This week’s mystery movie was the 1939 Twentieth Century-Fox film Day-Time Wife (sometimes Daytime Wife, watch the hyphen), with Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Warren William, Binnie Barnes, Wendy Barrie and Joan Davis.
Screenplay by Art Arthur and Robert Harari. Story by Rex Taylor.
Photographed by Peverell Marley. Art direction by Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright. Set decoration by Thomas Little. Edited by Francis Lyon. Costumes by Royer. Sound by Arthur von Kirbach and Roger Heman. Musical director Cyril J. Mockridge.
Associate producer Raymond Griffith.
Directed by Gregory Ratoff.
Day-Time Wife is available on DVD in a box set from Amazon.
Information on the history of the film is available from the AFI catalog.
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I picked Day-Time Wife by going through the trades and looking for a well-received movie that hadn’t aired recently on TCM. It’s an interesting counterpoint for Linda Darnell (her second film after Elsa Maxwell’s Hotel for Women) following No Way Out a few weeks ago.
The plot is fluffy, but the script, the direction and the acting make it all work. Warren William is not in his usual, broadly played “office lecher” mode, which is refreshing. The sets are quite striking; quite opulent.
This is from 1939, so will we have a Bosley Crowther review? No. It’s B.R. Crisler, signed B.R.C.
Reviewed (Nov. 24, 1939):
For a consistently light and superficial holiday comedy of the domestic type (as distinguished from the more sophisticated foreign variety) we strongly recommend the irresponsible item called Daytime Wife, at the Roxy. if you carefully observe all the rules for enjoying comedies of this type, of which Rule I is to throw overboard all intellectual and (if you want to be really cooperative) all moral ballast, there is no reason why you should not find it even more amusing than most comedies that try to make sense.
For Monday, we have a mystery woman.
Update: This is Mildred Gover.
For Tuesday, we have another mystery woman.
Update: This is Marie Blake (later Blossom Rock).
For “Hm Wednesday,” we have a mystery gent. His mysterious companions have been cropped out due to insufficient mysteriousness and will appear later in the week.
Update: For Thursday, adding a mystery woman.
Update: For Friday, adding a less mysterious woman.
Update: This is Linda Darnell, left, Binnie Barnes and Leonid Kinskey.
And we have this mystery woman.
Update: This is Joan Davis.
Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (mystery movie and both mystery guests), Howard Mandelbaum (mystery movie and both mystery guests), Mike Hawks (Tuesday’s mystery woman), Anne Papineau (Tuesday’s mystery woman), L.C. (mystery movie and mystery cast), Sheila (Tuesday’s mystery woman) and Bob Hansen (Tuesday’s mystery woman).
For “Aha Thursday,” we have this mystery woman.
Update: This is Joan Valerie.
We also have this mysterious gent.
Update: This is Warren William.
Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (Wednesday’s mystery guests), Tucson Barbara (mystery movie and all mystery guests), Anne Papineau (mystery movie and all mystery guests), Incredibleinman (mystery movie and Wednesday’s mystery guests), Howard Mandelbaum (Wednesday’s mystery guests), Jenny M. (mystery movie and Wednesday’s mystery guests), Earl Boebert (Wednesday’s mystery gent), B.J. Merholz (Wednesday’s mystery gent), Sylvia E. (mystery movie and all mystery guests), Benito (Wednesday’s mystery gent), Mike Hawks (mystery movie, Monday’s and Wednesday’s mystery guests), Funky PhD (mystery movie, Monday’s and Wednesday’s mystery guests) and Patrick (mystery movie and all mystery guests).
For Friday, we have a mystery woman, who looked very different a few weeks ago.
Update: This is Linda Darnell.
We also have a mystery man in rather striking pajamas.
Update: This is Tyrone Power, in the dashing PJs.
Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (woman added for Wednesday, woman cropped out for lack of mysteriousness and Thursday’s mystery guests), Howard Mandelbaum (Thursday’s mystery guests), Tucson Barbara (Wednesday’s added woman, Thursday’s mystery guests), B.J. Merholz (mystery movie and Thursday’s mystery guests), Gary (mystery movie and all mystery guests), Mike Hawks (Wednesday’s added mystery woman and Thursday’s mystery guests), Charles Kjelland (Thursday’s mystery gent), McDee (Wednesday’s mystery fellow), Alexa (mystery movie), Anne Papineau (Wednesday’s added mystery woman and Thursday’s mystery fellow) and Sylvia E. (Wednesday’s added mystery woman, woman cropped out due to lack of mysteriousness and Thursday’s mystery fellow).
ladailymirror.com 
Wild guess – Libby Taylor
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And excellent guess, but alas, I’m afraid not.
