Watch In Name Only For Free

Let's be realistic.

Good concept, poorly executed.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Cary Grant plays a man trapped in a loveless marriage and it is an era where the divorce laws in New York are not favourable to him. His wife Kay Francis is icily shrewd, she wants hold of Grant not because she loves him but he has money and she has cultivated a close relationship with his parents who are influential.However Grant is in a tizz when he meets winsome widow Carole Lombard and her daughter. He is charmed by her but there are no long term prospects if his wife does not give her a divorce and Francis's catty friends try to make life difficult for Lombard.This is a minor melodrama very much of its era, nothing much happens apart from Grant getting drunk and catching pneumonia. It is nice to see Francis finally exposing her true intentions not knowing Grant's parents are nearby.

I've watched this film three times in the last couple of years, and I'm coming to the conclusion that this may be the best of the Cary Grant performances of his pre-1940 period.Cary Grant turns in a strong performance as a husband in a loveless marriage (with Kay Francis) who casually bumps into a rather captivating woman (Carole Lombard). His marriage amounts to nothing -- hence "In Name Only".Kay Francis turns in one of her best performances, as well, although as a truly unlikable character who will sacrifice anything to remain married to her husband...even if it kills him (literally). The year before this film, she had been named "box office poison" after having quite a successful career in films. Carole Lombard reportedly got Francis this role, and it revived her career, albeit more in character roles.I'm not a fan of Carole Lombard, but here she is magnificent. She walks a tightrope successfully balancing being "the other woman" unintentionally breaking up a marriage and being the most sympathetic character in the film.Along the way are a number of noted character actors who also turn in strong performances (though not necessarily likable characters): Charles Coburn as Grant's father, Katherine Alexander as Lombard's sister (a man hater since her own romantic life crumbled), Jonathan Hale as a doctor and friend of the family, and others.To me, this film goes beyond the typical love theatrics of a love triangle and shows just how mean spirited divorces can get, although here Kay Francis' wife character gets a wonderful comeuppance at the end of the film! Highly recommended.

Considering the three main stars a curiously obscure drama from the legendary year of 1939. Superior soap opera contains some of the best work Cary Grant, Carole Lombard and Kay Francis ever put on film. Carole shows that she wasn't just a superb comedienne but a skilled dramatic actress. Cary is just right in blending the facile with the seriousness of the untenable situation he finds himself in. As good as both of them are, and they are great, even better is Kay Francis, a portrait in silky malevolence. This was inexplicably almost the end of her film career, she ended up in Poverty Row junk only a few years later and after watching this it's hard to understand how this didn't open up a whole new chapter for her as the wicked woman of cinema. Perhaps she was just too early for noir, she would have been perfect as a poison pit viper in many of those pictures.

The film begins with Cary Grant meeting and soon falling in love with Carole Lombard. The only trouble is that it turns out Cary is already married! And, to make matters worse, the wife has no intentions of giving him up to Lombard.A long time ago, I saw this movie and wasn't at all impressed. I really felt that the film was somehow trivializing divorce and supported the idea that infidelity was okay. However, after seeing it again, I realize that the movie really was a lot better than I first thought and I am happy I gave the film another chance. The missing piece that I forgot all about was that the wife (Kay Francis) was truly an awful person and she had tricked Cary Grant into marrying her and never loved him. Given that she went into the marriage fraudulently and given the viper-like speech she made at the end of the film, it really did make sense why Cary dumps this "lady" in favor of sweet Carole Lombard. This is a very adult but slickly made film. It's only deficit is that Charles Coburn (who I love) is given a rather bland supporting role.