"You Belong to Me" Review

 

by Daniel White

"We've as much chance for happiness as two ducks in the desert."

Lady doctor Barbara Stanwyck murmurs that quotable line to her millionaire husband, Henry Fonda, in You Belong to Me, a 1941romantic comedy. I'm always on the lookout for underappreciated or overlooked gems from the Golden Age of Hollywood. And while You Belong to Me is not a comedy classic like The Lady Eve released the same year, it's still pretty damn good.

Both films star Stanwyck and Fonda, and they are so compatible. This would be their third and final pairing (1938's The Mad Miss Manton was the first). It's a shame they didn't appear together more often. The chemistry and sexual energy the two stars generate is palpable.

Directed by Wesley Ruggles and released by Columbia, the story revolves around idle rich boy Peter Kirk (Fonda) and his inability to control his jealousy. Newly married to Dr. Helen Hunt (Stanwyck), Kirk can't bear the fact that his MD wife treats male patients. It's a concept that feels forced, even by 1941 standards. However it works, only because our two leads possess enough star power to rival the brightest ornaments in the night sky.

The screenplay is sufficient enough to offer up a fair amount of chuckles and even the occasional guffaw. Scripted by Claude Binyon, who was a frequent collaborator of the director's, it is based on a story provided by Dalton Trumbo. As is the case with so many comedies from Hollywood's hey day, the supporting players are exemplary. Ruth Donnelly, Edgar Buchanan, and Melville Cooper all contribute to making this flick above average. And one of my favorite goofball gals, Maude Eburne, has a nice bit as the couple's cook, Ellla.

But it is Stanwyck and Fonda who grab this okay farce by its frayed coat tails, dust it off, patch it up, and mend it so it's a respectable laugh getter. Especially Miss Ruby Stevens. She is remarkable in her ability to take even the most standard material and make it seem fresh and original. An alchemist of the cinema, Stanwyck is capable of manufacturing gold out of trifling glitter. She is not the most beautiful of women, but she has an intoxicating mixture that consists of part hash-slinger, part burlesque queen, and part earth mother. She is Everywoman, universal yet incredibly unique. Of all the great female movie stars from the studio system days in Hollywood she is unquestionably the most versatile. And when teamed with the virile yet boyish Fonda, her sizzle factor goes through the roof.

Stanwyck looks stunning too, with her outfits designed by the chic, ultra-stylish Edith Head. You Belong to Me is available on YouTube.