Affectionately Yours

There's a silly plot about a philanderer (DENNIS MORGAN) who wants to play the field while in Lisbon on a journalistic assignment and making a play for lovely RITA HAYWORTH. But as soon as he finds out his wife is divorcing him, he's back in the USA plotting a way to win back her affection to make her jealous.

Under Lloyd Bacon's direction, this is a formula screwball comedy that hasn't got enough wit to make it shine and relies heavily on the cast to give it some life. Morgan is only mildly amusing in his attempt to play a comic role with GEORGE TOBIAS getting some of the best lines. But Rita does well as a flirtatious lady who'd like to take him away from Merle and RALPH BELLAMY is good in another one of his thankless roles as the man who loses the girl.

Despite the cast, it's too trite to be really enjoyable and the gags just don't work. Even HATTIE McDANIEL and BUTTERFLY McQUEEN are ill used for whatever laughs the script can spare. The slapstick ending with Morgan pretending to be an accident case, just strains credibility until the finish.

Not worth your time.

With a box office of just $1.3 million in ticket sales, "Affectionately Yours" probably didn't come near covering its budget. With its big-name cast, it should have been a big draw. But, finishing the year in 166th is a sign that it probably bombed. When something like that happens - with such a cast, it's a sure thing that the story - the plot, is a dud. Even stars such as these - Merle Oberon, Rita Hayworth, Dennis Morgan, Ralph Bellamy - can't save a lousy story.

I don't know what the critics might have written or said about this film, but I'd wager it wasn't very good. When a film has such poor box office results, it's likely that the first audiences spread the word that the film stinks. And, this sure is a stinker for Warner Brothers.

The plot is all about a married American foreign correspondent who has girlfriends in every city where he has been to cover news events. He's been married four years, but spends most of his time away in Europe. His line with each of his women friends is that he'd marry her in a minute, if only he wasn't already married. When he finally learns that his wife has actually divorced him, he heads back to the States from Lisbon, against his editors orders.

The ex-wife is now planning to marry another guy. But now, the correspondent wants to prevent her from doing that. She still loves the guy (so she'll marry another guy to prove that point?), but he's a chronic liar. No one watching this film could possibly believe he still loved her. But the film is a series of back and forth charades and lies on his part trying to dupe her into not marrying the other guy.

This is a lame comedy romance. The dialog is humorless - no witty, clever or even memorable lines. Morgan's Rick Mayberry runs around trying to stop Oberon's Sue Mayberry from seeing and then marrying Bellamy's Owen Wright. Hayworth's Irene Malcolm is another correspondent who is one of those other women Rick would marry in a minute.

Some zany movies can be very good if the material is genuinely funny. But this film won't generate so much as a chuckle with most sober movie buffs. I think I gave it four stars for the supporting cast.

Richard Mayberry is a world traveling newspaper reporter, who plays around with lots of women, excepting his own wife, who has to stay at home. He's in Lisbon, trying to mess around with lady reporter Irene Malcolm, and she's all for it: but she's like him to leave his wife first.

Meanwhile, his wife Sue has meet "Mr. Wright," literally, and she's about to divorce her husband. Lot of fluffy misunderstandings, misappointments and misdeals follow, as Richard tries to either make his wife jealous with Irene, or tries to foist Irene off on Owen Wright.

You have to watch it to find out what happens, but there is certainly a fair amount of screwball comedy along the way to finding out!

Another reviewer used the word "trite" to characterize the plot of this film. Amen to that! As for the film as a whole? How about lame? Really lame!

Since this was a 1940s Warner Brothers production featuring several of that studio's stalwart players, I had high hopes when I saw it for the first, and almost certainly ONLY, time. But, really, this is a silly story that is hardly ever funny and simply makes everyone involved look foolish. (Butterfly McQueen absolutely sobs her way through this movie. Makes you wish someone had taken her apron and gagged her with it!)

I love the WB product of the 1940s, but this is really a let down. Don't expect anything like "Christmas in Connecticut"!

For me the brightest spots of this movie are Rita Hayworth and Dennis Morgan. The love triangle, which also includes Merle Oberon, is complicated by interference from Ralph Bellamy and others (at times it's difficult to be sure whose side Rita is on.) Standing by are Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen, who are rooting for Morgan all the way. The backdrop of the newspaper business - as well as the presence of Ralph Bellamy - reminds one slightly of "His Girl Friday." Not a terrifically funny comedy, but worthwhile, especially for fans of any of the cast members.