Ralph Bellamy played the man who was going to take Rosalind Russell away to get married. Taking her from her ex-husband and boss Gary Grant. When Gary is looking for a way to get rid of Ralph he has a woman go to him.
“What does he look like?” she asks
“He looks like that fellow from the movies, Ralph Bellamy” Gary states.
That just cracks me up. Ralph Bellamy played the 2nd man in a woman’s life, the best friend the man who generally does not get the girl. Last year TCM showed a night of his films. I don’t remember them all off hand except Carefree with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.
In Trade Winds he plays a police detective investigating a murder. He finds Joan’s purse and gloves in the apartment. He is a by the book detective who drinks milk (alcohol is only accepted for medicinal purposes). He has a deep voice and seems like Clark Kent, complete with eye glasses. Joan Bennett is the woman who shoots the man, but based on the coroners report she didn’t kill him. Ralph and Frederick March go after her. Ralph wears a variety of hats while March seldom is seen in a hat, but has a blonde on his arm. Joan has died her hair black (she looks just like Hedy Lamarr) and goes by an assumed name. Ralph finds her and handcuffs her in his room. It is actually Ann Sothern who is March’s secretary he has handcuffed. March introduces her Dr. Livingston, and Ralph calls her that though the whole film. On the boat to Singapore March identifies Joan, but Ralph does not.
March spends time with Joan. You can’t tell if he is after her for the reward money, the chase or if he has really fallen in love with her, even after she has found out who he is and knows he knows who she is really. When Ralph finally figures out who Joan really is, he contacts the San Francisco office to find out what to do. The office cables back to turn the girl over in Bombay when the boat docks. March tricks Ralph (who ends up blocking an innocent woman in the ladies shower) and Ann is turned in instead of Joan. Ralph gets Ann free and they go after the other couple. March has purchased a suite on another boat back to Singapore. Ralph and Ann get to the ship and the ship pulls from the dock. March sent them a cable to state have a good time. Ralph very shyly states that since she has identified them as a married couple they should get married. She agrees. March and Joan go away but are caught and go back to San Francisco.
In jail Ralph tries to give Joan her gloves back, but she states they are not hers. He takes them back to March who states he thought that and is having a party that night for the 6 women (besides Joan’s sister) and their husbands who were involved with the murdered man. Ralph assists March with the capture. At the end he is sitting with his legs on Ann’s desk outside of March’s office a different man.
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