Customer Reviews

In Name Only [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Generally, I am not a big fan of "mushy romantic movies." This, however, is one of the few romantic movies I really enjoy. It is very sweet, charming, and for the most part believable, mainly because of the great performances of the two stars, Cary Grant and Carole Lombard.

Essentially, In Name Only is the story of a debonair and wealthy man named Alec Walker(Cary Grant) stuck in a loveless marriage with a woman interested only in her husband's social position and money (Kay Francis, in another excellent performance). When he meets innocent and sweet Julie Eden (Carole Lombard), Alec decides to divorce his wife and remarry. The evil wife, however, has no intention of allowing her husband to leave her without money and influence.

Although this movie could easily have been too sentimental, it is saved by the wonderful performances of the stars. Ironically enough, Grant and Lombard, the greatest screwball comedians of the era, were only together in this one movie - which is a serious drama, not a screwball comedy. Still, Grant and Lombard's wit and talent shine through in this movie, and it is touching and at times quite funny. There are not many strictly romantic movies I would recommend, but this is one of them! It is good for the whole family. So, get this movie and discover a little known gem from 1939.

Although not a comedy, this is the best Cary Grant movie ever. It draws you in the same way An Affair to Remember does and doesn't let go throguh out the entire movie.
Kay Francis does an amazing job playing the cold mean wife and Carole Lombard is at her best!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PUT THIS ON DVD

Cary Grant and Carole Lombard both broke out of their comic molds to make a very poignant romance, and the result was unforgettable movie magic. The plot quickly draws you in as the chillingly sinister Kay Francis seeks to thwart the happiness of lovers Grant and Lombard.

It's not just a story about good versus evil, however. This is also a movie about the battles that good people fight within themselves. Lombard convincingly struggles throughout the film with the realization that her love for Grant is going to break up his home. The film's resolution is very satisfying, very believable and undeniably romantic. You must see these two stars playing some of the best roles of their careers.

I like old black and white movies and I adore the Hollywood stars of the golden era, such as Cary Grant and Carole Lombard. I wish this movie was available in DVD. Maybe soon it will be...

This movie is a romance drama, and I think that both Cary and Carole did a good job. The storyline was well done and believable. Kay Francis co-starred as the conniving, gold-digging wife of Cary who tries to thwart the love of Cary and Carole. In the end though, Kay's character gets her just do.

The imagery and cinematography was crisp and the lighting was very good.

This is not a movie that one sees on a usual basis (on tv or in the video stores), so this would be a nice addition to your classic movie collection at home.

I love classic movies and this was great! I think In Name Only is one of Cary Grant's best movies - 2nd to An Affair to Remember. Carol Lombard and Kay Francis give an excellent performance as well. Can't go wrong with a classic love story like this.

*Sept 2011 update- Finally, it's coming out on DVD!! There is a God!! I won't have to look at the DVR copy from TCM I recorded two years ago.
This is one of the best from its time. Pure melodrama. Grant, Lombard and Francis are in their prime here. It is interesting to see how our world viewed marriage and relationships in this era, the late 1930's. The storyline for its time was basic. Man is in a bad marriage (why do these people get together in the first place?). Man meets the right girl but current wife has other plans (his money and his name). Current wife plays every card to stop true love (can't a woman take a hint? He doesn't want you!). Turn of events (usually a tragedy) trips up current wife and destined couple come together.
I just wish that this would come to DVD. I would love to see how this could be remade but given Hollywood's penchant to completely miss the mark on these things, maybe it would be best that it be left alone. Besides I really don't want to see George Clooney leave Catherine Zeta-Jones for Jennifer Aniston. Do you?

I don't really know what I was expecting when I put on this film the other night. I had never heard of the film before and I'm not essentially a gigantic fan of the film's lead actor. Truth be told, Cary Grant is one of those actors I don't really `get'. Much like his modern-day equivalent, George Clooney, I only adore Grant some of the time (`Bringing Up Baby', `North by Northwest' and `An Affair to Remember' spring instantly to mind). In fact, the only thing that truly intrigued me about this film was the year in which it was made; 1939. Beings that 1939 is often toted as the `Best Year in Cinema' I felt the need to see everything I could from it, and so I decided to sit down and watch this rather unknown film (at least to me) after it aired in TCM.

