Wife Wanted
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Phil Karlson
Kay Francis
Paul Cavanagh
Robert Shayne
Veda Ann Borg
Teala Loring
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After Hollywood talent agent Philip Conway tells film actress Carole Raymond that he has not been able to find work for her, he suggests that she meet real estate agent Jeffrey Caldwell, who is seeking a partner from the motion picture industry. Desperate, Carole accepts the job, not realizing that Caldwell's real business interest is the Affiliated Friendship Club, a matrimonial dating service, in the office next door. When she learns about the club, Carole flatly refuses to participate, after which Caldwell persuades her to take prospective buyer Walter Desmond to see a house in Pacific Palisades. On a grand balcony overlooking the cliffs, Desmond writes a check for the house, then mentions the club and makes advances toward Carole. Furious, Carole goes inside to phone Caldwell, but is unable to reach him. Meanwhile, a shadowy figure approaches Desmond from inside the house and pushes him off the balcony. When Carole returns to the balcony, she notices that the check is missing, then sees Desmond's corpse lying on the rocks below. Terrified, Carole races home, and the next morning, Desmond's "suicide" is headline news. At Caldwell's office, when Carole complains about being set up, he threatens to finger her for the murder. Later, Caldwell tells the district attorney that he gave Desmond the key so that he could inspect the house by himself. Hoping to expose Caldwell's racket, reporter Bill Tyler poses as a lonely sheep rancher from Utah. Meanwhile, at a bar, Carole meets an old friend, actress Mildred Hayes, who says she has nowhere to stay. Carole takes Mildred home, and the next morning, Mildred says she met a man at a friendship club who robbed her of everything she had. While Carole is forced to have dinner with Bill, Mildred considers jumping from the window of Carole's high rise apartment. Fortunately, Carole returns in time to stop her, and when they see a newspaper report that Desmond had met a mysterious woman through a matrimonial agency, Mildred says Desmond was the man who robbed her. Later, Caldwell sees the article and instructs his wife and secretary, Nola Reed, to search for Mildred, then tells Carole to persuade Bill to invest in a phony land deal. Before leaving, Carole instructs Mildred not to answer the telephone, except when she phones at exactly 4:30. Carole, however, forgets to phone, and when Nola phones looking for Carole, Mildred answers and identifies herself. Soon, Caldwell, afraid that she may implicate him in the murder, arrives at Carole's apartment planning to kill Mildred. Believing that Carole has returned, Mildred opens the door, sees Caldwell and runs into the corridor. After falling down a flight of stairs, Mildred is rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile, Carole confesses to Bill that the land deal is a scam, but says her love for him is real. Later, Carole remembers to phone Mildred, gets no answer and rushes home. Carole then goes to Caldwell's office and demands to know where Mildred is. He tells Carole that Mildred is at the house in Pacific Palisades, but when she arrives, Caldwell and Nola force her at gunpoint to endorse Desmond's check, which was made payable to both Caldwell and Carole. Meanwhile, Bill alerts the police, who arrive just in time to arrest Caldwell and Nola. The mystery solved, Bill and Carole embrace.
Director
Phil Karlson
Cast
Kay Francis
Paul Cavanagh
Robert Shayne
Veda Ann Borg
Teala Loring
Edgar Hayes
John Gallaudet
Jonathan Hale
Tim Ryan
Barton Yarborough
Selmer Jackson
Bert Roach
John Hamilton
Sara Berner
Charles Marsh
Claire Meade
Will Stanton
Paul Everton
Buddy Gorman
Bob Alden
Maurice Prince
Shelby Payne
Joseph J. Greene
Mabel Todd
Barbara Wooddell
Florence Auer
Donald Kerr
Ralph Brooks
Bud Fine
Wilbur Mack
Valerie Ardis
Harry Bradley
Anthony Warde
Elaine Lange
Crew
Athena
Jeffrey Bernerd
William Calihan
Caryl Coleman
Richard Currier
Kay Francis
Edgar Hayes
Ace Herman
Theodore Joos
Edward J. Kay
Tom Lambert
Lorraine Maclean
Dave Milton
Harry Neuman
Sidney Sutherland
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Actress Teala Loring's name was misspelled in the credits as "Tela."
