Unfaithfully Yours

1984 was not a great year for Dudley Moore, but of the three films he made that year, this is the one that worked best. After 10 and Arthur, producers seemed obsessed with getting Moore into as many romantic comedies as possible. Unfortunately, his '82 and '83 films Six Weeks, Lovesick, and Romantic Comedy all majorly underperformed, while his three films of 1984, Unfaithfully Yours, Best Defense, and Micki & Maude, made small profits but were panned by critics. Of all these movies, Unfaithfully Yours was the most successful, though critics and cinephiles did not take kindly to the idea of anyone remaking a classic Preston Sturges comedy, even though the original 1948 film isn't one of the legendary writer/director's best works.

In this version, directed by Howard Zieff (House Calls, The Main Event, Private Benjamin), Moore takes the role originated by Rex Harrison, of an acclaimed conductor who suspects his wife (Nastassja Kinski) of cheating on him with his protégé. One night, while conducting a symphony, he fantasizes about the perfect way of murdering her and framing her lover (Armand Assante). But when he tries to put his plans into action for real, a comedy of errors ensues. A number of screenwriters—Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin (And Justice for All, Inside Moves, Best Friends) and Robert Klane (Where's Poppa?, European Vacation, Weekend at Bernie's) were employed to modernize Sturges's original screenplay.

This remake was originally intended for Peter Sellers, but he died before production got underway. Moore is an even better choice because he is so musical and, therefore, more than convincing as a symphony conductor. His "fiddle-off" with Assante is also quite funny (the violin playing for both men comes courtesy of the great Pinchas Zukerman). Still, the movie is a bit too contrived and never fully takes flight except in the 10-minute fantasy sequence, which features the hilarious use of an oversized Porky Pig mask—it's no wonder so much of the movie's trailer was built around this sequence. The three leads are winning, but the script doesn't provide enough laughs in the first two-thirds.