting to see Samuel S. Hinds as the father, as he was George Bailey's dad in 'It's a Wonderful Life', and it was also interesting to consider that Stanwyck and Taylor would be married in real life three years later, for thirteen years. This one is for a fan of those actors only, and seeing the first thirty minutes or so would be sufficient.

Just occasionally, back in the golden age of Hollywood, studios got so desperate that they tried to squeeze a couple of totally different storylines into one movie. My favourite example is ‘They Met In Bombay' with Clark Gable and Peter Lorre. ‘His Brother's Wife' never attains those heights of lunacy but it tries pretty hard !!

Movie no.1: Stanwyck is the girl from the wrong side of the tracks who falls for a wealthy playboy (Robert Taylor) with large gambling debts. The romance is broken up by his snobby brother but Stanwyck assumes the debts, going to work as ‘hostess' for a slimy club owner. Oh, yes and she also marries the brother (but that's not really important !)

Movie no.2: Stanwyck and the wealthy playboy (also a top research scientist !!) go deep into the South American jungle to cure a plague which is decimating the local villagers. The situation is hopeless, the playboy (sorry, top scientist) is losing his nerve and there's only one thing left for the self-sacrificing Stanwyck to do!

If this all sounds ridiculous, that's because it is.

Stanwyck tries a little too hard in this one, battling bravely against the lifeless script, dialogue and supporting cast. Director W S Van Dyke was happier with the light comedy of the ‘Thin Man' movies than this kind of absurd melodrama.

Luckily for Stanwyck fame and fortune beckoned only a year later with ‘Stella Dallas.'

This picture does have a certain curiosity value but really it's for fans only.