Question 1

Which poem inspired the plot of Too Many Husbands?

Accepted Answer

The film is a variation of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem 'Enoch Arden', in which a husband is shipwrecked and presumed dead, only to return home to find his wife involved with a man he used to know.

Question 2

Why did the MPAA initially reject the script for Too Many Husbands?

Accepted Answer

The script was ruled too scandalous due to its 'apparent lack of any respect for the sanctity of marriage; its farcical treatment of the subject of bigamy; and its very frank and detailed discussion of the unsavory subject of divorce by collusion.'

Question 3

How did the studio decide which ending to use?

Accepted Answer

Studio officials sent over 10,000 questionnaires to college students and screened the film with both endings at UCLA and USC to see which conclusion audiences preferred.

Question 4

What other 1940 film dealt with a similar premise of a presumed-dead spouse returning?

Accepted Answer

My Favorite Wife (1940), released around the same time, deals with a husband whose first wife is presumed dead and his new wife. Both movies did well at the box office.

Question 5

Which actors played the two husbands in the film?

Accepted Answer

Fred MacMurray played first husband Bill Cardew, and Melvyn Douglas played second husband Henry Lowndes.

Too Many Husbands

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