Don't Play Bridge with Your Wife is a strange, uneven trip

Is this thing worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a very specific interest in weirdly structured 1930s shorts or just happen to be obsessed with the history of bridge. If you're looking for a tight comedy, you'll probably hate it. It's a bit of a relic.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Don't Play Bridge with Your Wife (1933) through its definitive frames.

The movie starts with these prehistoric and Tudor-era skits. It’s a bold choice, I guess. The caveman bit is just people hitting each other with clubs because they misplayed a hand. It’s not exactly high art, but it’s definitely committed to the joke.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Don't Play Bridge with Your Wife (1933) through its definitive frames.

Then we jump to the modern day—well, the 1930s version of modern. We meet Eddie and Dorothy, who are these super sweet newlyweds. They’re honestly almost too cute to handle. You just know something dumb is going to break them apart.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Don't Play Bridge with Your Wife (1933) through its definitive frames.

The bridge game itself is… well, it’s a bridge game. It’s not exactly The Roaring Lion in terms of excitement. The tension they build over a few cards feels totally blown out of proportion. It’s funny how a simple game can supposedly threaten a marriage, but the movie plays it dead straight. Maybe that’s the point?

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Don't Play Bridge with Your Wife (1933) through its definitive frames.

I found myself staring at the wallpaper in the hotel scene for a solid minute. It’s got that weird, busy pattern they loved back then. The pacing in this section drags, like they didn't know how to fill the runtime without adding more awkward card-table dialogue.

It’s not as interesting as The College Boob, but it’s got a weird charm to it. You can almost feel the writers trying to bridge (pun intended, sorry) the gap between historical comedy and domestic drama and not quite sticking the landing.

• The caveman wigs look like they were made out of spare mop heads.
• The way people in the 30s say 'darling' is just something else.
• The silence after a bad play is painfully long.
• Gladys Blake is probably the only one who knows what movie she’s actually in.

I wouldn't call this a must-watch, but it's a weird artifact. It tries to be a lecture on marriage and a comedy at the same time, and ends up being neither, really. It just sort of exists. And sometimes, that's enough for a rainy afternoon if you've already seen My Official Wife.

It’s fine. It’s a bit silly. Don't take it too seriously or you'll end up like the characters—frustrated and holding a bad hand. 🃏