Synopsis
Sir Alfred De Carter (Harrison), a famous conductor, suspects his wife Daphne (Darnell) of infidelity with Tony Windborn (Kreuger), his young and handsome secretary. While conducting, the highly emotional Sir Alfred fantasizes the methods with which he will revenge himself on his wife and her lover. The nature of the fantasy changes with the tone of the music. To the fast-paced, boisterous music of Rossini he conceives a complex murder plot. To the stately music of Wagner, he is forgiving and generous. To the romantic music of Tchaikovsky he offers to play a game of Russian roulette with the lover.
After the concert, Harrison rushes home to carry out the murder plot, but his preparations for murder do not go as smoothly as they did in his fantasy. When Daphne comes home, she readily forgives him for his irrational behavior. Sir Alfred realizes that his innocent wife loves him, and they embrace.
Discussion
Writer-director Preston Sturges' Unfaithfully Yours is a characteristically unusual film. His scenario utilizes appropriate pieces of classical music to set the mood of successive scenes of Sir Alfred's comical fantasies. While the conductor is fantasizing to the music, each scene plays out exactly as he imagines. However, when Sir Alfred attempts to enact his murder fantasy in real life, his chaotic attempts produce an absurd variation of the original scene. The dark plot, featuring an outlandish and unsympathetic main character, did not appeal to audiences, and the film was unsuccessful when released. Sturges, who career was already waning, directed only two more completed films before his death in 1959.
Rex Harrison never had a more customized vehicle. His looks, voice, and acting
were always slightly unusual, and Sturges takes his peculiarities and makes the
most of them. He appears in practically every scene and has extensive solo
sequences. The behavior of his character and of his performance can only be
categorized as sophisticated-maniacal.
His attempt to set up the complex
murder scene of his fantasy turns into extended one-man screwball comedy as he
destroys furniture, bric-a-brac, and himself. Linda Darnell is beautiful, but she
does not have much of the comedy. Rudy Vallee plays a millionaire similar to his
character J. D. Hackensacker III in Sturges' Palm Beach Story (1942),
except this fellow is decidedly unsympathetic. Lionel Stander is wasted in a small
role.