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Film Review of Somethings Got to Give: Another Mans Wife and an Eligible Hunk on a Desert Island Versus Another Womans Husband and a Second Wife in The Family Home
A beautiful photographer comes back five years after being presumed dead. Her children have no memory of her, and her husband has a new wife. When “Something’s Got to Give”, will it be the hunk who helped her survive or the family that moved on?
video cover (Fair Use, via Wikimedia Commons)
*****
Something’s Got to Give is an uncompleted feature film by screenwriters Walter Bernstein, Nunnally Johnson, and Samuel and Bella Spewack; producers Gene Allen, Peter Levathes, and Henry T. Weinstein; and director George Cukor. Respective responsibility for cinematography, editing, and music is by Franz Planer and Leo Tover; Tori Rodman; and Johnny Mercer. The filming location is in Los Angeles, California at 20th Century Fox studios.
Nine hours of footage are the results of 3-1/2 months of production stored in 20th Century Fox vaults until 1999. The movie may have been intended to run anywhere from 90+ minutes (1-1/2 hours) to less than 120 minutes (2 hours). Audiences may imagine the film’s configuration through Prometheus Entertainment’s 37-minute digital restoration. The abbreviated form was released to American Movie Classics on June 1, 2001 and to DVD format.
The film is based upon the 1940 comedy film My Favorite Wife by screenwriters Samuel and Bella Spewack; screenwriter/producer Leo McCarey; director Garson Kanin; cinematographer Rudolph Maté; editor Robert Wise; and music man Roy Webb. It was remade in 1963 by screenwriters Hal Kanter, Leo McCarey, Jack Sher, and the Spewacks; producers Martin Melcher and Aaron Rosenberg; director Michael Gordon; cinematographer Daniel L. Fapp; editor Robert L. Simpson; and music man Lionel Newman. The roles of Nick, Ellen, Stephen, and Bianca were interpreted by Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott, and Gail Patrick in 1940 and by James Garner, Doris Day, Chuck Connors, and Polly Bergen in 1963.
Something’s Got to Give is supposed to begin with photographer Ellen Arden’s (Marilyn Monroe) return from a suspected Pacific Ocean drowning five years before. Only her desert island companion, Steven Burkett (Tom Tryon), and her rescuers know that Ellen lives. Husband Nick (Dean Martin) marries girlfriend Bianca Russell (Cyd Charisse) after a judge (John McGiver) declares Ellen legally dead. Children Lita (Alexandra Heilweil) and Timmy (Robert Christopher Morley) no longer remember Ellen.
Ellen assumes the persona of Swedish-born Ingrid Tic. She builds upon two facts: both children like her, and the family dog remembers her. But she faces two challenges. She must convince Nick that an unassuming, unresponsive shoe salesman (Wally Cox) was her five-year companion. That failing, Ellen must persuade Nick that nothing happened when she was “Eve” to the really handsome, muscular Steve’s “Adam”.
Something’s Got to Give is a poignant but enduring reminder of Marilyn Monroe’s (1926-1962) generosity as an entertainer whose talented performances include emoting comedy, drama and tragedy as well as dancing, modeling, and singing.
*****
Copyright: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 by Derdriu
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Nicely Written, thank you.
I am going to check that out. I’m not a big Marilyn fan though.
Martin, Thank you for visiting and liking what you find in my film review!
Respectfully, Derdriu
Sydney harris, The story exists in two other popular forms as “My Favorite Wife” and “Move over, Darling”. It’s unfortunate that this version never was completed because the interactions between the actors was promising from what has been released to the public in the form of a 37-minute format from nine hours of preserved footage.
Respectfully, and with many thanks for visiting, Derdriu
Derdriu, It’s also the story for “Cast Away” in which Tom Hanks turned in another fine performance, yes? Your summary is excellent, and your presentation of Marilyn’s films, especially some of her lesser known roles, is greatly appreciated.
Appreciatively, Stessily
Stessily, Yes, the plots are similar for “Cast Away” and “Something’s Got to Give” in the disappearances and the re-emergences years later. But then the paths diverge, with Tom Hanks’ wife firmly remarried and with a child whereas Dean Martin gets remarried just before Marilyn reappears, with hopes of reclaiming her children, her house, and her man.
Respectfully, and with many thanks for introducing the parallels between a great finished film and a great unfinished one, Derdriu