When it comes to what happens to us after we die, there is some bad theology out there, particularly amongst us Christians.  There are those who believe that when we shuffle off this mortal coil, we will be given angel wings and a harp.  You often see this sentiment expressed on decals on the back of motor vehicles proclaiming the memory of someone’s deceased loved one.  While it is good to remember the dead, and we who are Catholics do things differently in this regard than out Protestant brothers and sisters, we need to understand that we do not become angels in Heaven.  I doubt, too, that what happens at the beginning of Three Husbands (1950) takes place, either.  There is a lot of bad here, as will become apparent as we go along.

Rich playboy Maxwell Bard (Emlyn Williams) is not one of the Three Husbands, but it is his death that starts the film. After a few people ahead of him are apparently granted a specific wish upon entering Heaven (more false theology), he asks that he be granted the ability to observe a trio of his friends and their wives for the next twenty-four hours.  They are Arthur Evans (Shepperd Strudwick), Dan McCabe (Howard Da Silva), and Kenneth Whittaker (Robert Karnes), and all of them are called into Maxwell’s lawyer’s office, Edward Wurdeman (Jonathan Hale).  Edward has a letter for each of Maxwell’s friends, and they all describe some kind of affair between their wives and Maxwell.  None of them want to believe it, but one at a time we watch as they reminisce over the nature of their interactions with Maxwell to see if they notice any indiscretions in their memories.  The first of these flashbacks is Arthur.  His wife, Jane Evans (Ruth Warrick), is friends with Maxwell because they connect on an intellectual level.  They are both into art, which is something that gets Arthur into trouble.  Maxwell’s cultural interests bring him into contact with Matilda Clegg (Louise Erickson), a young art student whom Maxwell is sponsoring.  Matilda is introduced to Arthur through Maxwell, and she ends up falling in love with Mr. Evans.  While nothing happens, with him doing a slightly Christian thing and at least saying that he believes in the sacredness of the institution of marriage, he nonetheless keeps secret his taking Matilda to the movies.  At the same show is Jane and Maxwell.  Arthur and Maxwell make eye contact, and each try to hide the fact that Arthur is there with another woman.  A few nights later, Maxwell is hosting a dinner party with the Evans and Matilda in attendance.  When they get a chance to be alone, Matilda demands that Arthur leave Jane so they can instead be together.  Arthur denies Matilda, and she briefly toys with getting revenge before she is stopped by Maxwell.  When he comes out of his reverie, Arthur confronts Jane about her perceived infidelities, and she leaves shocked.  The second person to ponder the possibility of cheating with Maxwell is Kenneth.  His wife, Mary Whittaker (Vanessa Brown), is an in-home care nurse who treats Maxwell after he has a heart attack.  She spends a lot of time with him, which brings Kenneth around to check in on his spouse.  The following day is the wedding anniversary for the young couple.  Though they had planned on going out to dinner, they laughingly decide to stay at home, citing the need for a night in.  However, she is called away to a client, a development that he does not take kindly.  He assumes that she has gone to Maxwell, so he lurks outside his apartment hoping to catch them in the act.  She is not there, but Maxwell spots Kenneth’s presence right away and does not protest when the police take the jealous husband as a burglar.  Maxwell good naturedly bails Kenneth out of jail. When Kenneth and Mary get home and she refuses to talk about where she had gone the previous night, she decides to leave as preamble to a divorce.  Lastly, we have Dan, who does not believe the accusation of infidelity about Lucille McCabe (Eve Arden), his wife, from the start.  He is the one who is most open with his so-called beloved about the letter, letting her read it with him present.  He openly states that he does not think a tryst between her and Maxwell would have been possible.  It is her indignation at Dan’s suggestion that the suave Maxwell could have no interest in her that kickstarts Dan’s flashback.  They had met at a racetrack where Lucille and Maxwell share the same horse on which they bet.  Maxwell appears interested in her humor, whereas Dan sees a kindred man of wealth.  Soon, Lucille is often going to different social events with Maxwell, with Dan letting them go without too many complaints.  Yet, her reaction to Dan’s assumption about the nature of what goes on between her and Maxwell comes off as too high handed, leaving her wanting a divorce.  Once the flashbacks are completed, the will is read on the proceeding day.  It stipulates that Matilda is to get a large inheritance provided she leave to study art in Paris.  Much of the rest of the wealth is to be divided between Jane, Lucille, and Mary.  Before they can get what is their due, though, there is another statement.  In it, Maxwell asserts that he had fabricated the letters sent to Arthur, Dan, and Kenneth.  Next, Maxwell reminds everyone that marriages are best when the wives are not dependent on the husbands, and that should they choose, they can obtain their fortunes after finalizing divorces.  That seems to be where each is headed until our three couples each have it out, proving that they really do love one another.

Three Wives is a strange movie for 1950, in content and presentation.  I would think the oddity of the content would be obvious given the time, but I was surprised by the poor physical quality of the film.  There are also the now outdated thoughts on the soul’s destination post-mortem as discussed in the introduction.  Speaking of quality, I am not sure the characters were making the best decisions in regards to their marriages.  There is some overlap between Christian teaching on the matter and what you see in the movie.  It is a sacred institution, which is specifically mentioned in the film as one established by God.  In Matthew 19:6, Jesus says it all about marriage, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”  This is why Christian’s take it so seriously.  Having suggested that the characters in the movie do, too, they seem equally ready to separate by the end, and to do so with little compunction.  None of this is Maxwell’s fault, either, though he does not help.  From a Catholic perspective, his least helpful actions are his thoughts on how a healthy marriage should look as put forward in his will.  To begin, he does not seem inclined to pursue any kind of vocation, let alone being wedded to someone.  While I do not condone Arthur’s actions, he and his other two counterparts seem to trust their wives enough to give them the independence Maxwell asserts as key to a healthy relationship.  The problem is in differences in viewpoints.  What those outside of Christian families see as dependence typically is thought of as reliance by those same couples.  Those outside of the Faith blur the lines between genders.  Christians celebrate them, and rather look to work to see how they can fit together.  What you have in the movie is seven people inclined to pursue their own whims rather than practice what they preach.

Then again, Three Husbands does underscore how society makes it difficult to put into practice what our religious authorities preach to us.  God is in those moments, offering us a helping hand in order to continue on our path to him.  Submitting to a husband or wife, whichever the case may be, is, in some ways, where the film lands.  I just did not particularly enjoy how we get there, and neither will you.