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Your sign in is confusing me. Again I’ll comment, if necessary, that your mystery woman may be wearing Louise Beaver’s costume, but I’m guessing it is Marietta Canty in it, holding the leading man’s hat; who we will see wearing it later in the week.
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Following!
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Is that Louise Beavers for Monday’s mystery woman?
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Excellent guess. But alas, I’m afraid not.
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Frances E. Williams today?
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An excellent, guess, but alas, I’m afraid not.
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Frances E. Williams
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2 votes for Frances E. Williams. Sadly, I’m afraid not.
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Marie Blake nad THOROUGHBREDS DON’T CRY.
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Actually Day Time Wife. Mildred Gover Monday and blake today.
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DAY-TIME WIFE (1939)
Monday: Mildred Gover
Tuesday: Marie Blake
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Marie Blake.
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Marie Blake on Tuesday?
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Day-Time Wife (1939) w/Mildred Gover, Marie Blake, Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell,Warren William, Binnie Barnes, Joan Davis…
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Marie Blake for Tuesday?
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I think Tuesday’s lady is Blossom Rock. I don’t know the movie though.
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Leonid Kinskey and Joan Davis.
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Day-Time Wife
Mon – Mildred Gover
Tues – Marie Blake (aka Blossom Rock)
Wed – Leonid Kinskey, Joan Davis
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On Monday, Mildred Gover, on Wednesday, Leonid Kinskey and Joan Davis in “Day-Time Wife”
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Mischa Auer Wednesday?
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Today we have the movies’ greatest romantic twosome, Leonid Kinskey and Joan Davis, so the movie must be “Part-Time Wife.”
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Leonid Kinskey; Joan Davis.
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Leonid Kinskey and Joan Davis in
Day-Time Wife.
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I’m thinking Leonid Kinskey (Kinsky) on Wednesday.
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If Leonid Kinskey is Presenting Lily Mars, then Lillian Yarbo is wearing Beavers’ wardrobe.
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“Day-time Wife” 1939
Monday – Mildred Gover
Tuesday – Marie Blake (her pre-Blossom Rock and ‘Addams Family’ days. Interesting family connections for her, too)
Wednesday – Leonid Kinskey (I’m guessing that Linda Darnell and Tyrone Power are the ‘cropped for lack of mysteriousness’ folks on screen left) and Ms. Joan Davis
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Leonid Kinskey (bartender in CASABLANCA) today
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Mildred Gover, Leonid Kinskey and Joan Davis in DAY-TIME WIFE.
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Monday: Mildred Gover. Tuesday: Renie Riano. Wednesday: Leonid Kinskey and Joan Davis, which makes this Day-Time Wife (1939)
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Mildred Gover, Marie Blake, Leonid Kinskey and Joan Davis in Day-Time Wife from 1939.
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Wednesday, Binnie Barnes is to the left of Kinskey, who I think is reaching for the hands of Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell, then Joan Valerie and Warren William today.
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My Coco is much better looking than Kinskey.
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Joan Valerie; Warren William.
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Adding Binnie Barnes to Wednesday.
Thursday – Joan Valerie, Warren William
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I know Warren William and maybe Joan Valerie in Day-time Wife.
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Mildred Gover, Joan Davis, Leonid Kinsky and Binnie Barns in DayTime Wife.
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Binnie Barnes, Joan Valerie and Warren William.
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Looks like Warren William appeared again today
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Leonid Kinskey on Wednesday
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Day-Time Wife!
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Binnie Barnes and Warren William
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Thurs – Wendy Barrie, I think, in image 2 and Warren William in image 2.
Wednesday’s revealed woman is Binnie Barnes. Still hidden is Linda Darnell, who I’m sure will surface fully tomorrow along with Tyrone Power.
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Linda Darnell and Tyrone Power today.
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Linda Darnell, Tyrone Power
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Monday – Mildred Gover
Tues – Marie Blake
Wed – Leonid Kinskey with Thurs add-on of Binnie Barnes and Fri add on of Linda Darnell
Wed #2 photo – Joan Davis
Thurs – Wendy Barrie in #1 photo and in #2 photo Warren William
Fri – #1 photo Linda Darnell and #2 Tyrone Power
Day-Time Wife (1939)
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Linda Darnell; Tyrone Power/
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Linda Darnell and Tyrone Power.
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Must not overlook Binnie Barnes.
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The ‘Aha Thursday’ mystery man is Warren William.
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