User Reviews

This is an excellent screwball comedy. As some others have pointed out, with different leads, this might very well be a very famous film. But, we forget just how popular Loretta Young and Ray Milland were at points in their careers. Young's peak came just a very few years after this, while Milland's apex was half-a-decade away.

There are two very positive things about this screwball comedy. First, the chemistry between Loretta Young and Ray Milland. Second, the screen play is quite clever and manages to keep the balance between the scheming of the "husband" and the scheming of the "wife", and logically brings them together in real love...as one would expect.

The supporting actors here also contribute to the success of the film. Edmund Gwenn is his usual charming self, in this case as the father of the "groom". Reginald Gardiner is particularly entertaining as the book editor who hatches the "plot".

This is an excellent comedy, and demonstrates again that while MGM mastered the art of the musical, it was Columbia that often brought us some of the best comedies.

Populated with familiar faces from films of the 1930s, "The Doctor Takes a Wife" is both predictable (not necessarily a bad thing) and charming. Ray Milland plays the professor aspiring to greater things but thwarted by his bachelorhood (the dean wants only married men in the professoriate). The lovely Loretta Young is the author of feminist books on the glories of spinsterhood. Reginald Gardiner, a first-rate second fiddle, plays her publisher and love interest. Through a contrived mix-up, the small world inhabited by this film comes to believe that Young and Milland are married (when they are not). Milland's fiancé shows up and understandably does not understand the platonic relationship. Lots of slapstick ensues owing to the tangled web that has been woven, threaded with misunderstandings. To no one's surprise (except the character's) Milland and Young's characters fall in love, but there are complications. Are these complications worked out?--of course. Young's character is both sharp-tongued and vulnerable--clearly the more intelligent of the two. Milland plays the beleaguered male, trapped by circumstances,but basically honorable, in a 1930s sort of way. There are many films much worse than this that have glowing reviews; it's an undiscovered classic, terra incognita for the aficionado of film from generations past.

This is a very cute screwball comedy-romance--the type film they made so well in the 30s and 40s. Like many such films, it's got a plot that is VERY hard to believe and may cause some critical viewers to shake their head in disbelief. However, if you are a reasonably normal person, you can suspend your sense of disbelief and have a ball with this picture.

Ray Milland and Loretta Young are both staying at a resort in upstate New York. Both need to go to New York, but Young is without a car and stuck there for another day. So, she decides (without asking him) that she's going to tag along with Milland in his car--even though he is a total stranger. To make things worse, in the beginning of the film, she is a very hard to like angry feminist who doesn't appreciate Milland's help.

On the way, they stop in Greenwich, Connecticut (a town that was known for weddings in bygone days) and due to some impossible to believe circumstances, they are assumed to be newlyweds. To make matters worse, Loretta is an author who has written best-selling books about living the single life and she is pretty much a man-hater. Naturally, the false story makes it to the newspapers and now Loretta wants to correct the story but no one believes it (due to some MORE impossible to believe events). However, her editor thinks this fake story might be a GOOD thing, as now she can write books about married life. So, it's up to the thorny Loretta to convince a man who is practically a stranger (Milland) to pretend to be her husband. At first, he balks, but finally agrees due to his own hidden agenda.

Although they naturally don't like each other (heck, I was hoping that Milland would belt her because she was so nasty), you KNOW that with such a film that ultimately they'll fall in love. However, despite being tough to believe and formulaic, the journey there is just delightful and fortunately Young's character relaxes a bit and seemed much more likable as the film progressed. Cute and charming--this clever movie has somehow been overlooked and deserves to be seen. Watch it with a friend.

"The Doctor Takes a Wife" clearly fits the definition of screwball comedy. And this movie is a romp of hilarious scenarios and dialog. As a couple of other reviewers have noted, this is a film made for Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. But, Grant and Dunne couldn't be in all the comedies Hollywood was cranking out at the time. And this movie doesn't suffer a bit for their absence, because Loretta Young and Ray Milland deliver superb performances. Milland's frantically hopping in and out of windows between apartments with such aplomb made me think of Grant and his similar antics in various films.

