''So This Is New York'' is a 1948 satirical movie comedy starring acerbic
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
Carl Foreman
Carl Foreman, CBE (July 23, 1914 – June 26, 1984) was an American screenwriter and film producer who wrote the award-winning films ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' and ''High Noon'', among others. He was one of the screenwriters who were black ...
and
Herbert Baker
Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He wa ...
from the 1920 novel ''The Big Town'' by
Ring Lardner
Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wo ...
. Foreman was blacklisted soon after.
It remains the only film in which humorist Henry Morgan plays the leading role, and the material was tailored to showcase the cynical persona Morgan had developed for his radio show.
The film was the second feature directed by Richard Fleischer (son of
Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Ella Finch and her sister Kate inherit $30,000 each. Ella then announces her dissatisfaction with life in
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
, and with Kate's butcher/boyfriend Willis. She is convinced she can find Kate a rich husband in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Ella's wisecracking cigar salesman/husband Ernie is unable to change her mind, so he reluctantly accompanies the pair east—which is not a bad idea, considering his wife almost immediately becomes victim to a wolf in stockbroker's clothing.
In New York, the Finches find a spacious apartment and meet their wealthy neighbor, Lucius Trumbull, who invites them over for drinks. Ella is delighted, but not Kate. After all, Trumbull is approaching retirement age. Later, the trio encounter Herbert Daley, a Southern-gentleman racehorse owner. But Kate sets her sights on Daley's jockey, Sid Mercer, who reciprocates in kind. But Daley subsequently regains the inside track, and he and Kate become engaged. A drunk and embittered Sid plots his revenge. He confides to Ernie that Daley has conspired to fix the next day's race, but Sid will double cross his employer by ensuring a longshot wins. Sid's plot succeeds. When last seen, Daley is running for his life, his co-conspirators in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, Ernie, having profited off a bet on the longshot, accidentally runs into his employer and is summarily fired.
The Finches are thus forced to move to a seedy theatrical hotel, where they meet
Ziegfeld Follies
The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...
star and comedian Jimmy Ralston. He reveals his ambition is to write, produce, and star in a serious play. Ignoring Ernie's objections, Kate and Ella invest what's left of their inheritance. The play premieres to audience ridicule, and the critics pronounce it a flop. Ernie is unconcerned since he still has the money he won at the races. But Ella reveals she found his stash and invested it too. Fortunately, Ernie's employer, experiencing a change of heart, miraculously appears and offers him his job back. In the end, they all happily return to South Bend, wiser for the experience.
Rudy Vallee
Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
*Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...
Hugh Herbert
Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches.
Career
Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...
as Lucius Trumbull
*
Leo Gorcey
Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917– June 2, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, famous for portraying the leader of a group of hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids and, as adults, The Bowery Boys. Gorcey was ...
as Sid Mercer
*
Virginia Grey
Virginia Grey (March 22, 1917 – July 31, 2004) was an American actress who appeared in over 100 films and a number of radio and television shows from the 1930s to the early 1980s.
Biography
Grey was born on March 22, 1917, in Edendale, Calif ...
as Ella Goff Finch
*
Dona Drake
Dona Drake (born Eunice Westmoreland; November 15, 1914 – June 20, 1989) was an American singer, dancer and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. Drake was mixed race by ancestry. She often presented herself as Mexican and went by the names ...
as Kate Goff
*
Jerome Cowan
Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Early years
Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...
as Francis Griffin
*
Dave Willock
David Willock (August 13, 1909 – November 12, 1990) was an American character actor. He appeared in 181 films and television series from 1939 to 1979.
Biography
Born in 1909, Willock began his professional career in vaudeville in 1931, teamin ...
as Willis Gilbey
* Frank Orth as A. J. Gluskoter
*
Arnold Stang
Arnold Sidney Stang (September 28, 1918 – December 20, 2009) ''
as Western Union Clerk
*
William Bakewell
William Bakewell (May 2, 1908 – April 15, 1993) was an American actor who achieved his greatest fame as one of the leading juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Early years
Bakewell was a native of Los Angeles, where he at ...
as Hotel Clerk
Production
Kramer and Foreman borrowed Richard Fleischer from RKO after they saw his debut feature, '' Child of Divorce''.
The film was made on a small budget, "a little more than $600,000 ... cobbled together from several small-time non-Hollywood investors, including a dry goods salesman and a lettuce grower".
''So This Is New York'' was one of the first Hollywood movies to use the technique of freezing action on the screen while the narrator, Henry Morgan, spoke about what the viewer was seeing. One scene has Morgan entering a taxi as a cabbie barks at him in a thick Bronx accent, "Awrite - where to, Mac?" Subtitles appear on the screen translating, "Where may I take you, sir?"
Reception
It was a flop when it was first released, but is now "a favorite of many film buffs and critics". When the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
decided to include a Stanley Kramer film, noted director
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...
surprised Kramer's widow by requesting ''So This Is New York'', rather than any of his better known works.