In Name Only (1939)

Stuck in a loveless marriage to a duplicitous woman (Kay Francis), a man (Cary Grant) falls in love with a pretty widow (Carole Lombard). But his socially conscious manipulative wife won't give him a divorce and threatens to make the widow's life a living hell. Based on the novel MEMORY OF LOVE by Bessie Breuer and directed by John Cromwell (THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE). The film is unusual for two reasons. Grant and Lombard were expert farceurs and excelled in screwball comedy so it's curious that the two films they made together (the other was THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK) are dramas, not comedies. Also, Kay Francis suffered through out the 1930s as the put upon heroine but here, she's playing the bitchy wife causing others to suffer. As far as romantic soap operas go, this one isn't half bad thanks to the aforementioned trio who all give strong performances. If one isn't partial to the genre, you may find it hard going. Divorce in the 1930s wasn't as easy to obtain as they are today so it's frustrating that Grant puts up with Francis's manipulations when you just want him to walk out and dump her! With Charles Coburn, Peggy Ann Garner and Helen Vinson.