I know I've seen the original movie

TCM is showing a night of Ann Sheridan movies tonight, including Honeymoon For Three at midnight. I think I haven't actually seen this one, but have seen the movie of which it's a remake, Goodbye Again. (Actually, they're both film versions of a stage play.)

The plot involves a writer named Ken Brady (Warren William in the original, George Brent in the remake; I'll be putting the stars of Goodbye Again first in each case) is on tour to promote his new novel, accompanied by his long-suffering secretary Anne (Joan Blondell vs. Ann Sheridan). Ken was apparently a ladies' man and still is, which would explain why Anne is long-suffering. Into Ken's hotel suite walks Julie Wilson, née Clochessy (Genevieve Tobin vs. Osa Massen). She wants to see Ken, claiming to know him and still be madly in love with him; apparently they had had a torrid affair years ago in college. The problem is that Anne is trying to get Ken to marry him, while Julie already is married. So Julie's husband Harvey (Hugh Herbert vs. Charlie Ruggles) and sister Elizabeth (Helen Chandler vs. Jane Wyman) to try to get Anne to impress upon Ken the need to do something about Julie. Chaos ensues.

The problem I had with Goodbye Again is that it's what I think I've referred to before as a "comedy of lies", that is a story where the main character starts off with a smallish lie and keeps building upon it to try to keep the original truth from spilling out. I tend to find such stories grating, and Warren William pouring out the lies was a very obnoxious character to whom I reacted by wanting to reach through the screen and smack the bastard. The Julie character was also intensely irritating. Anne and Harvey should have let the two of them run off with each other and lived more enjoyable lives, either as a couple themselves, or finding more suitable partners. Still, those of you who enjoy that sort of comedy would probably like Goodbye Again and might well enjoy Honeymoon For Three too. As I said at the beginning, I can't really comment directly on the film.

Neither of the two versions seems to be available on DVD either, so you'll have to catch the TCM showings.