The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
NR | 24 April 1936 (USA)
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford Trailers

A doctor is driven into an investigation of sinister goings-on at a horse race track by his mystery writer ex-wife.

Reviews
Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
GManfred It's not Nick and Nora, but it still works. The formula is similar and there is a murder mystery to be solved, and it's a pretty good one. the big difference is that Myrna Loy is not here and her place is taken by Jean Arthur, and she proves to be a very adequate replacement. She is the Ex-Mrs. Bradford in the title and also has the requisite comedic touch for such a part, and helps to keep the picture moving at the quick, breezy pace the genre is known for.The plot involves a murder at a race track and another one connected to the first. If you are a fan of the Thin Man series you will enjoy this one as they are remarkably alike in pacing and screenplay. And the intricate mystery plot will keep you guessing right up to the end. A very enjoyable 80 minutes, even without Mrs. Charles.
Susan Hathaway Jean Arthur plays a role usually taken by men in supposed romantic comedies: an obnoxious stalker who bulldozes her way into her prey's life and takes it over, and both prey and audience are supposed to find this charming and amusing. Arthur plays an overbearing, meddlesome idiot who decides to remarry her ex-husband (William Powell) against his will, while browbeating him to investigate a murder so that she can write a mystery story about it--then sabotaging the investigation by tampering with (even stealing) evidence, constant eavesdropping, and showing up uninvited everywhere. By the end of their first scene together, I was wishing she'd drop dead, as that might have made for a more fun murder mystery. As it was, the actual murder story got lost in the midst of the supposedly funny banter between a repugnant busybody and her victim. I've seen Jean Arthur be both funny and charming in other films. I wish she'd done that here--although, of course, the character gave her little to work with.
David (Handlinghandel) Jean Arthur was a fixture of local TV when old movies were the cheapest thing to show. And she was one of its greatest treasures.We don't see her so much lately. Therefore, it's a delight to catch "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford." Not that it's a great movie. It's a decent movie. It's very much in the mold of romantic thrillers of its time. The presence of William Powell as Arthur's ex recalls the Thin Man series. This isn't quite up to those.But Jean look gorgeous. If Harry Cohn indeed said she was "half-angel, half-horse," we see only the angel here. Interestingly, this is an RKO release.The race track theme is somewhat entertaining. It's also standard for this type of movie at this time.Eric Blore serves an important purpose: He establishes the Bradfords as wealthy people who might have a butler. Otherwise, Glenda Farrell or any number of B- plays could have been plugged into the Arthur role and it'd have been essentially the same old mildly entertaining semi-mystery. Arthur and Powell, though, elevate it. It's a somewhat more than mildly entertaining semi-mystery.
blanche-2 William Powell is a doctor dealing with a murder and an ex-wife in "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford," also starring Jean Arthur, Eric Blore, and James Gleason. It seems that Powell had chemistry going with just about any woman with whom he was teamed. Though he and Myrna Loy were the perfect screen couple, the actor made a couple of other "Thin Man" type movies, one with Ginger Rogers and this one with Arthur, both to very good effect.Somehow one never gets tired of seeing Powell as a witty, debonair professional and "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford" is no exception. The ex-Mrs. B has Mr. B served with a subpoena for back alimony and then moves back in to help him solve a mystery that she's dragged him into. And this isn't the first time she's done that! It almost seems as though there was a "Bradford" film before this one or that this was intended to be the first of a series of films - Mr. B complains that his mystery-writer ex is constantly bringing him into cases. This time, a jockey riding the favorite horse in a raise mysteriously falls off the horse and dies right before the finish line.The solution of the case is kind of outlandish but it's beside the point. The point is the banter between the couple and the interference of the ex-Mrs. B. Jean Arthur is quite glamorous in her role and very funny. However, with an actress who comes off as brainy as Arthur does, the humor seems intentional rather than featherbrained. I suspect the writer had something else in mind - say, the wacky side of Carole Lombard. When Arthur hears that the police have arrived, she says, "Ah, it's probably about my alimony. I've been waiting for the police to take a hand in it," it's more of a rib to Powell rather than a serious statement. It still works well, and it shows how a good actress can make a part her own.Definitely worth watching, as William Powell and Jean Arthur always were.