The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940) in Color — Starring Loretta Young & Ray Milland

The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940) — Buy This Classic in Color

Experience the delightful screwball comedy The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940), now available as a professionally colorized digital download for only €15.00. Directed by Alexander Hall and starring Loretta Young and Ray Milland with sparkling chemistry, this fast-paced romantic farce follows a bestselling anti-marriage author and a stuffy medical professor who become trapped in a fake marriage that threatens to destroy both their careers — and might just make them fall in love. Download instantly in DRM-free MP4 format and enjoy this Golden Age comedy gem in vivid color.

Plot Summary

June Cameron has made a fortune and a name for herself as the author of bestselling books advocating the single life for modern women. Played by Loretta Young with razor-sharp wit and effortless glamour, June is the embodiment of sophisticated independence — beautiful, successful, and loudly, profitably opposed to the institution of marriage. Her latest book tour has made her the darling of progressive women across America and the bane of every matchmaker in the country.

Dr. Timothy Sterling is everything June pretends to despise — a serious, dedicated medical professor at a prestigious university who believes in traditional values, professional discipline, and absolutely nothing amusing. Played by Ray Milland with exasperated charm, Timothy is brilliant, handsome, and possessed of a seriousness that June finds simultaneously infuriating and oddly attractive.

Fate throws them together on a train, where a series of mishaps and misunderstandings leads a gossip columnist to publish the sensational news that June Cameron, America’s most famous advocate of the single life, has secretly married a doctor. The story spreads like wildfire — June’s publisher is delighted by the publicity and threatens to cancel her contract if she denies the marriage; Timothy’s university is equally delighted, as a married professor is considered more respectable, and his long-sought appointment to a prestigious chair depends on maintaining the illusion.

Trapped by circumstances neither can afford to correct, June and Timothy agree to maintain the fiction of marriage while privately detesting each other. The resulting arrangement — two people who cannot stand each other forced to share a life, attend social functions together, and convince the world they are happily married — generates a cascade of increasingly elaborate deceptions, jealous misunderstandings, and physical comedy set pieces that are the hallmarks of the screwball genre at its finest.

Jealous complications arise from both sides. Timothy’s sophisticated fiancée Marilyn, played by Gail Patrick with icy elegance, refuses to gracefully surrender her claim. June’s persistent suitor John, played by Reginald Gardiner with cheerful obliviousness, keeps showing up at the worst possible moments. Edmund Gwenn provides scene-stealing warmth as Timothy’s father, a twinkly-eyed old gentleman who sees the truth of the situation long before the young people themselves.

The comedy builds through a series of escalating domestic disasters — a dinner party where both June and Timothy must perform marital harmony while their respective real romantic interests are guests, a sleeping-arrangement crisis when Timothy’s father arrives for an unexpected visit, and a climactic sequence where every deception converges at once. Through it all, Young and Milland’s bickering chemistry generates the classic screwball tension of mutual attraction disguised as mutual hostility, building inevitably toward the genre’s trademark revelation that hatred was love all along.

Cast & Crew

Director: Alexander Hall

Stars: Loretta Young, Ray Milland, Reginald Gardiner, Gail Patrick, Edmund Gwenn, Frank Sully, Gordon Jones, Georges Metaxa

Loretta Young and Ray Milland generate the kind of screwball chemistry that cannot be manufactured — their bickering has genuine wit and their reluctant attraction genuine warmth. Young brings sophisticated comedic timing to June’s evolution from ideological opponent of marriage to bewildered woman falling in love, while Milland’s dry exasperation provides the perfect foil. Edmund Gwenn nearly steals the film as the wise, meddlesome father.

Why Buy This Classic in Color?

This professionally colorized restoration brings fresh visual sparkle to the film’s glamorous 1940s settings. The elegant train compartments, fashionable Manhattan apartments, and distinguished university halls all gain period-accurate warmth and style in color. Loretta Young’s legendary wardrobe — she was one of Hollywood’s best-dressed stars — achieves its full visual impact, while the domestic comedy scenes gain cozy, inviting charm. Now also available in colour.

Buy now for €15.00 — instant DRM-free digital download, compatible with all MP4-capable devices.

Historical Significance

Released in 1940 at the peak of the screwball comedy cycle, The Doctor Takes a Wife exemplifies the genre’s formula of witty, independent men and women locked in romantic combat. The film showcases the effortless professionalism of Columbia Pictures’ comedy unit under director Alexander Hall, who specialized in elegant, fast-paced romantic farces. Loretta Young’s performance demonstrates that she was equally talented in comedy as in the dramatic roles for which she is better known. Through colorization, this charming Golden Age comedy is preserved for modern audiences who can enjoy its romantic wit in vivid new color.

Technical Details

• Format: MP4
• Resolution: HD 720p
• Colorized: Yes, frame-by-frame restoration
• Audio: Original English mono
• Runtime: 88 minutes
• DRM-free: Yes
• Instant download: Yes
• Price: €15.00

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Movie-Specific Questions

Q: How does this compare to other screwball comedies of the era?
A: While not as famous as His Girl Friday or The Philadelphia Story, the film delivers the same essential pleasures of the genre — sparkling dialogue, romantic misunderstandings, and two attractive stars generating chemistry through conflict.

Q: What makes the pairing of Loretta Young and Ray Milland work?
A: Their contrasting styles — Young’s glamorous wit against Milland’s dry exasperation — create a classic screwball dynamic where the audience enjoys watching two proud, intelligent people gradually realize they are perfect for each other.

Q: Is this suitable for family viewing?
A: Absolutely — the film’s humor is sophisticated but entirely family-friendly, relying on witty dialogue and comic situations rather than anything objectionable.

Digital Download Questions

Q: What format is the download?
A: The film is delivered as a high-quality MP4 file in HD 720p resolution, playable on virtually any modern device.

Q: Is this download DRM-free?
A: Yes, the download is completely DRM-free for your personal, non-commercial use.

Q: How quickly will I receive my download?
A: You will receive a secure download link on the confirmation page immediately after purchase, with a backup link sent to your email.

Related Colorized Classics

• His Girl Friday (1940)
• The Awful Truth (1937)
• My Favorite Wife (1940)
• The Philadelphia Story (1940)
• Paula (1952)