Have been seeing quite a few films with Carole Lombard - what a talented actress, she is. Prompted by Hitchcock's only (screwball) comedy "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (1941) where Lombard was paired with Robert Montgomery - it's a lively repartee incessant - I jumped at the chance of seeing another film of hers. Thanks to cable Turner Classic Movies (TCM) programming, I was able to catch "In Name Only" (1939) where she played opposite Cary Grant and Kay Francis. Grant hardly get to be humorous or cheerful for that matter due to the character he's portraying. In fact, he had to play a man deprived of marital love, striving for a true love that kept being stumped by a vixen of a loveless wife, and he sure is convincing as a wearied man - seldom see him in such a sad-faced role.

This is a tearjerker, alright. But you can't help wanting to hang in there with the loving pair of Julie and Alec (Lombard and Grant), while Francis's Maida unrelentingly scheming to 'destroy' their hope of being together. Soap, quite so. I can't turn away but glued to the screen watching the pair's delightful encounters, wishing and hoping with them, worried with the two and Julie's daughter welfare, Julie's sister to understand and support her, just hoping Maida would 'disappear'. Alec is such a nice guy, so kind and trusting - how we wish he can see through Maida's deviousness! Julie is so patient - how long can one wait? So easy to fall into the pressures of society - what other people may think or say of you. Such entanglements. Why can't Alec's parents see through the guiles of Maida? Kay Francis' portrayal of callous Maida is insidious personified. How will this all end? Will Julie and Alec ever get to be together, ever?

Catch this brilliant soap drama directed by John Cromwell ("Made for Each Other" 1939, Lombard with James Stewart), scripted by Richard Sherman based on Bessie Breuer's novel. Music by Roy Webb complemented the mood. I fell in love with the performances of Lombard and Grant in "In Name Only." 95 minutes in B/W is quite a love story challenged, indeed.

Charles Coburn has a bit part as Grant's father in this film. To enjoy more of him, check out his performances along with the vivaciously demure Jean Arthur in director Sam Wood's "The Devil & Miss Jones" 1941, and director George Stevens' "The More the Merrier" 1943 (with Joel McCrea, too.)

This film is an old favorite and a crowd pleaser. I saw it recently and the amazing this is that even though 65 years have passed since its release, it still holds one's attention. Thanks to the direction of John Cromwell, this is a timeless classic.

The production of this film must have presented problems to the team involved in it. Films of the era stayed away from taboo themes because of the censorship, but this movie is an exception: an unhappily married man finds happiness with a widowed working mother. It is clear that there's nothing between Alec and Maida, a power couple living a life of luxury in the country.

Enter lovely Julie Eden. She is beautiful, talented, but with no desire to be a part of the country gentry around her. She's a free spirit who falls under the spell of a handsome Alec; who wouldn't? At the same time, Julie realizes this relationship has no future. She leaves the situation going back to Manhattan, trying to forget Alec.

The combination of Carole Lombard, playing Julie, against the Alec of Cary Grant, pays a great dividend. These two actors were meant to play opposite each other; they both bring enough charisma to fill a few other movies. Added to this mixture is the great Kay Francis, as Maida, the society wife who will not let go of her ticket to the life of luxury she is accustomed to.

The rest of the cast is excellent. Additional credit must go to Irene, the costume designer who had an eye for the clothes all the society types wore at the time.

A truly good time at the movies.

He's unhappily married; She's a feisty widow who has just moved near by. Their love is tested because his bitchy wife will not let him go in spite of the fact that she can't stand him. The husband is Cary Grant; the wife is Kay Francis; the lovely widow is Carole Lombard in a rare dramatic performance. This is the basic synopsis for "In Name Only", released by RKO in the greatest year that movies ever saw: 1939.

By this time, Grant and Lombard were established as two of motion pictures greatest stars. Kay Francis, formerly the queen of Warner Brothers, went against type in this unsympathetic role which came at a point in her career where she was listed as "Box-Office Poison". (See my reviews for "Confession" and "The White Angel" for contrasting roles). The explanations for her holding on to a man she didn't love and her background makes her very human and not just a one dimensional villain. These three stars are dynamic together, although there is absolutely no sympathy for Ms. Francis after her "confession". You will be looking forward to her getting her come-uppance as she schemes to prevent Grant from getting his much wanted divorce to be with Lombard.

There is also Charles Coburn (one of the most delightful character actors ever!) as Grant's father, and Helen Vinson as Francis' confidante who also once had a thing for Grant. This is the type of drama that Hollywood just cannot produce anymore. There are definite comic overtones, though, which make this delightful fun! (Grant's "thank you" scene with Lombard is one of the all-time classic sophisticated comedy scenes, while the finale scene with Francis, Lombard, and Coburn is one of the greats as well.)

Sadly, Francis would only have a few more great parts ("The Feminine Touch", "It's a Date") and Lombard would die tragically a few years later; Grant continued to remain a star for the next three decades. This is all three at their very best, and highly regarded. In any lesser film year, this would have garnered more attention; In fact, this is one of few films ("Trouble in Paradise", "One Way Passage", and "Confession" are the others) where I consider Kay Francis worthy of an Oscar nomination.