The 1943 American screwball musical comedy film, "Let's Face It," directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Bob Hope and Betty Hutton, offers a convoluted tale of romantic suspicions, financial desperation, and comedic misunderstandings. Produced and released by Paramount Pictures, the movie weaves together the lives of a weight loss camp owner, a U.S. Army private, and a trio of wives convinced of their husbands' infidelity. The narrative is driven
by a series of schemes and accidental encounters, culminating in a chaotic yet humorous resolution.
The Genesis of a Scheme: Jealous Wives and a Desperate Private
The central conflict of the film begins with Winnie Porter, who runs a weight loss camp. Her fiancé, U.S. Army private Jerry Walker, stationed at the nearby Camp Arthur, complicates matters by selling sweets to Winnie's clients for extra money, much to her fury. As Jerry prepares to return to camp, he is intercepted by three women from Winnie's camp: Cornelia, Nancy, and Maggie. These women harbor strong suspicions that their husbands are being unfaithful, having just dropped them off at the camp before rushing off on a supposed "fishing" trip to Cornelia's vacation home.
Driven by a desire to confirm their suspicions and incite jealousy in their husbands, the three women devise a plan to secure dates and bring them to Cornelia's vacation home. They propose to Jerry that he arrange for himself and two other G.I.'s to be their dates, offering $100 for his assistance. Jerry initially rejects this offer, but circumstances soon force his hand. Upon returning to Camp Arthur, he accidentally crashes his car into the canteen wall. His superior, Sergeant Wiggins, presents him with a stark choice: pay $300 in damages or face six months of guard duty. In a moment of desperation, Jerry reconsiders the women's proposal, agreeing to it in exchange for the $300 he needs.
Roping in Pals and Unraveling Deceptions
To fulfill his agreement, Jerry enlists his friends Barney and Frankie, enticing them with the promise of $20 each and the false claim that the women are young beauties. To leave camp undetected, Jerry fakes a head injury, sneaking away with Barney and Frankie under the pretense of going to the army hospital. Meanwhile, Winnie, along with Barney's girlfriend Muriel and Frankie's girlfriend Jean, grows suspicious of Jerry's activities, believing he is rendezvousing with her clients. They decide to follow the men to the vacation home.
Their suspicions are confirmed upon arrival, leading to the immediate breakup of relationships between the G.I.'s and their girlfriends. The situation further escalates when Cornelia, Nancy, and Maggie's husbands unexpectedly appear, accompanied by their own dates. As the wives scold their husbands, the husbands' dates discreetly slip away. In an attempt to make their ex-girlfriends jealous, Jerry, Barney, and Frankie decide to go to a club with Cornelia, Nancy, and Maggie. Winnie, Muriel, and Jean, in turn, adopt the same strategy, heading to the same club with the husbands of Cornelia, Nancy, and Maggie.
A Chaotic Climax and Unexpected Resolution
At the club, chaos ensues when Jerry discovers Sergeant Wiggins seated in an adjacent booth. Wiggins recognizes Jerry's voice and turns to confront him. Thinking quickly, Jerry feigns insanity, prompting Wiggins to call for an ambulance. Realizing their deception is about to be exposed, Jerry, Barney, and Frankie steal a rowboat to escape. As they row out to sea, a periscope suddenly emerges through the floor of their boat, revealing a surfacing German submarine. The submarine commander, upon realizing he has three Allied soldiers on top of his vessel, attempts to drive the sub into the open ocean.
However, Jerry, with a stroke of ingenuity, pulls out a mirror and places it in front of the periscope's lens. This clever trick causes the commander to crash the submarine into the shore, leading to the capture of him and his crew. The film concludes a year later with Jerry in prison, presumably for causing further chaos, while Winnie calmly waves goodbye to him, holding their newborn baby. The soundtrack of the film includes songs like "Who Did? I Did! Yes, I Did!" performed by Betty Hutton and Bob Hope, "Let's Face It" performed by soldiers at Camp Arthur, and "Let's Not Talk About Love" performed by Betty Hutton, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Sammy Cahn for the first song, and Cole Porter for the latter two.
