Miss Susie Slagle's
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''Miss Susie Slagle's'' is a 1946 American
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by John Berry. It was based on the popular novel by Augusta Tucker. The film was Berry's directorial debut and first starring role for
Joan Caulfield Beatrice Joan Caulfield (June 1, 1922 – June 18, 1991) was an American actress and model. After being discovered by Broadway producers, she began a stage career in 1943 that eventually led to signing as an actress with Paramount Pictures. In th ...
.


Plot summary

A nursing student falls in love with a young medical intern in 1910 Baltimore, but their lives start to fall apart when he catches a deadly disease.


Principal cast


Production


Original novel

Augusta Tucker's novel was published in 1939. Paramount paid $20,000 for the film rights. The novel became a best seller. A sequel came out in 1942, ''The Man Miss Susie Loved''.


Development

In 1939 Martin Berkley was assigned to write the script. John Cromwell was assigned to direct under the supervision of Arthur Hornblow. In January 1941 Paramount announced
Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s. Arthur had feature roles in three F ...
would star and Sam Wood would produce and direct with Lorraine Nobel writing a script.
Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on Theatre, stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin's ''T ...
was to play the comic male lead. In May 1941
Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other gen ...
was named as lead. In June 1941 filming was postponed so Wood could make ''For Whom the Bell Tolls''.


John Houseman

In August 1943 the project was reactivated when Paramount head of production
Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Re ...
have it to producer John Houseman, who had just made ''The Unseen'' for the studio. In January 1944 the project was officially put back on Paramount's schedule with a new screenplay done (
Hugo Butler Hugo Dansey Butler (4 May 1914 – 7 January 1968) was a Canadian-born screenwriter working in Hollywood who was blacklisted by the film studios in the 1950s. Biography Born on 4 May 1914 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, his father, Frank Russel ...
was borrowed from MGM to do this) 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 ...
listed as star. The novel was set in Baltimore at
Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 mo ...
but references to that specific city and hospital were removed from the script."ONE OFF THE SHELF: After Six Years, Paramount Gets Around to Filming 'Miss Susie Slagle's' Revisions" By IDWAL JONES. ''New York Times'' 12 Aug 1945: X3.


Director

It was thought Houseman might get
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
involved as a star or director. However Welles did not have anything to do with the film. At one stage
Harold Clurman Harold Edgar Clurman (September 18, 1901 – September 9, 1980) was an American theatre director and drama critic. In 2003, he was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. theater by PBS.
was going to direct - he worked on the script - but left the project and in May 1944 signed a contract with RKO. In June the job of directing was given to theatre director John Berry, who had worked with Houseman and Welles in the theatre. He had never made a movie before but Berry spent a number of months at Paramount observing other directors and filming screen tests to get experience.


Casting

In April 1944 Sonny Tufts was signed for the male lead.
Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...
also joined the cast, making her first film in a number of years. In July Joan Caulfield, who had enjoyed Broadway success in '' Kiss and Tell'', was given the female lead, in her motion picture debut. Veronica Lake joined the cast in August, along with Pat Phelan, who had been discovered doing theatre. (Lake later said her role - along with ones in ''The Blue Dahlie'', ''Out of this World'' and ''Hold That Blonde'' were "not noteworthy."


Shooting

Filming took place in November 1944. At one stage the film was going to be called ''The Golden Years'' but the title was changed back. "I did 54 takes on my first shot," remembered Berry years later.


Critical reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
of ''
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 ...
'' thought the film was flawed but decent: ''Diabolique'' called it "utterly delightful" with "charming performances from Sonny Tufts and Joan Caulfield (not making that up, both are genuinely beguiling)" although Lake "isn’t very good: she never seems comfortable and, painful as this is to admit, is one of the worst things about the movie."


Radio adaptation

''Miss Susie Slagle's'' was presented on ''
Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...
'' October 21, 1946. Caulfield reprised her role from the film, and ''William Holden'' co-starred.


TV Adaptation

The story was adapted for ''
Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vid ...
'' in 1955 with Dorothy McGuire."FOX ADDING PLANT FOR TV RECORDING: Studio Schedules $500,000 Music-Scoring Building at Coast Video Center" Special to The New York Times. ''New York Times'' 14 Nov 1955: 53.


References


External links

* *
''Miss Susie Slagle''
at
TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{John Berry (film director) 1946 films 1946 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by John Berry Films set in the 1910s Films set in Baltimore Paramount Pictures films Films scored by Daniele Amfitheatrof 1946 directorial debut films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films