Idiotic comedy that hopes to be another "Awful Truth" and fails on all counts. Dennis Morgan is no Cary Grant, and unlike the earlier film, there's no ambiguity about his marital misbehavior here. "Affectionately Yours" opens with Morgan wooing a woman who's not his wife and proceeds to introduce us to another of his (many) paramours.
There's also no moral equivalency; unlike "Awful Truth's" Irene Dunne, who may or may not be guilty of some hanky-panky of her own, our heroine this time (Merle Oberon) is above suspicion. This makes it impossible to root for Morgan, a shameless cad employing a variety of stupid tricks to win back a faithful wife who has no earthly reason to love him. He kidnaps her (twice!), lies to her incessantly, and in general carries on like a mentally unstable stalker.
It doesn't help that the other woman in the picture is Rita Hayworth at her most beautiful, vivacious, and alluring. Unaccountably she is mad about Morgan, even though she's knows he's a worthless sleazeball. Even more unaccountably, Morgan is indifferent to Hayworth's charms, so smitten is he by the dour Oberon. It also doesn't help that Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen are saddled with painfully stereotypical roles as the household help.
There's also no moral equivalency; unlike "Awful Truth's" Irene Dunne, who may or may not be guilty of some hanky-panky of her own, our heroine this time (Merle Oberon) is above suspicion. This makes it impossible to root for Morgan, a shameless cad employing a variety of stupid tricks to win back a faithful wife who has no earthly reason to love him. He kidnaps her (twice!), lies to her incessantly, and in general carries on like a mentally unstable stalker.
It doesn't help that the other woman in the picture is Rita Hayworth at her most beautiful, vivacious, and alluring. Unaccountably she is mad about Morgan, even though she's knows he's a worthless sleazeball. Even more unaccountably, Morgan is indifferent to Hayworth's charms, so smitten is he by the dour Oberon. It also doesn't help that Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen are saddled with painfully stereotypical roles as the household help.