''She Wrote the Book'' is a 1946 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Charles Lamont Charles Lamont (May 5, 1895 – September 11, 1993) was a prolific filmmaker, directing over 200 titles and producing and writing many others. He directed several Abbott and Costello comedies and many Ma and Pa Kettle films. Biography A Calif ...

and starring

Joan Davis Josephine "Joan" Davis (June 29, 1907 – May 22, 1961) was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy ''I Married Joan'', Davis had a successful earl ...

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 ...

, and

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky (Михаил Семёнович Унковский; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russians, Russian-born American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in fi ...

.Stephens p.261 The screenplay concerns a shy

midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

professor who travels to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to visit a publisher of her friend's book which turns out to be a racy bestseller.

Plot

Jane Featherstone (Joan Davis) is a buttoned-down and pedestrian professor at small town Croyden College in Great Falls, Indiana who is making plans to present a paper in New York City. While talking to her dean's wife, Phyllis Fowler, she discovers that Fowler is actually the author of the racy best selling novel ''Always Lulu'', under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Lulu Winters. Fowler asks Featherstone to assume her faux identity in order to pickup her royalty checks while in New York, and Featherstone reluctantly agrees to pickup the $80,000 which Fowler has promised to donate to the college which is struggling financially. While traveling on the train to New York, Featherstone meets Eddie Caldwell, a charming engineer, and the two agree to a date once they reach the big city. Once they arrive Featherstone is greeted by publisher George Dixon and Jerry Marlowe, his advertising executive. Dixon and Marlowe attempt to escort her to an unexpected reception for Lulu. Featherstone tries to escape, but cracks her head in the process, and develops amnesia. Marlowe thinks she is Lulu, and Featherstone now believes she really is, which leads her to believe that the sultry novel is actually an autobiography of her life. When Featherstone, as Lulu, informs everyone at the press conference that she has no plans to write a sequel, Dixon and Marlowe hatch a scheme to spend the $80,000. Meanwhile Caldwell believes that Featherstone actually is the promiscuous Lulu, and ends the budding relationship. A bartender masquerading as a Count, an enamored shipping magnate, and photos that are seen back in Great Falls add twists and turns to the plot. Eventually Featherstone returns home broke, but does recover her memory. Now the Fowlers and Featherstone must devise a plot to recover the money, or stand by and watch the college close due to lack of funds. Featherstone returns to New York and dons the guise of Lulu once more. She gets the money back, and reconciles with Caldwell, who then returns to Great Falls with her.

Partial cast

as Jane Featherstone *

as Jerry Marlowe *

as Joe *

Kirby Grant Kirby Grant (November 24, 1911 – October 30, 1985), born Kirby Grant Hoon Jr., was a long-time B movie and television actor, mostly remembered for having played the title role in the Western-themed adventure television series ''Sky King''. B ...

as Eddie Caldwell * Jacqueline deWit as Millicent Van Cleve *

Gloria Stuart Gloria Frances Stuart (born Gloria Stewart; July 4, 1910 September 26, 2010) was an American actress, visual artist, and activist. She was known for her roles in Pre-Code films, and garnered renewed fame late in life for her portrayal of Rose ...

as Phyllis Fowler *

Thurston Hall Ernest Thurston Hall (May 10, 1882 – February 20, 1958) was an American film, stage and television actor.Aylesworth, Thomas G. and Bowman, John S. (1987). ''The World Almanac Who's Who of Film''. World Almanac. . Pp. 186-187. Career Stag ...

as Horace Van Cleve *

John Litel John Beach Litel (December 30, 1892 – February 3, 1972) was an American film and television actor. Early life Litel was born in Albany, Wisconsin. During World War I, he enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery. Ba ...

as Dean Fowler *

Lewis L. Russell Lewis Lord Russell (born George Lewis Lord, September 10, 1889 – November 12, 1961) was an American actor of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s who starred in a number of vaudeville shows, Broadway dramas and Hollywood films, including the Academy Aw ...

as George Dixon *

Cora Witherspoon Cora Witherspoon (January 5, 1890 – November 17, 1957) was an American stage and film character actress whose career spanned nearly half a century. She began in theatre where she remained rooted even after entering motion pictures in the ...

as Carrothers *

Selmer Jackson Selmer Adolf Jackson (May 7, 1888 – March 30, 1971) was an American stage film and television actor. He appeared in nearly 400 films between 1921 and 1963. His name was sometimes spelled Selmar Jackson. Jackson was born in Lake Mills, Iowa an ...

as Fielding * Frank Dae as Professor

References

Bibliography

* Stephens, Michael L. ''Art Directors in Cinema: A Worldwide Biographical Dictionary''. McFarland, 1998.

External links

* * 1946 films 1946 comedy films American comedy films Films directed by Charles Lamont Universal Pictures films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-comedy-film-stub