Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Kept Husbands Blu-ray Movie Review

A first-rate exploration of gender roles circa 1930

Kept Husbands is a charming comedy-drama with romance thrown into the genre mix. The film is an early RKO Radio Pictures production. From producer William LeBaron (Springtime in the Rockies, Man on the Flying Trapeze, The Lemon Drop Kid), the film is a sly commentary on gender roles stereotyped during the early 1930's. The storytelling is part satire and part social commentary.

Dorothea “Dot” (Dorothy Mackaill) and Richard “Dick” (Joel McCrea) are two young lovebirds who meet at an extended family dinner arranged by Dot's wealthy father Robert McWade (Arthur Parker). The kind, smart, and charming Dick is a good-doer who helped to save many lives and whom is rewarded by Mr. McWade with a special gathering recognizing his good deeds. Everyone is impressed by Dick and his boyish charms.

Dot and Dick are equally enamored with one another and the frenzy of their deep love is seen in each other's radiant eyes. The couple soon wed one another and begin to start living a seemingly idyllic life. As Dot's wealthy father runs his own successful business, Dot asks her father to reward Dick with a promotion and impressive salary. Mr. McWade hesitates as he feels it might deflate the young man's ego if he's perceived of as being a “kept husband” and that it could end his ambition. Nonetheless, Mr. McWade promotes Dick so that he won't disappoint his sweet daughter, Dot.

The relationship between the couple starts to slowly sour somewhat. Dick begins to recognize in part that he simply being paid for a padded job (as they often require him to do nothing). This causes the relationship to have new friction and complications.

Love at first sight

Kept Husbands has a strong focus on exploring gender roles. During the time-period of which the film takes place, it was often a common stereotype that a man would completely provide shelter and other necessities to his spouse. In this feature, Dot goes out of her way to try and provide a good life for her husband. The subject explored in the film is one which is an excellent cause for worthwhile discussion about society's perception of gender roles.

The original score is composed by the legendary Max Steiner (Gone With the Wind, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre). Film enthusiasts know Steiner is one of the most prolific composers in Hollywood history. The film's tone and setting is dramatically enhanced by the music. Shifting between comedic undertones and necessary dramatic beats, the music goes hand in hand with the imagery.

Featuring cinematography by Jack Mackenzie (The Lodge in the Wilderness, The Return of Dracula), Kept Husbands is a visually creative and impressive production. Each sequence is well developed, explored, and intricate to the storyline. The film also has some well-designed costumes by Max Ree (Smart Woman, Street Girl) which look stylish and appropriate for these characters.

The script for Kept Husbands was written by Louis Sarecky (North to the Klondike, Love in the Desert) and is an entertaining romance which has creativity in spades. The film is genuinely romantic and moving. There is a clear authenticity to the screenplay which lifts a story structure which could have merely been a passable entertainment if not for the fact the writing has been embellished with the terrific character-development and playful comedic sensibilities on display.

Lloyd Bacon (Give My Regards to Broadway, Action in the North Atlantic) capably directs this smart entertainment. The dramatic tone is set from the start with the dinner-party sequence and continues throughout the ups and downs of the main couple's relationship. While the film doesn't feel like a outright classic, Kept Husbands does manage to feel like an underrated example of early feminist filmmaking. The gender-role reversals at play are ahead of the time-frame for the film's production. Audiences seeking out an intelligent and playful romantic-drama will be pleased to find such a smart feature with this top-quality entertainment.

Kept Husbands Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kept Husbands arrives on Blu-ray for the first time with a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded presentation in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The image is generally in decent enough condition given the quality and age of the source material utilized for this presentation. However, throughout the presentation there are instances of dirt, minor debris, and print wear that could be addressed with better restorative efforts. Unfortunately, Lobster Films restoration effort seems to demonstrate only a bare-minimum effort on that side. It's still a modest high definition upgrade considering the film's age but don't expect a miracle from the presentation.

Kept Husbands Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The stereo audio on this release fares about the same as the video presentation included on this disc. The lossless audio DTS-HD Master Audio presentation capably reproduces the sound with the best quality possible for the source audio used to produce the release. Dialogue is well reproduced and distinguishable. Though the vocals and music can sometimes sound somewhat thin, the audio is a reasonably clear sound presentation that manages to convey the finer points of the sound design sufficiently.

Kept Husbands Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplemental features on this release.

Kept Husbands Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are a number of reasons why Kept Husbands is an entertaining film. On the top of that list is the great chemistry and charm demonstrated between the key leads of Dorothy Mackaill and Joel McCrea. Another reason the film works so well is the rhythm and style of Bacon's intelligent direction. While a lesser filmmaker might have simply made light of the gender-role reversals explored in this feature, Bacon does the opposite and treats the material and screenplay with firm guidance and care. With a decent enough presentation, fans of classic romances will certainly find Kept Husbands to be another winning entry in the noteworthy RKO Classic Romances collection. Recommended.