The Matrimonial Bed

The Matrimonial Bed (1930)

Genres - Comedy  |   Sub-Genres - Comedy of Errors, Romantic Comedy  |   Release Date - Aug 1, 1930 (USA - Unknown), Aug 1, 1930 (USA)  |   Run Time - 98 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Whatever rapport comedian Frank Fay enjoyed with Broadway audiences invariably evaporated when he appeared on film. In The Matrimonial Bed, Fay is his usual overbearing self as Adolphe, a small-town husband who is rendered an amnesiac in a train crash. Five years pass, during which time Adolphe marries Southern belle Sylvaine (Lilyan Tashman). In the meantime, Wife Number One Juliette (Florence Eldridge), believing her husband dead, has also remarried, to Gustave (James Gleason). One afternoon, she walks by a neighborhood barbershop, where Adolphe is now working -- and it isn't hard to guess what happens next. The fact that Frank Fay and director Michael Curtiz were constitutionally incapable of getting along undoubtedly hurt the overall effectiveness of this otherwise passable farce. Matrimonial Bed was remade in 1941 as Kisses for Breakfast, where it was frankly much funnier; on the other hand, the earlier film does contain a surprising amount of "gay" humor which still elicits chuckles when seen today.

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Keywords

amnesia, husband, marriage, missing