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6.9/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.9/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Fifty Million Husbands remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have about twenty minutes to kill and want to see a man slowly lose his mind over a simple misunderstanding, Fifty Million Husbands is probably worth your time. It is a good pick for anyone who likes that old-school slapstick where people run in and out of doors for no good reason. If you hate movies where the whole plot could be fixed if someone just sat down and talked for five seconds, you will likely find this incredibly annoying. 🙄
Charley Chase plays, well, Charley. He is one of those actors who always looks like he is about to apologize for something he didn't even do. In this one, he is living in an apartment with his wife, played by Christine Maple. She seems a bit on edge from the start, which I guess is standard for these kinds of comedies.
Then this other couple shows up at the door. Jean De Briac and Ruth Hiatt play the visitors who used to live in the apartment. They want to look around for sentimental reasons, or something like that. It is the kind of thing that only happens in movies because if a stranger knocked on my door asking to see my living room, I would probably just call the police. 🚔
Charley, being the polite guy he is, lets them in. This is where things start to get messy. His wife sees him with the other woman and immediately thinks Charley is leading some kind of double life. The title says Fifty Million Husbands, but really it is just one husband who is having a very, very bad day.
I noticed that the sound quality is a bit rough, even for 1930. You can tell they were still figuring out where to put the microphones. Sometimes a character will walk away from the center of the room and their voice just... thins out. It makes the whole thing feel more like you are watching a play from the back row than a polished movie. I kind of like that, though. It feels real.
There is a scene where Charley is trying to hide the visitors that goes on for a long time. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Dodging Trouble. The way Charley uses his hands when he is nervous is so specific. He does this little fluttery thing with his fingers that makes him look like a bird trapped in a shoebox.
Edgar Kennedy shows up too. He is the master of the "slow burn." You know, that thing where he just stares at the camera and lets his frustration simmer until he finally explodes. He does not have a huge role here, but every time he is on screen, the movie gets about 20% funnier. He has this way of making a simple look feel like a punchline. 😆
The pacing is a bit weird in the middle. It feels like they had a five-minute idea and stretched it out to twenty. There is a lot of walking back and forth in the hallway that does not really add much to the jokes. I found myself looking at the background furniture more than the actors for a minute or two. They had some really strange lamps in the 30s.
I also spotted Charlie Hall in a small part. He was in so many of these shorts, usually getting hit or yelled at. It is fun to see these familiar faces popping up in the background of these old Hal Roach productions. It makes all these movies feel like they belong to the same weird neighborhood, much like Call of the Cuckoo.
One thing that bothered me was the wife's reaction. She goes from zero to sixty way too fast. One minute she is fine, and the next she is convinced her husband is a world-class bigamist. I know it is for the comedy, but it makes her character feel a bit like a cardboard cutout. She exists just to be mad at Charley. 🤷♂️
There is a bit of physical comedy with a door that caught me off guard. It hits someone in the face, and the sound effect is just a loud, hollow thud. It sounded more like a falling tree than a person getting hit. It was so loud it actually made me laugh out loud, probably more than the actual joke intended.
The ending feels very rushed. It is like the writers realized they only had two minutes of film left and had to wrap everything up immediately. Everyone just kind of stops being mad and the movie ends. It is not very satisfying, but I guess that was the style back then. You get the gag, you get the laugh, and then you go home.
I think Jean De Briac is pretty good as the "other" husband. He has this very stiff, formal way of moving that contrasts well with Charley's floppiness. When they are in the same frame, it looks like a stick figure standing next to a piece of cooked spaghetti. It is a good visual contrast that helps the comedy even when the dialogue is a bit clunky.
Is this a masterpiece? No way. It is a bit of a mess, honestly. But it has that genuine energy that you only get from early sound comedies. They were trying everything to see what stuck. Some of it sticks, some of it falls flat, but it never feels boring. It is just a loud, silly moment in time.
If you are looking for something deep or meaningful, stay away. This is strictly for people who find joy in watching a man get trapped in a web of his own politeness. It is a reminder that sometimes, saying "no" to strangers is the best thing you can do for your marriage. Anyway, it was a fun way to spend a Tuesday afternoon. ✨
IMDb 5.8
1923
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