edwagreen Wonderful Cary Grant and Carole Lombard vehicle where the two meet and fall hopelessly in love. Lombard, a widow with a young daughter, and Grant as the wealthy scion, so unhappy in marriage to Kay Francis. In a supporting role, Francis steals the film as the possessive wife who shows her true colors at the end of the movie.The selfish Francis refuses to give Grant a divorce and threatens the Lombard character with numerous lawsuits. Charles Coburn plays the wealthy father of Grant who appears to favor his daughter-in-law Francis for good old fashioned reasons.It takes an illness to bring out the good in others and in this case, Grant's pneumonia brings out his wife's cunning, sly, selfish ways.

writers_reign My pleasure in watching this gem was doubled by the fact that I'd never heard of it - I stumbled upon it in a 'remainder' DVD shop in Paris and at five euros it could have been chopped liver. It seems it was released in 1939, that watershed year in which Hollywood went mad and offered a slew of all-time great titles which may account for this one getting lost in the shuffle. It's very much of its time and sadly Hollywood has totally forgotten how to make stuff like this. Cary Grant, out riding near his lavish country home, comes across Carole Lombard fishing; young widow Lombard, an artist, has rented a nearby house for several months. There is instant rapport between the two and Lombard's young daughter is equally beguiled by the charm of Grant. What can go wrong> How much time have you got. Turns out Grant is married and ostensibly living with his wife, another fine actress, Kay Francis, cast against type as the ultimate super bitch. She freely confesses she never loved Grant, falling instead for a penniless rival who conveniently died leaving Francis to opt for money over love. Despite her indifference to Grant she has no intention of allowing him to be happy and refuses to divorce. We are now primed for the unravelling of a soap par excellence in which all hands turn up trumps. One to savour.

utgard14 Cary Grant is trapped in a loveless marriage with viper Kay Francis, who only wants him for his money and status. He meets and falls in love with pretty artist Carole Lombard. He asks Kay for a divorce and she eventually agrees. But it's soon obvious she has no intention of letting him go and will do whatever it takes to keep her sham marriage intact. Grant and Lombard are both great. Kay Francis is excellent as the venomous wife. Helen Vinson plays her bitchy friend. Charles Coburn is disappointingly cast in a serious part as Cary's stuffy father. Enjoyable soaper with a good cast that should please even those who normally don't love these types of films.

dbdumonteil "In name only" is a very well acted movie,which smartly combines melodrama and snatches of comedy.One good example is the scene in the restaurant when Lombard and Grant are talking about the menu (and he asks for a big knife) while the spouse (Kay Francis)is saying nasty things to them.The beginning of the movie is as relaxed as it can be:it is by no mean the first scene of a drama:Julie Eden (sic)is fishing in a lake where there's no fish anymore .Although living in a much more wealthier world than Julie,Alec is married to a selfish wife in love with both herself and money.Julie means not only love ,but a life devoid of conventional words or kindness,a life best depicted in the Christmas "surprise surprise" party.The movie,like many melodramas ,reaches its peak in the two extraordinary scenes in the hospital where Julie plays twice the same scene,once as if she were in a play,and the second time when she does not "play" anymore.