At a key moment in "He Had Seven Wives," a group of women have gathered to plot revenge against the bigamist married to them all. When it is revealed that the husband had murdered yet another wife by feeding her shellfish to which she had a life-threatening allergy, one of the characters exclaims, "Something's fishy!!!"
The narrative needed more moments of levity like the one described above. The filmmakers struggled to find an appropriate style of dark comedy. The husband was in fact a deadly killer, yet the wives reacted to him in an inexplicably casual and even relaxed manner.
The cast worked hard to individualize the multiple wives. Unfortunately, there wasn't much dramatic tension or suspense throughout the film. It needed either an element of high camp or, at the other extreme, a genuine sense of menace about the dangerous game being played by a repellent and lunatic slimeball.
The narrative needed more moments of levity like the one described above. The filmmakers struggled to find an appropriate style of dark comedy. The husband was in fact a deadly killer, yet the wives reacted to him in an inexplicably casual and even relaxed manner.
The cast worked hard to individualize the multiple wives. Unfortunately, there wasn't much dramatic tension or suspense throughout the film. It needed either an element of high camp or, at the other extreme, a genuine sense of menace about the dangerous game being played by a repellent and lunatic slimeball.