''Bride by Mistake'' (1944) is an American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by Richard Wallace, and starring Alan Marshal and Laraine Day. The screenplay is by

Phoebe Ephron Phoebe Ephron (née Wolkind; January 26, 1914 – October 13, 1971) was an American playwright and screenwriter, who often worked with Henry Ephron, her husband, whom she wed in 1934. Ephron was born in New York City to Louis and Kate (née ...

and

Henry Ephron Henry Ephron (May 26, 1911 – September 6, 1992) was an American playwright, screenwriter and film producer who often worked with his wife, Phoebe (née Wolkind). He was active as a writer from the early 1940s through the early 1960s. Ea ...

, based on a story by

Norman Krasna Norman Krasna (November 7, 1909 – November 1, 1984) was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year ca ...

, 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 William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the ''Petticoat Junction'', ''Green Acres'', and ''The ...

) 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 Allyn Joslyn (July 21, 1901 – January 21, 1981) was an American stage, radio, television and film actor, known for his roles playing aristocratic wealthy snobs. Biography Allyn Joslyn was born in Milford, Pennsylvania, the son of a mining e ...

), whose job requires him to move to Washington. Nora decides to marry her fiancé 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 *

as Phil Vernon *

as Jonathan Connors *

Michael St. Angel Michael St. Angel (1916–1984) was an American film actor. Biography Second lead and featured actor Michael St. Angel was born in Rockford, Illinois in 1916, to Jasper and Giacomina St. Angel, the son of a prominent real estate businessman and ...

as Lieutenant Stephen Corey * Marc Cramer as Ross * William Post Jr. as Donald * Bruce Edwards as Chaplain *

Nancy Gates Nancy Gates (February 1, 1926Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. .P. 471. – March 24, 2019) was an American film and television actress. Early ...

as Jane Mason * Slim Summerville as Samuel *

John Miljan John Miljan (November 9, 1892 – January 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958. Biography Born in 1892, Miljan was the tall, smooth-talking villain in Hollywood films for almost four deca ...

as Major Harvey

Production

The film was a remake of ''The Richest Girl in the World'' and was originally entitled ''That Hunter Girl''. Bert Gance produced it at RKO. In December 1943 Hedda Hopper reported that two stars under contract to David O Selznick, Dorothy McGuire and Alan Marshall would work for RKO on a film the following year – possibly ''The Fair Barbarian'' or ''The Flashing Stream''. In January 1944 RKO announced they were going to make a marital comedy ''I Married the Navy'' written by Emmett Lavery, who was to co produce with

Val Lewton Val Lewton (May 7, 1904 – March 14, 1951) was a Russian-American novelist, film producer and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a pain ...

. It would be directed by Richard Wallace and star Marshall and McGuire. In March 1944 RKO announced they had postponed ''I Married a Navy'' due to McGuire's refusal to make it. They substituted it on the studio's schedule with ''That Hunter Girl'' which was to star Marshall and Laraine Day and be directed by Wallace. Producer Bert Gance borrowed Henry and Phoebe Ephron from Fox to rewrite the script – not to change the structure but to 'jazz it up". The Ephrons had never written a full script before – Fox hired them off the back of the success of a play they had written – so they asked a secretary who had been the best screenwriter to ever work at the studio; she said

. They got every Krasna script they could and copied how he did his scripts. When they started writing the star was going to be

Dorothy McGuire Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...

but she was replaced shortly before production by Laraine Day. Henry Ephron said they "had written the part for McGuire's original and somewhat eccentric style (she hardly ever came through the front door; she always climbed in through the window)" but felt Day was "fine. A good enough actress and quite beautiful." Laraine Day and Marsha Hunt were borrowed from MGM, Alan Marshall was borrowed from David O. Selznick, Allyn Jolson was borrowed from 20th Century Fox and Edgar Buchanan was borrowed from Columbia. Filming started in March 1944. The film was called ''That Hunter Girl'' but the title was changed to ''Bride By Mistake'' in May 1944. Day said she liked making the movie "tremendously. It was the first film designed to make audience laugh for which I had been chosen. I'm hoping this will exert and new and beneficial influence."

Reception

The film made a profit of $600,000.Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', Uni of California, 2016

References

External links