Having Wonderful Time
Having Wonderful Time | |
---|---|
Directed by | Alfred Santell James Anderson (assistant) |
Written by | Morrie Ryskind Ernest Pagano |
Screenplay by | Arthur Kober |
Produced by | Marc Connelly |
Starring | Ginger Rogers Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Lucille Ball Eve Arden Richard "Red" Skelton |
Cinematography | Robert De Grasse |
Edited by | William Hamilton |
Music by | Roy Webb |
Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date | July 1, 1938 |
Running time | 70 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $966,000[1] |
Box office | $1,008,000[1] |
Having Wonderful Time is a 1938 romantic comedy film released by RKO Radio Pictures.
Plot summary
Bored New York office girl Teddy goes to a vacation camp in the Catskill Mountains called Camp Kare Free, for rest and to get away from the noisy, busy, city life and avoid advances from Emil. She meets and at first does not like waiter Chick. She also meets friend Fay, her roommate Miriam, and Buzzy. Miriam has eyes for Buzzy, who seems to have eyes for everyone. Within her two-week stay, Teddy and Chick fall in love and spend every day together.
One night Teddy becomes angry with Chick and leaves him to go to a party where she meets up with Buzzy. A storm rolls in and Buzzy invites her to his cabin, which he rents by himself. Initially refusing and wanting to be with friends, Teddy sees Chick at the party and asks Buzzy to go to his cabin. At the cabin she tells Buzzy she isn't interested but loves to play backgammon. Chick rushes in to save Teddy but becomes embarrassed when he sees the innocent board game. He returns to the party and waits there to talk with Teddy when she returns home. Teddy accidentally falls asleep at Buzzy's cabin and stays overnight.
While trying to sneak out the next morning Teddy is spotted leaving by Miriam. Emil shows up to drive Teddy back to the city and the two sit down to eat, with Chick as their waiter. All three of them overhear Miriam yelling at Buzzy for having Teddy stay overnight. Chick goes on a punching spree and chases after Teddy out of the restaurant. The two reconcile and plan their married life.
Cast
- Ginger Rogers as Thelma "Teddy" Shaw
- Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as Chick Kirkland
- Eve Arden as Henrietta
- Lucille Ball as Miriam "Screwball"
- Lee Bowman as Buzzy Armbruster
- Harlan Briggs as Mr. Shaw
- Jack Carson as Emil Beatty
- Peggy Conklin as Fay Coleman
- Inez Courtney as Emma, Teddy's Sister
- Dorothea Kent as Maxine
- Allan Lane as Maxwell "Mac" Pangwell
- Donald Meek as P.U. Rogers, Camp Owner
- Juanita Quigley as Mabel, Emma's Daughter
- Leona Roberts as Mrs. Shaw
- Shimen Ruskin as Shrimpo
- Richard "Red" Skelton as Itchy Faulkner, Camp Social Director
- Grady Sutton as Gus
- Dorothy Tree as Frances
- Clarence H. Wilson as Mr. G
Broadway play
The film was based on the play of the same name, as was the 1952 musical Wish You Were Here. (The play's title has quotation marks around it to reflect the custom of vacationers sending letters and picture postcards to keep friends and family informed of their activities.) Produced by Marc Connelly, it had its original Broadway run at the Lyceum Theatre from 20 February 1937 to 8 January 1938.[2]
Character name changes
In the play the characters are Jewish and have names to reflect their heritage. The Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924 is widely accepted in legal-historical circles as an example of the blatant attempts to stem the large amount of Jewish immigration that began around 1880. The studio, anticipating that the impact of the rising tide of Antisemitism in mid-20th century America would make the movie less likely to succeed in parts of the country where Jews were less commonly found, changed the characters' Jewish-sounding names for the movie version. This action, taken to have the film appeal to a wider general audience still failed, apparently, as the film lost over $265,000. Among the names changed for the movie version:
- Teddy Stern became Teddy Shaw
- Chick Kessler became Chick Kirkland
- Fay Fromkin became Fay Coleman
- Mac Finkle became Mac Pangwell
- Itchy Flexner became Itchy Faulkner
Also, the characters Henrietta Brill and Miriam Robbins had their last names dropped in the movie credits.
Reception
The film recorded a loss of $267,000.[1]
References
External links
- 1938 films
- 1930s romantic comedy films
- American films
- American romantic comedy films
- American black-and-white films
- English-language films
- Films scored by Roy Webb
- Films about vacationing
- American films based on plays
- Films directed by Alfred Santell
- Films set in New York (state)
- Films shot in California
- RKO Pictures films