Move Over, Darling

Nick Arden petitions the court to declare his wife Ellen legally dead so he can marry Bianca Steele. The judge grants the request and then oversees the marriage of Nick and Bianca. The couple immediately departs for their Monterey honeymoon.

A U.S. Navy submarine rescues Ellen Wagstaff Arden from a deserted island where she has spent five years after the plane crash. She walks ashore in Los Angeles to faces of her children who don’t remember her. Ellen is overwhelmed by the reunion and the sudden fragility of her family’s memory.

Grace Arden informs Ellen that Nick has married Bianca and plans a honeymoon at the same hotel where he and Ellen stayed. Ellen immediately decides to fly to Monterey to try to stop the consummation of the marriage.

At the hotel in Monterey, Ellen reveals her presence to Nick, who is overjoyed to see her. She asks him to tell Bianca the truth first, but he avoids revealing the situation. Ellen eavesdrops on their conversation and leaves the hotel angrily.

Nick returns home with Bianca to find Ellen posing as a Swedish masseuse hired by Grace to help his back. The tense confrontation is interrupted when an insurance adjuster arrives with papers about Stephen Burkett, revealing Ellen and Burkett's island connection from five years ago.

On Grace's advice, Ellen persuades a shy shoew clerk to pose as Burkett to satisfy Nick. The deception adds another layer to the tangled web of Ellen’s past and the current relationships.

Nick tracks down the real Burkett at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool and realizes he is young and athletic. He brings Ellen to the pool bar to confront her with Burkett present, and Ellen confesses the Burkett truth but insists nothing happened during the five-year island stay.

Shortly after the Burkett confrontation, Nick is arrested for bigamy, prompted by Grace’s earlier report. A chaotic court session follows as multiple petitions collide and Judge Bryson tries to sort through the mess.

Judge Bryson dismisses the bigamy charge, annuls Nick and Bianca’s marriage, and declares Ellen alive again while postponing Ellen and Nick’s divorce. The complex array of petitions is addressed in a single, tense hearing.

Burkett arrives and expresses his desire to marry Ellen. Nick reacts with jealousy, and Ellen rebuffs Burkett’s advances, ultimately walking away from the situation.

Later that day, Nick tells Ellen’s daughters that she is their mother, and the children joyfully reunite with her. The family begins to rebuild their bonds after years of separation.