Bride by Mistake
| Bride by Mistake | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Richard Wallace |
| Written by | Henry Ephron Phoebe Ephron |
| Produced by | Bert Granet |
| Starring | Alan Marshal Laraine Day |
| Cinematography | Nicholas Musuraca |
| Edited by | Les Millbrook |
| Music by | Roy Webb |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $600,000[2] |
Bride by Mistake (1944) is an American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Wallace, and starring Alan Marshal and Laraine Day.
The screenplay is by Phoebe Ephron and Henry Ephron, based on a story by Norman Krasna, and is a remake of The Richest Girl in the World (1934).
Plot
Home from the war, Captain Tony Travis (Alan Marshal) eyes an estate in Santa Barbara and wonders what it must be like to be that rich. It is the property of the fabulously wealthy Nora Hunter (Laraine Day), who has secretary and friend Sylvia Lockwood (Marsha Hunt) impersonate her in public. Longtime guardian Jonathan Connors (Edgar Buchanan) protects his ward's privacy zealously. During a ship launching, a press photographer takes Nora's picture, but Connors sees to it that the camera film is ruined.
Sylvia tells Nora that she is quitting so that she can accompany her husband, Phil Vernon (Allyn Joslyn), whose job requires him to move to Washington. Nora decides to marry her fiance Donald (William Post Jr.) so that Sylvia can be her maid of honor at her wedding, but when Donald returns from military duty, he breaks the news that he has fallen in love with someone else.
Nora hosts a tea, but has Sylvia again pretend to be her. There she meets and takes a liking to Tony, but he is more interested in Sylvia. On hearing him vow that love is more important to him than money, Nora and Sylvia invite him to a weekend at Nora's beach house. Nora helps Tony court Sylvia, so that if he does genuinely love the real Nora, it will not be because of her money. All of her friends tell her she is being foolish, that nobody can resist that much temptation, but she stubbornly persists.
Mix-ups ensue. While tipsy, Sylvia accepts a marriage proposal from Tony. That night, Tony sees Phil sneak to Sylvia's bedroom for a late night hug. The next morning, he punches the overly cheerful Phil over it. Nora tells him that she and Sylvia switched rooms that night. Despite this "confession", he eventually realizes who he really loves, tosses the protesting Nora over his shoulder and carries her away to get married. On their honeymoon night in a cheap motel, Nora finally reveals her true identity. Tony is disgusted and starts to leave, but then sees her for the first time in her nightgown and stays.
Cast
- Alan Marshal as Captain Tony Travis
- Laraine Day as Nora Hunter
- Marsha Hunt as Sylvia Lockwood
- Allyn Joslyn as Phil Vernon
- Edgar Buchanan as Jonathan Connors
- Michael St. Angel as Lieutenant Stephen Corey
- Marc Cramer as Ross
- William Post Jr. as Donald
- Bruce Edwards as Chaplain
- Nancy Gates as Jane Mason
- Slim Summerville as Samuel
- John Miljan as Major Harvey
Reception
The film made a profit of $600,000.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Bride by Mistake: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p195
- ^ Richard B. Jewell, Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures, Uni of California, 2016