Andrew and Clara Hinklin (James Ellison and Lucille Ball) are an old married couple. While they aren't chronologically old, their marriage is routine and Andrew is a mousy man with little excitement in his life....and he likes it that way. However, when the boss drafts him into entertaining an important client, his life changes dramatically. Andrew arrives home....late and drunk. The next night, he arrives very late as well...but sober. While he tries to explain it to Clara, she is having none of this and doesn't believe him. It's made much worse by her mother, who lives with them, as she keeps throwing gasoline on the fire and does whatever she can to keep the two apart. Instead of tossing 'mother' out on her ear, Andrew leaves and stays away from home for a few days.
In the meantime, Clara is having second thoughts and decides she needs to fight to keep her man...and a makeover is in order as a start. Unfortunately, both Mr. and Mrs. Hinklin don't realize that another woman will show up at the same costume party they both attend....and with her mask on, she is the spitting image of Clara!
This is a very unusual film because I have never seen Lucille Ball less attractive and plain...and this was necessary for the plot but must have posed a challenge for her. Most actresses DON'T want to be plain or dowdy! But here she seems to take to the role and it works. In her other persona (with a mask), however, she's less convincing...and sports a very strange accent. A but more subtlety and some dialect coaching would have helped....though the movie still is modestly enjoyable despite this. Overall, a film that started off very well and sort of lost its way when Ball decided on the alter ego.
In the meantime, Clara is having second thoughts and decides she needs to fight to keep her man...and a makeover is in order as a start. Unfortunately, both Mr. and Mrs. Hinklin don't realize that another woman will show up at the same costume party they both attend....and with her mask on, she is the spitting image of Clara!
This is a very unusual film because I have never seen Lucille Ball less attractive and plain...and this was necessary for the plot but must have posed a challenge for her. Most actresses DON'T want to be plain or dowdy! But here she seems to take to the role and it works. In her other persona (with a mask), however, she's less convincing...and sports a very strange accent. A but more subtlety and some dialect coaching would have helped....though the movie still is modestly enjoyable despite this. Overall, a film that started off very well and sort of lost its way when Ball decided on the alter ego.