''Invitation'' is a 1952 American

melodrama film In film studies and criticism, melodrama may variously refer to a genre, mode, style or sensibility characterized by its emphasis on intense and exaggerated emotions and heightened dramatic situations. There is no fixed definition of the term an ...

directed by

Gottfried Reinhardt Gottfried Reinhardt (20 March 1913 – 19 July 1994) was an Austrian-born American film director and producer. Biography Reinhardt was born in Berlin, the son of the Austrian theater director Max Reinhardt (until 1904: Max Goldmann), mana ...

and starring

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American actor and dancer. He had a prolific career in film, television, theatre and radio, which spanned over 50 years, from 1940 to 1992. He was a major star at Metr ...

Dorothy McGuire Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actr ...

and

Ruth Roman Ruth Roman (born Norma Roman; December 22, 1922 – September 9, 1999) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. After playing stage roles on the East Coast, Roman moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in films. She appeared in ...

. Johnson and McGuire play a happily married couple, until the wife learns a secret about her husband. The film was based on the short story "R.S.V.P." by Jerome Weidman. The theme song " Invitation" has since become a jazz standard.

Plot

Ellen Pierce (

) is very happily married to architect Dan (

). However, due to a bout of

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

in her childhood, her heart is weak and she cannot exert herself too much; how frail she is, she does not really know. Her wealthy father (

Louis Calhern Carl Henry Vogt (February 19, 1895 – May 12, 1956), known by his stage name Louis Calhern, was an American actor. Described as a “star leading man of the theater and a star character actor of the screen,” he appeared in over 100 roles ...

) and the family doctor ( Ray Collins) have kept from her the fact that she probably only has a few more months to live. When Ellen visits acquaintance Maud Redwick (

), Dan's embittered former girlfriend, Maud reminds her about a vicious remark she had made at Ellen and Dan's wedding that he was only a "loan" for about a year. That, plus an invitation addressed to Dan to a medical conference and various other clues, leads Ellen to discover the truth, not only about her prognosis, but also an even more devastating secret: that her father had arranged the marriage to make her happy, and that Dan did not love her. When Dan finds out, he confesses via flashbacks that he had initially rejected her father's offer, but due to a lack of success in his career, he had indeed married her at her father's behest. However, he tells her that he has since fallen deeply in love with her. He tells her about a Doctor Toynberry who has come up with a new technique that has a good chance of curing her and begs her to undergo the operation he has arranged for her. If it is a success, they will know by spring. After absorbing everything, she goes through with the medical procedure. The film flashes forward to the spring, with her healthy and blissfully still married to Dan.

Cast

as Daniel I. Pierce *

as Ellen Bowker Pierce *

as Maud Redwick *

as Simon Bowker * Ray Collins as Dr. Warren Pritchard *

Michael Chekhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Chekhov (; 16 August 1891 – 30 September 1955), known as Michael Chekhov, was a Russian-American actor, Theatre director, director, author, and theatre practitioner. He was a nephew of the playwright Anton Chekhov an ...

as Dr. Fromm, a specialist Dan consults *

Lisa Golm Lisa Golm ( Luise Schmertzler, ; 10 April 1891 – 6 January 1964) was a German actress who emigrated to America and appeared in a number of Hollywood films as a character actress. Golm made her first screen appearance in the 1939 film ''Co ...

as Agnes, the Maid * Barbara Ruick as Sarah * Norman Field as Arthur, the Chauffeur * Matt Moore as Paul, the Butler *

Pat Conway Patrick Douglas Conway (January 9, 1931 – April 24, 1981) was an American actor best known for starring as Sheriff Clay Hollister on the Western television series ''Tombstone Territory'' (1957–1960). Early years Conway was the son of M ...

as Bill * Alex Gerry as Professor Redwick * Lucille Curtis as Mrs. Redwick * Lisa Gohm as Agnes, the housekeeper/cook

Theme music

The theme music by Bronislau Kaper was originally used in ''

A Life of Her Own ''A Life of Her Own'' is a 1950 American melodrama film directed by George Cukor and starring Lana Turner and Ray Milland. The screenplay by Isobel Lennart focuses on an aspiring model who leaves her small town in the Midwest to seek fame and fort ...

'' (1950), but became a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

after being used in this film and becoming known as " Invitation".

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $855,000 in the US and Canada and $600,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $178,000.

References

External links

* * * {{Gottfried Reinhardt 1952 films American black-and-white films Films based on short fiction 1952 romantic drama films Films directed by Gottfried Reinhardt Films scored by Bronisław Kaper Films set in Connecticut Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American romantic drama films 1950s melodrama films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language romantic drama films