Too Many Husbands (1940)

Directed by Wesley Ruggles and based on W. Somerset Maugham’s play Home and Beauty, Too Many Husbands is a sparkling romantic comedy that flips the usual love triangle on its head. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film stars Jean Arthur, Fred MacMurray, and Melvyn Douglas in a witty battle of affection, identity, and marital confusion.

Plot Summary
Vicky Lowndes (Jean Arthur) believes her husband Bill Cardew (Fred MacMurray) died in a boating accident. After mourning, she marries his best friend and business partner, Henry Lowndes (Melvyn Douglas). But just as she’s settling into her new life, Bill returns—having survived on a deserted island for months.

Now Vicky has two husbands, both legally and emotionally entangled. The men vie for her affection, and Vicky, enjoying the attention, refuses to choose. The film builds to a comic crescendo as the trio navigates jealousy, legal ambiguity, and romantic rivalry.

Cast Highlights

• Jean Arthur as Vicky Lowndes
• Fred MacMurray as Bill Cardew
• Melvyn Douglas as Henry Lowndes
• Harry Davenport as Vicky’s father
• Dorothy Peterson as Aunt Maude

Behind-the-Scenes Trivia

• Two endings were filmed: one where Vicky stays with Henry, and one where she chooses Bill. Studio execs sent 10,000 questionnaires to college students and screened both endings at UCLA and USC to gauge audience preference
• The film was released around the same time as My Favorite Wife (1940), which features a similar premise—but with a husband caught between two wives
• The script was initially rejected by the MPAA for its “lack of respect for the sanctity of marriage” and “farcical treatment of bigamy.” It was revised to pass censorship
• The story is a variation on Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem Enoch Arden, where a presumed-dead spouse returns to find their partner remarried