An Innocent Affair

Plot

An Innocent Affair was the original release title for the tame marital comedy Don't Trust Your Husband. Making her first film appearance in six years, Madeleine Carroll plays Paula Doane, the wife of ad executive Vincent Doane (Fred MacMurray). For business reasons, Vincent is obliged to entertain lovely widow Margot Fraser (Louise Allbritton). Misunderstanding the situation, Paula vows to "get even" with Vincent by dallying with wealthy tobacco magnate Claude Kimball (Charles "Buddy" Rogers, who like Carroll was returning to films after a six-year absence). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happens next. At the very least, it was nice to see Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll working together on-screen for the fifth (and as turned out, the last) time. Much of An Innocent Affair is a thinly disguised advertisement for "Prince" Michael Romanoff's Hollywood eatery. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

While they may not be as well-remembered as such screen teams as Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Madeleine Carroll and Fred MacMurray starred together in five films, of which An Innocent Affair is the last. The duo definitely had a chemistry, and the way they work together is just about the only thing that makes An Innocent Affair watchable. Affair so badly wants to be a carefree, madcap screwball comedy, the kind in which witty remarks drop blithely out of lips in between ridiculous plot convolutions that are totally manufactured but somehow have the feeling of kismet about them. But what Affair wants to be and what it actually is are two very different things entirely. Under Lloyd Bacon's leaden direction and with Lou Breslow and Joseph Hoffman's tedious screenplay, Affair is a terribly labored affair. This kind of comedy simply has to soar if it's going to work, but Affair can't work up enough steam to get even an inch off the ground. The dialogue is trite and the characters are simply boring; without the distraction of bright repartee and engaging characters, the clunky mechanical nature of the plot is all too obvious. The two stars do everything they can, assisted by Rita Johnson, Louise Allbritton and a nice bit by Alan Mowbray, but the game cast can only make so much difference. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Fred MacMurray - Vincent Doane
• Madeleine Carroll - Paula Doane
• Charles "Buddy" Rogers - Claude Kimball
• Rita Johnson - Eve Lawrence
• Louise Allbritton - Margot Fraser

Alan Mowbray - Ken St. Clair; Pierre Watkin - T.D. Hendricks; William Tannen - Gaylord; James Seay - Lester Burnley; Matt McHugh - Ted Burke; Marie Blake - Hilda; Susan Miller - Vocalist; Eddie LeBaron - Orchestra Leader; Jane Weeks - Doris; Anne Nagel - Gladys; Michael Romanoff - Maitre d'

Credit

Lloyd Bacon - Director, Fred W. Berger - Editor, Hans Salter - Composer (Music Score), Kim Gannon - Songwriter, Walter Kent - Songwriter, Ernst Fegte - Production Designer, Edward J. Cronjager - Cinematographer, James Nasser - Producer, Lou Breslow - Screenwriter, Joseph Hoffman - Screenwriter

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