''The Doughgirls'' is a 1944 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film directed by James V. Kern based on the 1942 hit Broadway play written by

Joseph Fields Joseph Albert Fields (February 21, 1895 – March 4, 1966)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, Californiaancestry.com/ ...

. The film works around three newlywed couples, focusing on the Halstead couple, played by

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

and

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) with James Cagney and ...

, and their misadventures trying to find some privacy and living space in the housing shortage of WWII era Washington, D.C.

Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 ...

as a Russian sniper and

Joe DeRita Joseph Wardell (July 12, 1909 – July 3, 1993), known professionally as Joe DeRita, was an American actor and comedian, who is best known for his stint as a member of The Three Stooges in the persona of Curly Joe DeRita. Early life DeRita wa ...

as a sleepy

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

guest, both looking for edge in the overcrowded hotel.

Plot

Three couples join the freshly wed Halsteads and upon their arrival in their overcrowded D.C. hotel they set out for the honeymoon suite, only to find it usurped by the previous newlywed couple, Ann Sheridan and John Ridgley as the Cadmens. Finally a third newlywed couple the Dillons, Alexis Smith and Craig Stevens, arrive to claim the suite as well. Add to this: a military contractor with a no nonsense attitude; a lecherous boss; an F.B.I. investigator; a judge (to make one couple's marriage "legal"); a group of orphan babies; a Russian who likes to shoot pigeons; and a wandering man trying to find somewhere, anywhere to get some sleep. ''The'' ''Doughgirls'' is a raucous farce where the humor comes from the unconsummated marriage of Wyman and Carson, with a great performance by Eve Arden as a visiting Russian. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' reviewed it saying it is "distilled from the play" and "at times the dialog twirls into nonsense being saved only by the performance of the players." ''The Doughgirls'' is based on a stage play of the same name, written in 1942 by

Cast

* Ann Sheridan as Edna Stokes Cadman * Alexis Smith as Nan Curtiss Dillon *

as Arthur Halstead *

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

as Vivian Marsden Halstead *

Irene Manning Irene Manning (born Inez Harvuot, July 17, 1912 – May 28, 2004) was an American actress and singer. Biography Manning was born as Inez Harvuot on July 17, 1912 in Cincinnati, Ohio, one of five siblings. Both of her parents were singers. Her fa ...

as Mrs. Sylvia Cadman *

Charles Ruggles Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the e ...

as Stanley Slade *

as Sgt. Natalia Moskoroff *

John Ridgely John Ridgely (born John Huntington Rea, September 6, 1909 – January 18, 1968) was an American film character actor with over 175 film credits. Early years Ridgely was born in Chicago, Illinois,Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: T ...

as Julian Cadman *

Alan Mowbray Alan Mowbray (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood. Early life Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army in Wo ...

as Breckenridge Drake * John Alexander as Warren Buckley * Craig Stevens as Lt. Tom Dillon * Barbara Brown as Elizabeth Brush Cartwright *

Francis Pierlot Francis Pierlot (July 15, 1875 – May 11, 1955) was a stage and film actor with over 90 film credits between 1914 and 1953. The Massachusetts-born actor's first film credit was in 1914, but he did not begin appearing in films full-time until ...

as Mr. Jordan *

Donald MacBride Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer (making several recordings in 1907) in vaudeville and went on to be an ...

as Judge Franklin *

Regis Toomey John Francis Regis Toomey (August 13, 1898October 12, 1991) was an American film and television actor. Early life Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, and attended Peabody High ...

as Agent Walsh *

as The Stranger (uncredited) * Marie De Becker as Maid (uncredited)

Production

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

bought the rights for ''The Doughgirls'' stage play for $250,000 but still needed a script and a way to get the story of three unmarried couples in the same hotel suite around the censors, known as the Breen office, onto the screen. The studio employed James V. Kern and

Sam Hellman Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

to adapt Fields' play; marrying the couples off and toning down the language. They added jokes to address overcrowding in Washington, D.C., using wartime references such as

rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...

and meatless Tuesdays, while putting in a

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

visit for the Dillons to meet the Roosevelts off camera. Jane Wyman, though not pleased with fourth billing nor the "ditsy" role, was happy with the cast and to be working. Ann Sheridan was nearly suspended over ''The Doughgirls'' when Warner Bros. refused to let her out of filming, but she used her star status and negotiated a

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

tour following completion, something she had wanted for some time.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doughgirls 1944 films 1944 comedy films American black-and-white films American comedy films American films based on plays Films directed by James V. Kern Films scored by Adolph Deutsch Films set in hotels Films set in Washington, D.C. Films set on the home front during World War II Warner Bros. films 1944 directorial debut films Films about honeymoon 1940s English-language films 1940s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links