One other reviewer thought Young didn't fit her part well – because her character, June Cameron was too nasty and unpleasant in the early scenes. Rather, I think she played the part perfectly. We don't have to like a character's persona to have it be right for the role. And in the very opening, that's what sets the stage for the confrontational relationship between the two leads, which is the source of the best humor in the film.

Young played her part just right, as she gradually softened from the hard-nosed, high-strung and strongly opinionated liberated feminist. But, not so fast that we were deprived of a lot of comedy in dialog from her. Milland's Dr. Timothy Sterling is also superb. His character isn't naturally confrontational, so he will make a point and then sit quietly and listen to June's rantings. When she's done, he'll make some observation about a typical case for clinical study, or such. He is an M.D. studying the cause of migraine headaches and in line for a professorship at the college.

The chemistry between Young and Milland is a joy to watch. They must have had tremendous fun together making this film. But, they are not all that there is to the movie, and a fine supporting cast lends a great deal to the story and the humor. The third lead, Reginald Gardiner, is especially good as John Pierce. Gail Patrick is a hoot as Marilynn Thomas, and Edmund Gwenn is delightful as Tim's dad, Dr. Lionel Sterling. The smaller roles were equally good, most adding some comedy.

June's calling Tim by a different scientific term in subsequent scenes is boisterously funny. Following are some of those and other hilarious lines from the film. This is one of the best comedy films ever made with battling dialog and the leads hurling insults right and left. For more of these pithy pearls of put-down, see the Quotes section here on the film's IMDb page.

June, "Will you please relax, my meddling medico."

June, "Don't you yell at me, you microbe hunter."

June, "Well, if that's the way you feel about it, my pathological playmate."

June, "Now you listen to me, my microscopic friend, you might be able to give orders to that barnacle you're engaged to…."

Tim, "Why, you couldn't lure me out of a burning building."

June, "Look, Johnny. I don't know anything about marriage." John, "Oh, what's that got to do with it? Dante didn't have to go to hell to write his 'Inferno.'"

June, "You know, Johnny and I were discussing only yesterday how quietly repulsive you are." Tim, "Johnny... loves everything about you -- your books, your profits, your apartment, your liquor, your cigarettes."

George, "Have you two had a quarrel?" June, "Yes. Yes, he hit me." George, "You didn't?" June, "Yes, he did." Tim, "Well, I only pushed her." George, "You only pushed her? Tim, I shouldn't have to remind you that this is not the Neolithic age." Tim "Well how would you like it if someone said that your father was a pompous, opinionated old wind bag?" June, "I didn't say that." George, "I would be honest enough to admit that the person was absolutely right." June, "Pop, he's lying. I never said that." George, "I don't care who said it, my dear, it's true. I talk too much. Your mother always said that."

Tim, "Well, gentlemen, as you well know, 75 is the passing grade, and so far you've confined all your passing to the football field."

Tim, "Here's examination question number one. How many bones are there in the human body, Mr. O'Brien?" O'Brien (played by Gordon Jones), "(pause) … Well, uh, there must be dozens." Tim (wincing), "Well, I can't exactly call that wrong. Good luck on Saturday."

June, "You know, a discussion on the mayelin sheath of the cerebrospinal nerve fiber is good any time." Tim, "Where did you pick that up?" June, "Oh, I've been looking through some of our wedding presents."

