My Favourite Wife

My Favorite Wife (released in the U.K. as My Favourite Wife) is a 1940 screwball comedy starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant that tells the story of a woman returning home to her husband and children after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for seven years. It is a reworking of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Enoch Arden"; in tribute, the main characters' last name is Arden. Garson Kanin directed. Ellen Wagstaff Arden (Irene Dunne) returns to her... more

My Favorite Wife (released in the U.K. as My Favourite Wife) is a 1940 screwball comedy starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant that tells the story of a woman returning home to her husband and children after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for seven years. It is a reworking of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Enoch Arden"; in tribute, the main characters' last name is Arden. Garson Kanin directed. Ellen Wagstaff Arden (Irene Dunne) returns to her beloved husband Nick (Cary Grant), just as he has had her declared legally dead (seven years being the minimum period required), so he can marry the high strung Bianca (Gail Patrick). Ellen reaches Nick just before he embarks on his honeymoon. Further complications ensue when Nick discovers that the virile Stephen Burkett (Randolph Scott) was alone with Ellen on the island all those years. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Story, Best Score and Best Art Direction by Van Nest Polglase and Mark-Lee Kirk. 20th Century Fox... less