''Call It a Day'' is a 1937 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Archie Mayo and starring

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...

, Ian Hunter, Anita Louise, Alice Brady, Roland Young, and Frieda Inescort. Based on the 1935 play '' Call It a Day'' by

Dodie Smith Dorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith (3 May 1896 – 24 November 1990) was an English novelist and playwright. She is best known for writing '' I Capture the Castle'' (1948) and the children's novel '' The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1956). Other work ...

, the film is about a day in the life of a middle-class London family whose lives are complicated by the first romantic signs of spring.

Plot

As the first day of spring arrives with unseasonably warm weather, the Hilton household is briefly turned upside down. Eldest daughter Cath has fallen hopelessly in love with the married artist painting her portrait, father Roger has his head turned by glamorous film star Beatrice Gwynn when he assists her with her taxes, wife Dorothy has an offer to elope to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

with her friend's brother shortly after meeting him and son Martin wants to go motoring around the

Continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...

until he encounters the attractive girl next door. Even youngest daughter Ann has developed an obsession with the Victorian artist

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( ; ), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brother ...

. By the end of the day all is righted and a semblance of normality has returned.

Cast

Production

Soundtrack

* " I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" (James Kendis, James Brockman, Nat Vincent, John W. Kellette) performed by Ian Hunter * "

Isn't It Romantic? "Isn't It Romantic?" is a popular music, popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It has a 32-bar chorus in A–B–A–C form. Alec Wilder, in his book ''America ...

" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) performed by Marcia Ralston

Reception

In his May 7, 1937, review,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

' Frank Nugent said that he "enjoyed" the "tolerant and quietly humorous piece", and praised the ensemble cast. Two months later, writing for '' Night and Day'',

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

gave the film a poor review and complained about the self-sanitized story of temptations rejected in the face of infidelity. Greene also complains of the use of clichéd dialogue, which includes the stale line, "Do you mind if I slip into something more comfortable?" which, Greene adds, "to our astonishment eads tothe temptress reappear ngin just another evening dress." (reprinted in: )

References

External links

*
Call It a Day
on TCM
1946 ''Theatre Guild on the Air'' radio adaptation of original play
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

* 1937 films 1937 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Archie Mayo Warner Bros. films American films based on plays Films set in London Films based on works by Dodie Smith 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub Films scored by Heinz Roemheld