''The Girl from Jones Beach'' is a 1949 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 o ...

directed by Peter Godfrey and written by

I. A. L. Diamond I. A. L. Diamond (born Ițec (Itzek) Domnici; June 27, 1920 – April 21, 1988) was a Moldovan–American screenwriter, best known for his collaborations with Billy Wilder. Life and career Diamond was born in Ungheni, Iași County, Bessarabia, R ...

. The film stars

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Virginia Mayo Virginia Mayo (born Virginia Clara Jones; November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She was in a series of comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Brothers' biggest box-office money-maker in the late 1940s. ...

Eddie Bracken Edward Vincent Bracken (February 7, 1915 – November 14, 2002) was an American actor. Bracken became a Hollywood comedy legend with lead performances in the films '' Hail the Conquering Hero'' and '' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' both from ...

, Dona Drake,

Henry Travers Travers John Heagerty (5 March 1874 – 18 October 1965), known professionally as Henry Travers, was an English film and stage character actor. His best known role was the guardian angel Clarence Odbody in the 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life' ...

and Lois Wilson. The film was released by Warner Bros. on July 16, 1949.

Plot

Chuck Donovan is a not so successful agent in New York who is hired by some television producers for a special job. He is to find the real identity of the woman who modeled for commercial sketch artist Bob Randolph as he created the famous "Randolph Girl". No one besides Randolph, not even the artist's secretary, Miss Brooks, has ever met the woman. Desperately, Donovan works to get Randolph to disclose the woman's identity, but the artist refuses. While Donovan is at Bob's studio, a suspicious invoice for the purchase of twelve identical golden bracelets arrive. And things become even more odd when a girl, who admittedly doesn't look like the Randolph girl, comes to the studio to pose. After Donovan puts pressure on him, Randolph confesses that the Randolph Girl is not an individual but a composite, drawn from the body parts of 12 different models. Realizing that he is about to fail in his mission of producing the model, Donovan considers taking his own life. He has tried to do this several times before, and each time left a note to his girlfriend, photographer Connie Martin. When Donovan goes to Jones Beach to drown himself, he notices a swimsuit-clad woman who is the spitting image of the Randolph Girl. Before he has a chance to contact her, she disappears into a dressing room, and he doesn't recognize her amid all the women coming out. He takes a chance on a girl named Ruth Wilson, and follows her to her home. He learns that Ruth is a language teacher for immigrants, living with her mother and brother. Ruth dresses modestly so as not to not attract too much attention to her body, since she wants men to like her for her mind. To get closer to Ruth, Donovan persuades Randolph to pretend to be a Czech immigrant, Robert Benerik, and signs him up for her class. Under his phony identity, and with a fake European accent, Randolph tries to win Ruth over by showing interest in her mind. For her part, the normally straitlaced Ruth finds herself attracted to the handsome newcomer. Soon they form a genuine affection for each other. Because Donovan accidentally reveals to one of the 12 models that she isn't alone, all of them quit. On top of this, Randolph's true identity is revealed to Ruth and he confesses he signed up for the class under false pretenses. Bob and Ruth meet at the beach one day, and Donovan has sent Connie to take a secret photo of Ruth for commercial purposes. They succeed and the picture is published in the papers. Because of this, Ruth is fired from her teaching job, and the headmaster, Emma Shoemaker, claims that it is indecent behavior. Ruth fights the headmaster's decision in court, using Randolph as a witness on her behalf. After Ruth has appeared in court in her bathing suit, she wins the claim and gets her job back. The story ends with plans for a double wedding, with Donovan to marry Connie, and Randolph to marry Ruth.

Cast

as Bob Randolph / Robert Benerik *

as Ruth Wilson *

as Chuck Donovan * Dona Drake as Connie Martin *

as Judge Bullfinch (in his final film role) * Lois Wilson as Mrs. Wilson *

Florence Bates Florence Bates ( Rabe; April 15, 1888 - January 31, 1954), was an American film and stage character actress who often played grande dame characters in supporting roles. Life and career Bates was the second child born to Jewish immigrant par ...

as Miss Emma Shoemaker *

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 Mr. Graves - Ruth's Attorney * Helen Westcott as Miss Brooks *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

as Jim Townsend *

Lloyd Corrigan Lloyd Corrigan (October 16, 1900 – November 5, 1969) was an American film and television actor, producer, screenwriter, and director who began working in films in the 1920s. The son of actress Lillian Elliott, Corrigan directed films, usually ...

as Mr. Evergood * Gary Gray as Woody Wilson *

Myrna Dell Myrna Dell (born Marilyn Adele Dunlap; March 5, 1924 – February 11, 2011) was an American actress, model, and writer who appeared in numerous motion pictures and television programs over four decades. A Hollywood glamour girl in the early p ...

as Lorraine Scott *

Joan Vohs Joan Vohs (July 30, 1927 – June 4, 2001) was an American model and film and television actress. Early years Vohs was a native of St. Albans, Queens, in New York City, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs William Vohs, who also had two younger daughters ...

as model (uncredited)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girl from Jones Beach 1949 films 1949 comedy films American black-and-white films American comedy films Films directed by Peter Godfrey Films scored by David Buttolph Films set in Long Island Films set in New York City Films with screenplays by I. A. L. Diamond Warner Bros. films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films