Also known as "My Love for Yours", this romantic comedy starts off promisingly, but the plot quickly runs out of ideas. Alas, even though new characters are introduced, nothing much is made of them. Although the movie was obviously produced on a sizable budget, plodding direction by Edward H. Griffith doesn't help. Fred MacMurray obviously thought little of both script and director. He does little more than stand around and say his lines. This habit seems to have irked photographer Ted Tetzlaff who not only gives MacMurray some very unflattering angles, but actually puts him in the dark in scenes that were otherwise overlit. Allan Jones has very little to do and seems to have been added to the cast as a last- minute afterthought. Of the main adult players, only Madeleine Carroll registers well. Young Carolyn Lee, in her first of only four movies, has a large part which she carries off very professionally. Obviously she has a rapport with director Edward H. Griffith which some of the other players, particularly MacMurray, did not enjoy. Incidentally the title is misleading, We see practically zilch of Bali and the honeymoon itself doesn't occur until all the film's 95 minutes have virtually expired. The DVD is (or was) available in "Comedy Classics", one of the "50 Movie Mega-Pack" series.

Certainly in the 1930's, there were enough lady doctors, lawyers and businessmen, even film directors, and when the women go beyond being housewives, secretaries and chorus girls, the tides of the battle of the sexes certainly turn. Madeline Carroll is the vice president of a fashion company with her own independent ideas of about what a woman with a career should be like. She gets her fortune told, and tempting fate, takes that turn down the street she normally wouldn't go down, changing her life forever. Encountering macho Fred MacMurray in a ship shop (looking ship shape), she begins to learn a thing or two about what the average man really wants, and it isn't some hard-boiled career woman who works until 2:00 in the morning getting the advertising campaign right. Surrounded by like people hasn't moved her away from this way of thinking, so MacMurray's masculine attitudes are surprisingly refreshing to her."A woman carries around two things with her", old pal Helen Broderick says, adding "A first aide kit and a knife". Certainly, the acerbic Broderick knows her sex, being an old maid author who once looked for love but has ended up playing solitaire. When Carroll insults her single life at a dinner party attended by MacMurray and crooner Allan Jones, Broderick is truly hurt, storming out. But as comfortable as an old slipper, you know Broderick will be back, and apologies will be accepted. In the meantime, it is up to Carroll to learn about what she really wants, and this being pre-wartime Hollywood, it's pretty obvious that the macho man will win and the little wifey to be will give up her career and put on that apron before heading to where a woman of this era belongs: into the kitchen.Starting off like many of the screwball comedies of this time, this moves slowly into a dramatic second half which truly changes the structure of the film and the impact it makes. MacMurray's character lives in Bali and pops up in New York every so often for thrills and a change of pace. He encounters an old admirer (Osa Massen), takes in a little girl (Carolyn Lee) and makes it clear that he's determined to bring Carroll down to earth. But it's not without struggles between both of them, with Jones willing to kow-tow to Carroll's whims to marry but live alone, and Massen making it clear that she's determined to land MacMurray any way it takes.Massen's character becomes instantly unlikable, almost like her obnoxious, smug vixen from "A Woman's Face", showing a delight in her cruelty. As for Lee, perhaps it is her youth and inexperienced acting, but a lot of her dialog is very difficult to understand. By the time of the film "Virginia" (with almost the same cast) two years later, she was much more skilled and certainly less cloying. Her most touching moment here is when Carroll teaches her how to pray and is greatly touched by what Lee asks God for.The two stars do their best to make the split personality structure work, but they are only fairly successful in doing so. Allan Jones gets to sing a few songs, showing a singing telegram delivery boy how to do it, and Akim Tamiroff is very funny in his opening and closing sequence as a window washer working in both rain and snow storms peaking in on the luscious Carroll. However, it is Helen Broderick who wins acting honors here, being both funny and human, and reminding the audience that she was dropping quips long before Eve Arden came along to steal her territory. For some reason, the film was re-titled "My Love For Yours" for a re-issue which is listed on T.V. and DVD prints, the original title card presumably lost.

What a jewel to find! I bought a DVD for $1 to get a Cary Grant film, and this movie was included under the name "My Love for Yours." "Honeymoon in Bali" is a much better title. We watched it twice - the scene with the fortune teller is such fun when you know how the story line goes. Carolyn Lee as the little girl steals every scene she is in. For those of us who grew up with Fred MacMurray and "My Three Sons," this movie is a real surprise. MacMurray plays a wonderful romantic lead. The cameo appearance by Akim Tamiroff is a perfect bookend for the beginning and end of the film. The singing telegram boy is another classic moment. A film worth watching!

Wow! I picked this up today from the $4.99 DVD bin at K-Mart. What a pleasant surprise. It's your typical romantic story of boy meets girl, boy looses girl, ect., but there are some very fine moments.The film opens with Madeline Carroll having her fortune told. It's an outrageous fortune, but as the story unfolds we see it coming true to life. Fred MacMurray is great in this film. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't compare to his role in 'The Apartment,' but I was shocked when I realized that this film was made in 1939.The open and candid talk of one of the characters attempted suicides (done in a VERY light-hearted way), makes me wonder if this film was passed by the Production Code.