Hired Wife (1940) in Color — Starring Rosalind Russell & Brian Aherne

Hired Wife (1940) — Buy This Classic in Color

Hired Wife (1940) is a snappy screwball comedy starring Rosalind Russell as a sharp-witted secretary who engineers a marriage of convenience with her oblivious boss to protect his business, only to discover she wants the marriage to be real. Directed by William A. Seiter, this professionally colorized version brings the glamorous office settings and rapid-fire comedy to delightful new life. Buy your colorized copy today for €15.00 and own this sparkling classic movie in color.

Plot Summary

Kendal Browning is the brilliant, fiercely capable secretary who practically runs her boss Stephen Dexter’s entire engineering firm singlehandedly — she keeps the books, manages the clients, handles the crises, and makes the decisions that keep the company afloat — yet Stephen barely notices her existence as a woman, treating her as nothing more than a supremely efficient piece of office furniture. When Stephen’s business is threatened by a hostile creditor who could seize everything he owns, Kendal devises a cunning plan to protect his assets by transferring them into her name through a marriage of convenience — strictly a business arrangement, she assures him, nothing personal whatsoever. But once the ring is on her finger and she officially becomes Mrs. Stephen Dexter, Kendal decides she has absolutely no intention of giving it back. The classic movie generates its sparkling comedy from Kendal’s increasingly elaborate, inventive, and occasionally outrageous schemes to make the hopelessly oblivious Stephen fall in love with his own wife, complicated enormously by the arrival of a glamorous, predatory socialite named Phyllis who has her own very determined designs on him and no intention of losing to a mere secretary. Robert Benchley provides scene-stealing comic relief as the perpetually bewildered best friend Roger, whose attempts to help inevitably make everything worse, caught helplessly in the middle of the escalating romantic chaos and delivering his trademark dry observations on the absurdity unfolding around him. The battle between Kendal’s brains and Phyllis’s glamour plays out through society parties, business meetings, and domestic skirmishes, building to a thoroughly satisfying resolution.

Cast & Crew

Director: William A. Seiter

Stars: Rosalind Russell, Brian Aherne, Virginia Bruce, Robert Benchley, John Carroll, Hobart Cavanaugh

Why Buy This Classic in Color?

This colorized version of Hired Wife showcases 1940s glamour at its absolute finest. The original black and white photography captured elegant office sets and beautiful costumes, but the professionally colorized restoration reveals the richness of Russell’s impeccable wardrobe — every perfectly tailored suit, every smart hat, every carefully chosen accessory — the warm, gleaming wood-paneled offices with their brass fixtures and leather chairs, the sophisticated society party scenes ablaze with evening gowns and formal wear, and the cozy domestic settings where Kendal wages her campaign for Stephen’s heart, all rendered with frame-by-frame precision that makes the comedy sparkle even brighter. Now also available in colour.

Buy Hired Wife in color today for just €15.00. Your DRM-free MP4 download is available for instant access.

Historical Significance

Hired Wife arrived at the absolute peak of Hollywood’s golden screwball comedy era and showcased Rosalind Russell’s remarkable comedic timing and fierce intelligence, coming just a few months after her legendary triumph in His Girl Friday. Russell was one of the few actresses in Hollywood history who could deliver dialogue at machine-gun speed while making every word count, and this film gives her another role perfectly suited to her unique gifts. The classic film is a perfect example of how Hollywood’s golden age could turn a preposterous premise into genuinely entertaining, sophisticated comedy through sheer star power, witty dialogue, and the kind of polished craftsmanship that the studio system produced at its best. Brian Aherne is ideally cast as the handsome but hopelessly dense Stephen, Virginia Bruce provides effective and glamorous competition as the scheming socialite rival, and Robert Benchley’s deadpan one-liners and befuddled reactions are worth the price of admission alone. The restored colorized version allows modern audiences to watch this effervescent comedy with renewed visual charm and appreciate its place among the finest screwball comedies of the 1940s.

Technical Details

• Format: MP4 digital download
• Resolution: HD restored
• Colorized: Professionally colorized from original black and white
• Audio: Original mono restored
• Runtime: Approximately 96 minutes
• DRM-free: Yes — watch on any device
• Instant download: Available immediately after purchase
• Price: €15.00

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Movie-Specific Questions

Q: Is this similar to His Girl Friday?
A: Both showcase Rosalind Russell’s gift for rapid-fire comedy and feature strong, intelligent women running rings around the men in their lives. Fans of one will absolutely love the other.

Q: How does Robert Benchley’s role compare to his other films?
A: Benchley is at his bewildered best here, delivering his trademark befuddled commentary on the absurd romantic situation unfolding around him with impeccable comic timing.

Q: Is this the colorized version of the full film?
A: Yes, this is the complete 96-minute feature, professionally colorized frame-by-frame from the restored original.

Q: What makes Rosalind Russell so good in screwball comedies?
A: Russell combined razor-sharp intelligence, perfect comic timing, and an ability to deliver dialogue at breakneck speed while making every word land. She made strong, capable women both funny and admirable.

Digital Download Questions

Q: What format is the download?
A: DRM-free MP4, compatible with virtually any device or media player.

Q: How much does it cost?
A: €15.00 for instant download. The colorization process ensures every scene looks stunning in color.

Q: Can I watch on multiple devices?
A: Absolutely. The file is DRM-free, so you can watch on your TV, tablet, phone, or computer.

Related Colorized Classics

• The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
• Follow the Fleet (1936)
• The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951)
• Sister Kenny (1946)
• Carnaval Atlântida (1952)