It is easily one of my favorite films from 1939; easily!

I was initially stunned that the film wasn't a comedy. Grant has had his hand in a fair-share of romantic dramas as well, but for the most part I think of Grant as a comedic actor. `In Name Only' is far from comedic though. In fact, this film is one of Grant's darker and more mature films. Despite the films melodramatic ending, which teeters on the farfetched, the film works marvelously. In fact, even the ending works in spite of its saccharine overtones. It's a forgivable `sign of the times' that is to be expected from films of that era.

The film follows a wealthy young man who falls for a beautiful widow. The only hang-up is that this young man is currently married to a seemingly kind hearted woman who has gained the sympathies of friends and family thanks to her husband's apparent indiscretions. The ugly truth though, is that this `kind hearted' wife is nothing more than a manipulative gold digger who will do anything in her power to maintain the control in her `relationship'.

The development of the key relationships presented here is phenomenal. You really get the warmth and sweet aspects of the budding romance between Grant's Alec and Lombard's Julie and you also get the cold calculation that passes between Alec and Francis's Maida. All three stars shine very brightly here, the females definitely duking it out for your attention. In the end, it was Kay Francis that struck me the hardest, like a cold slap in the face. She manipulates the audience in the same manner that she manipulates Alec's parents (in the films first few frames I actually thought her to be the `suffering' spouse).

In the end, `In Name Only' is certainly a treat; a gem of a film that NEEDS a proper DVD release!

"In Name Only" is a poignant look at an unhappy marriage that provides Carole Lombard with arguably her finest non-comedy performance and film. Based on the novel "Memory of Love" by Bessie Brewer, this 1939 film casts Lombard as Julie Eden, a young widow who rents a summer cottage in Connecticut near the estate of Alec Walker (Cary Grant). The two have fallen in love and Alec wants to get a divorce from his wife, Maida (Kay Francis), who only married him for his position and money. Maida appears to give in and promises to obtain a divorce in Paris, but when she returns after a long absence she announces that she will never divorce Alec and threatens to sue Julie for alienation of affection should Alec sue for divorce. It looks like Julie and Alec will never life happily ever after, but that same night Alec develops a serious case of pneumonia.

It is rather surprising that this film is generally devoid of humor, given the two stars, but the subject matter does not lend itself to comedy. When Julie and Alec talk about Reno, there is an overriding sense of melancholy, because the dream seems so far beyond their reach. Talking about it is a way of keeping the dream alive, but the situation seems so hopeless. True, this hopelessness seems alien to us, but the Walkers live in a world where reputation apparently matters more than money. Lombard's performance is fascinating simply because she is doing a lot of what she does in her comedies, what with the bewildered look in her eyes and the melancholy voice, but now it works to evoke a sense of tragedy rather than farce.

Then there is Kay Francis as the manipulative Maida, an unpleasant character who presents herself as understanding and patient to Alec's parents (Charles Coburn and Nella Walker) as she tries to drive a wedge between them and their son in order to get her father-in-law's fortune. Grant's character is the minor figure here, because what matters is the two women. While Maida stretches out the trip to Europe, clearly intending for Julie to doubt Alec's resolve and to cause fatal cracks in their relationship, our focus is on Julie's face and what we can read about what she is thinking as her chances for happiness slip away.

The flaw in this film is the conclusion, although I do not know if the fault for this is with the original novel or Richard Sherman's screenplay. But the ending because traditional Hollywood melodrama. Alec is dying, but Julie, the only one that can give him the will to live, is not allowed to come to his bedside. Then Maida shows up and is instructed by the script to suddenly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and in the rush to provide a happy ending "In Name Only" throws away everything the two actresses had so successfully created until that point in the film.

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I saw this movie on TV a long time ago. I wanted to see it again and buy the DVD. It makes one hate the character who plays the calculating,greedy,manipulative and deceiving wife who pretends to be the victim of her unfaithful husband. I loved the way she plays her mean, believable character. It was worth waiting to buy the DVD.