1940 was the year of marital mix up screwball comedies. such as "My Favorite Wife" and "Too Many Husbands". In the present farce, Ray Milland plays an academic medical researcher(Tim Sterling),who has a serious girlfriend in Marilyn Thomas, but manages to get mixed up in a newspaper-promoted scandal with Loretta Young(as June),stemming from a misplaced 'Just Married' sign on the back of Milland's car, in which Loretta happens to be a passenger. Now, Loretta recently has been much in the news, with her new best seller: "Spinsters Aren't Spinach", which discusses the advantages of women staying single. Thus, it is quite embarrassing for her to apparently suddenly marry a stranger. They are never asked to present a marriage license until near the end.......Loretta and Milland began as enemies, trying to outshout each other on adjacent front desk phones at a hotel. But, when Loretta found out that Milland had a car and was going to NYC, where she needed to go, she threw herself at him, piling her suitcases on top of his. But, their conversation soon revealed that Milland was a male chauvinist, who believed that men were superior in every way. This contrast didn't bode well for a future romantic relationship between the two. Nonetheless, circumstances pushed them in that direction, until they presumably tied the knot for real, as we expected. .....Now that Loretta supposedly was married, her publisher and boyfriend John Pierce (Reginald Gardiner)convinced her to write a book on the advantages for women of marriage! Meanwhile, Milland convinced Marilyn that his 'marriage' to Loretta was a sham for the purpose of promoting her book being written, and to engineer his promotion to full professor, according to the prejudice of the Dean......In the middle section, Milland moves into Loretta's apartment to promote the fiction that they are married. However, Marilyn doesn't know this, and one day announces she will visit Milland. So, he walks on the common balcony to the next apartment, and climbs in the window. He goes back and forth on the balcony(since there are guests in Loretta's apartment), bringing liquor and munchies. Finally, she arrives, he being very fortunate to steer her to this apartment. Eventually, he arranges for Loretta to phone him about an urgent medical case, which induces both to leave just before the real occupants of the apartment arrive.

When his was first released in 1940, I was about 12 years old, & if I saw it I may have thought it was quite funny.

That was 70 years ago,The movie is no longer funny.It is a silly, almost stupid slapstick comedy.

I no longer enjoy slapstick comedy.

Loretta Young & Ray Milland,both seem out of place in this farcial effort. Reginald Garner & Edmund Gwenn, Gail Patrick are featured.

I wonder if this was originally a play,as it is basically one set.

This was on a disc with A Night to Remember, I had to shut it off as it was even stupider than this film.

Rating: **1/2 (out of 4) 68 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)

What a great little film. Ray Milland as the Doctor and Loretta Young as a feminist before it was popular. She writes a popular book "Spinsters are not Spinach" about being a single woman and being happy about it. He is a research doctor hoping to get a professorship so he can earn enough money to marry his girl. They meet by accident, and from then on they go through one mishap after the other. People think they married, however they did not but if found out it would ruin bother their careers. They move in together to continue the farce. Finally they realize they are in love and due to his stubborn short thumbs wind up together. They look great together and Milland always had a great comedic talent.

Certainly the title of women's liberation educational author Loretta Young's book ("Spinsters ain't Spinach") is poorly written and that gives a weak opinion instantly towards her character, instantly antagonistic and later manipulative, batting her eyes at professor Ray Milland to get him to take her to New York against his will.

She proceeds to bash him and all men without him getting a word in edge wise, and she's lucky that he didn't force her out of his car in the middle of nowhere. But when they end up in the facade of marriage after she's mistakenly reported as married to him, all it takes are a few homey moments for them to finally learn how to communicate.

However, Milland already has a fiancee (Gail Patrick), unhappy to read about the supposed marriage, and in one scene, Milland must entertain at two parties next door at once. The film gets quite caught up in the slapstick, with Edmund Gwenn, Reginald Gardiner and Frank Sully adding to the silliness of this absurd plot.

The changes in Young's character (realizing that she wants to stay in this marriage) are a bit far fetched, and the presentation of spinsters as hawk nosed and frigid (outside of Young) isn't representative of the real woman in pre-war America. Not surprising that it was written by two men, and directed by one (Alexander Hall), and it indicates that women can only be happy by being loved, insinuating that man hating spinsters only are that way because they have been constantly rejected.