Tu m'appartiens

"You Belong to Me" is a 1941 comedy - I think - starring Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck, with a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo and directed by Wesley Ruggles. The story concerns a female doctor (Stanwyck) who impulsively marries a millionaire. His jealousy toward her male patients is obsessive and causes embarrassment and trouble immediately.

If anyone but top stars had been in this, it would have gotten a 4 from me. Boy, is it bad. Fonda and Stanwyck are such an attractive, delightful couple. They're wasted here in an absurd story. The Stanwyck character would have dumped this guy in 24 hours in real life.

The story does point up the change in our society's values. The Fonda character has money and is considered by himself and his wife completely useless. She has a successful practice - guess what happens to her resolve to keep that going in 1941. The philosophy stated in the film is that the only reason to exist in the world is to be useful. Well, Mother Teresa felt that way. Does Paris Hilton? Stanwyck and Fonda dream of living in a small apartment with a Murphy bed and no money rather than the enormous mansion they live in now. Right, Donald Trump and Bill Gates wish for that daily.

Someone on this board said in their subject matter "this hasn't worn well." It really hasn't. Part of it is the world's fault; the rest of it is the script's. Skip it.

This is an oddity and truly shows its time and its era and not well. I am not surprised it is so rarely seen. Henry Fonda as the wimp of all time in a poorly contrived little vehicle to showcase Barbara I would think who plays a spunky bright young doctor and gets a lot of good lines. However, I gave it a 5 out of 10 for the supporting cast who are magnificent. Buchanan particularly as a crusty old gardener and also the guy who plays the butler is a hoot. I could have just watched the supporting players all night and Barbara of course. Normally I enjoy old Henry but here he shows more than his normal display of great Fonda teeth and is given the worst and most brainless lines. All these actors had to earn their stripes over the years in poorly scripted movies like these.

Barbara Stanwyck is an ambitious physician and surgeon. Henry Fonda is rich but idle. He crashes at her feet on the ski slope then woos her shamelessly while laid up in the lodge. For no particular reason, she allows herself to be talked into marrying him. From there, they move into his mansion, where she tries to continue her medical practice and he sits at home worrying about her male patients.

Yes, it is a silly plot. And it's not dated material so much as it just seems to lack any motivation for the lead characters to behave the way they do: Henry Fonda's character is an unimpressive whiner and Stanwyck's character is dumb enough to fall for him? I guess if anyone could make it work, seems like it might be Stanwyck and Fonda...but I have to say that the darn thing just isn't believable.

The generally disappointing script does include some snappy dialog as well as some good bits for supporting players. Stuffy butler Melville Cooper lords it over Fonda's household and offers slyly bemused commentary on his employer's habits and the upheaval in the household. Edgar Buchanan is good fun as the crusty old gardener who offers down-to-earth pearls of wisdom.

Overall, the cast makes it almost worth watching, and the production certainly looks good. There are some closeup shots of both Stanwyck and Fonda that are quite beautiful.

Helen Hunt (Barbara Stanwyck) rescues wealthy fellow skier Peter Kirk (Henry Fonda). She's a doctor and he picks her over the arrogant male house doctor. She is often dismissed as a doctor by sexist attitudes. Kirk is completely taken with her and they get married. With her work taking up most of her time, he grows jealous of her male patients and causes chaos at her practice.

A jealous Henry Fonda is hilarious. These two stars have great chemistry. The story goes into problematic concepts which leaves me conflicted. I've never heard of any such issue although it might be one coming out of the depression. It's wrong-headed and detracts from the movie. It's also missing a third character for a true rom-com. Maybe one of her patients can be elevated. I still recommend this for the two stars but it is problematic.

Remarkably obscure comedy considering it stars Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck at their peaks. Even if it doesn't measure up to The Lady Eve or The Mad Miss Manton this is still a cute little comedy. Starts out charmingly with Henry at his sheepish befuddled best and Missy her usual take charge dame. It does flounder around about in the middle with Fonda acting like a stupid buffoon but comes back together at the end. While the two leads can carry a picture both on their own and together without breaking a sweat fortunately they don't have to here. They are ably abetted by Edgar Buchanan's folksy reliability, Ralph Peters as trusty butler Joseph and the under appreciated Ruth Donnelly as Dr. Stanwyck's wryly observing nurse. Both leads are at the peak of their attractiveness as well with Barbara looking particular beautiful with loose flowing hair and a smart wardrobe. Difficult to find but worth checking out if you can.