The Bigamist ***½ (1953, Ida Lupino, Edmond O’Brien, Joan Fontaine, Edmund Gwenn, Jane Darwell, Kenneth Tobey, John Maxwell) – Classic Movie Review 3416

In the first ever instance of a female star directing herself, Ida Lupino directs and stars in this intriguing, involving and revealing 1953 film about a travelling salesman called Harry Graham (Edmond O’Brien) who is in love with two wives. One of them, Eve Graham, played by Joan Fontaine, finds out the truth when she and Harry plan to adopt a baby, followed by a tense tussle in the courtroom.

The adoption agency investigates and finds Harry has travelled a lot from his home in San Francisco to Los Angeles, where they find he has a second wife and a baby. In flashback, Harry tells the adoption agent how he has two wives.

Even more interesting is that producer-writer Collier Young cast both his present (Fontaine) and past (Lupino) wives as the women in question, with Lupino also directing herself for the only time.

It is particularly well done in all three main departments – acting, writing and directing. Collier Young’s screenplay is based on a story by Larry Marcus.

It also stars Edmund Gwenn, Jane Darwell, Kenneth Tobey and John Maxwell.

Also in the cast are Peggy Maley, Mack Williams, James Todd, Lillian Fontaine, Matt Dennis and John Brown. Actress Lillian (Lilian) Fontaine was the mother of Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland.

With black and white cinematography by George E Diskant and score by Leith Stevens, it is an independent film, produced by The Filmakers. RKO pulled out of distribution, leaving Filmakers Releasing Organization to distribute.

It is a public domain film.

During the tour of the Hollywood stars, the tour bus driver points out Gwenn’s actual home, along with Jack Benny’s and James Stewart’s. The driver says: ‘Behind that big hedge over there, there’s a little man who was Santa Claus to the whole world – Edmund Gwenn.’ There are other in-jokes about Santa Claus and Kris Kringle at Gwenn’s expense after he played Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street (1947), eg Fontaine describes Gwenn as looking like Santa!

London-born Ida Lupino (1918 – 1995) didn’t direct again till The Trouble with Angels (1966).

Joan Fontaine died on December 15 2013, aged 96.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3416

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/