His Brother’s Wife [Lady of the Tropics] *** (1936, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor, Jean Hersholt, Joseph Calleia, John Eldredge) – Classic Movie Review 12,114

Director W S Van Dyke II’s 1936 MGM American romantic comedy drama film His Brother’s Wife [Lady of the Tropics] is based on a story by George Auerbach, and pairs Barbara Stanwyck with Robert Taylor.

Taylor at the peak of his success plays rich man-about-town Chris Claybourne, who romances poor working girl Rita Wilson (Stanwyck), whom he naturally fancies. He is deep up to his ears in gambling debts, to a man named Fish-Eye (Joseph Calleia). But, improbably enough, Taylor is also a man of science inquiring into spotted fever in the tropics.

Stanwyck becomes a clubland hostess, who weds his stuffy brother Tom (John Eldridge) in pique after Taylor agrees to leave her for South America in return for paying the debts, though now Stanwyck hands over the money for the debts.

Soon everybody is in a fever of one kind or another, and, when it is all finally sorted out nicely, we are all set for a happy ending.

His Brother’s Wife is a pleasant, polished but superficial romantic comedy for ideally paired stars the public wanted to see in love. The busy but fusty and sappy screenplay by Leon Gordon and John Meehan is nothing too sharp or special. But the film is still amiable and entertaining enough thanks mainly to the splendid, still luminous star pairing. W S Van Dyke II keeps it moving swiftly along in a trim 88 minutes.

The then dating couple Taylor married Stanwyck for real a couple of years after filming this one. They married in 1939 but divorced in 1952. MGM boss Louis B Mayer had insisted that they marry and even presided over arrangements at the wedding. It is the first of three films they starred in together.

It was planned as a vehicle for Jean Harlow and Clark Gable, then called My Brother’s Wife.

The reliably speedy Woody ‘One Take’ Van Dyke completed filming from the 137-page script in only 13 and a half days.

It was produced by Lawrence Weingarten and released on 7 August 1936 in the US to big box office. The film cost $367,000, and earned $1,196,000 in the US and Canada and $466,000 elsewhere, for a total of $1,662,000, resulting in a profit of $755,000.

The cast are Barbara Stanwyck as Rita Wilson Claybourne, Robert Taylor as Chris Claybourne, Jean Hersholt as Professor Fahrenheim, Joseph Calleia as Fish-Eye, John Eldredge as Tom Claybourne, Samuel S Hinds as Dr Claybourne, Leonard Mudie as Pete, Jed Prouty as Bill Arnold, Pedro de Cordoba as Dr Capolo, Rafael Corio [Rafael Storm] as Captain Tanetz, William Stack as Winters, Edgar Edwards as Charlie, Phyllis Clare (scenes deleted), Orrin Burke, Sherry Hall, George David, Syd Saylor, Inez Palange, Frank Puglia, Jean Acker, and William Royle.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,114

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