''Honeymoon in Bali'' is a 1939 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. It is also known by the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the ...

s ''Husbands or Lovers'' and ''My Love for Yours''. Virginia Van Upp's screenplay was based on the short stories "Our Miss Keane" by Grace Sartwell Mason in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'' of May 24, 1923, and "Free Woman" by

Katharine Brush Katharine Brush (August 15, 1902 – June 10, 1952) was an American newspaper columnist, short-story writer, and novelist. In the era of the 1920s-1930s, she was considered one of the country's most widely-read fiction writers, as well as one of ...

in ''

Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publication as of January 2019 and now operates an article-comprise ...

'' magazine of November–December 1936. In 1936 Paramount announced a film of ''Our Miss Keane'' to star Merle Oberon to be produced.''The Argus'' November 28, 1936

Plot

On a rainy April afternoon in New York City, the head of a major department store, Gail Allen, meets her second cousin and best friend Lorna for afternoon tea. Her cousin, an author of love stories set in the South Seas, invites a resident fortune teller to predict Gail's future. At first the reading sounds like a hundred others, until she foresees her having a child and meeting a man whose arm was cut by a native's rice knife. The fortune teller predicts, as Neptune is in her sign at the moment, she could find herself walking down a street and taking an unexpected turn where things would change. Thinking that her career will come first, Gail does not like her predicted future but finds herself taking an unexpected turn that takes her into a shop that sells sailboats. There she meets Bill Burnett, who lives in Bali, and is holidaying in New York. Beginning with Bill's injury from a native's rice knife, all of the predictions eventually come to pass. Burnett has adopted a little girl, Rosie(Carolyn Lee) who Carroll takes an immediate liking to, if not her father. She also receives much unsolicited advice from a philosophical window washer (Akim Tamiroff), who always ends his shift by climbing into Carroll's office uninvited.

Cast

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

as Bill "Willie" Burnett * Madeleine Carroll as Gail Allen * Allan Jones as Eric Sinclair *

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character ac ...

as Tony, the window washer *

Helen Broderick Helen Broderick (August 11, 1891 – September 25, 1959) was an American actress known for her comic roles, especially as a wisecracking sidekick. Career Broderick began on Broadway as a chorus girl in the ''Follies of 1907'', the first ...

as Lorna "Smitty" Smith *

Osa Massen Osa Massen (born Aase Madsen Iversen, 13 January 1914 – 2 January 2006) was a Danish actress who became a successful movie actress in Hollywood. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1941. Background and early career Bo ...

as Noel Van Ness * Carolyn Lee as Rosie *

Astrid Allwyn Astrid Allwyn (born Astrid Christofferson; November 27, 1905 – March 31, 1978) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Allwyn was born in South Manchester, Connecticut, part of a family that included four sisters and a brot ...

as Fortune Teller *

Georgia Caine Georgiana Caine (October 30, 1876 – April 4, 1964) was an American actress who performed both on Broadway and in more than 80 films in her 51-year career. Early career Born in San Francisco, California in 1876, the daughter of two Shak ...

as Miss Stone, Gail's secretary *

John Qualen John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles. Early years Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son ...

as Meek Man *

Fritzi Brunette Fritzi Brunette (born Florence Brunet; May 27, 1890 – September 28, 1943) was an American actress. Early years Fritzi Brunette was born Florence Brunet in Savannah, Georgia, or in Boston although some sources list her birthname as Florence Si ...

as Secretary * William B. Davidson as Store Detective *

Benny Bartlett Floyd B. Bartlett, known professionally as Benny Bartlett or Bennie Bartlett (August 16, 1924 – December 26, 1999), was an American child actor, musician, and later a member of the long-running feature-film series ''The Bowery Boys''. Biog ...

as Jack, the singing telegram boy * Charles Lane as Photographer (uncredited) *

Monty Woolley Edgar Montilion "Monty" Woolley (August 17, 1888May 6, 1963) was an American film and theater actor.Obituary '' Variety'', May 8, 1963, page 223. At the age of 50, he achieved a measure of stardom for his role in the 1939 stage play '' The Man ...

as Parker, Lorna's publisher (uncredited)

Reception

A review from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', on October 5, 1939, says "'Honeymoon in Bali' Is Delightfully Easy To Take!" The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' review from October 13, 1939, says "'Honeymoon in Bali' Light, Romantic Comedy."

Alternate names

* ''Are Husbands Necessary?'' (working title; later used by Paramount for an unrelated 1942 comedy with

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

and

Betty Field Betty Field (February 8, 1916 – September 13, 1973) was an American film and stage actress. Early years Field was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to George and Katharine (née Lynch) Field. She began acting before she reached age 15, and went ...

) * ''Husbands or Lovers'' (UK) * ''My Love for Yours'' (video title)

Quotes

"There's not a wall between freedom and loneliness, you can fall into it without warning" - Lorna

References

External links

* * *
Los Angeles Times Review

{{Edward H. Griffith 1939 films 1930s English-language films Paramount Pictures films 1939 romantic comedy films Films based on short fiction Films set in New York City Films set in Indonesia Films directed by Edward H. Griffith American black-and-white films Films based on multiple works American romantic comedy films 1930s American films