User Reviews

Barry Nelson and Janet Blair go to his old hometown to take a look at what happened to his high school sweetheart in this minor be amusing episode of Screen Directors' Playhouse.

Hal Roach assembled top-notch cast and crews for the series and this one is no exception. Buddy Ebsen and Mary Sinclair play the secondary couple and the director is Lewis Allen. Allen is not much mentioned these days, but he directed some tight little thrillers like THE UNSEEN and SUDDENLY and the charming OUR HEARTS WERE YOUNG AND GAY. His movie directing ended in the late fifties and he became a well regarded director of television drama series, including more than forty episodes of BONANZA.

Screen Directors Playhouse: Every Man Has Two Wives (1956)

*** (out of 4)

A happily married man (Barry Nelson) keeps dreaming about an old flame (Mary Sinclair) so his wife (Janet Blair) decides to take a trip to his hometown so he can confront the woman. The three, along with the ex's husband (Buddy Ebsen) go out for dinner and things get straightened out after all these years. EVERY MAN HAS TWO WIVES isn't quite as clever as it thinks it is but that really doesn't matter because there's enough charm for two movies and the cast are a lot of fun. The entire idea of a wife confronting her husband's dream is a silly idea but it actually works here because of how it's sold. There's an additional backstory to the Ebsen character being rich and the way this plays out works nicely and the conclusion to the film works without coming off as silly. It also doesn't hurt that the cast members are so likable with Belson and Blair so good together that they really do feel like a real couple. Just the little ways that they pick at each other will remind you of a real couple and both have no issues handling the humor. Sinclair is also good in her part but there's no question that the film belongs to Ebsen. Ebsen plays a rich but rather dumb man and you can't help but see bits and pieces of what would eventually become The Beverly Hillbillies. The actor is totally lovable in the part and the way he sells his jealous side was just hilarious and makes the film worth sitting through.