''Roughly Speaking'' is a 1945 American

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

and starring

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the H ...

and

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) with James Cagney and ...

. The plot involves a strong-minded mother keeping her family afloat through

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and the Great Depression. The film was based on the autobiography of the same name, published in 1943, by Louise Randall Pierson.

Plot

Louise Randall Pierson (Rosalind Russell) does not have an easy life. When she is a teenager, her beloved father dies, leaving her, her mother, and her sister in financial difficulty. However, heeding her father's advice to shoot for the stars, she remains undaunted. She goes to college and learns typing and shorthand; on her first (temporary) job, she overcomes the prejudice of her new boss, Lew Morton (

Alan Hale, Sr. Alan Hale Sr. (born Rufus Edward Mackahan; February 10, 1892 – January 22, 1950) was an American actor and director. He is best remembered for his many character roles, in particular as a frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn, as well as f ...

), against women workers. Then, although they have very different ideas about a woman's place, she marries Rodney Crane (

Donald Woods Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Biko, who was killed by police after ...

), who goes to work in the banking industry. Four children are born in rapid succession. Louise nurses her brood through a bout of

infantile paralysis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

; one is left somewhat lame. After 10 years though, Rodney tires of her self-reliance and divorces her to marry a younger woman with a more traditional idea of what a wife should be. A year later, Louise meets Harold C. Pierson (Jack Carson), who is less driven, but just as unconventional. After only a few hours acquaintance, he asks her to marry him, and she (somewhat to her own surprise) accepts. They have a son. Louise inspires Harold to venture into his family's business and take out a loan to build greenhouses to grow roses. They are just about to clear the last $30,000 of their debt when the market collapses due to oversupply. They have to sell off most of their possessions and take to the road. They then encounter Svend Olsen (

John Qualen John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles. Early years Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son ...

), an aircraft builder in need of financing. Harold and the children overcome her resistance, and they commit their time and money to the venture. However, once again, their timing is bad. The day after the aircraft prototype is completed and shown to enthusiastic potential backers, the

stock market crashes A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a major cross-section of a stock market, resulting in a significant loss of paper wealth. Crashes are driven by panic selling and underlying economic factors. They often fol ...

. The family is uprooted once more. Two sons go to

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, and one of the daughters gets married. The rest of the family manages to get by with various jobs, including selling vacuum cleaners and parking cars at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Pur ...

. Then, on Louise's birthday, Germany invades Poland and starts

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Soon, all three sons enlist; the youngest is only 17, but gets his mother's reluctant consent to join the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

. As he eagerly rushes off to the recruitment center, Louise laments to her husband about her failure to provide their children with a stable, prosperous life. He assures her that her indomitable example, undaunted by failure after failure, is all they need, that they may be down from time to time, but will never be out. Then the two start to discuss their next project, buying a farm.

Cast

as Louise Randall Pierson *

as Harold C. Pierson * Robert Hutton as John Crane, ages 20–28 * Jean Sullivan as Louise Jr., ages 18–26 *

as Rodney Crane *

as Lew Morton *

Andrea King Andrea King (born Georgette André Barry; February 1, 1919 – April 22, 2003) was an American stage, film, and television actress, sometimes billed as Georgette McKee. Early life Andrea King was born Georgette André Barry on February 1, 1919, ...

as Barbara, ages 21–29 *

Mona Freeman Monica Elizabeth "Mona" Freeman (June 9, 1926 – May 23, 2014) was an American actress and painter. Early years Freeman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in Pelham, New York. A lumberman's daughter, she was a model while in hig ...

as Barbara, ages 15–20 * Robert Arthur as Frankie at 17 * Ray Collins as John Chase Randall *

as Svend Olsen *

Kathleen Lockhart Kathleen Lockhart (née Arthur; 9 August 1894 – 18 February 1978) was a prolific English-American actress during the early-mid 20th century. Early life Kathleen Arthur was born on August 9, 1894 in Southsea, Hampshire, England. Caree ...

as Henrietta Louise Randall *

Ann E. Todd Ann E. Todd (born Ann Todd Phillips, later Ann Basart or Ann Phillips Basart; August 26, 1931 – February 7, 2020) was an American child actress. As an adult, she became a music reference librarian at University of California, Berkeley. Earl ...

as Louise Randall as a child (as Ann Todd) *

Ann Doran Ann Lee Doran (July 28, 1911 – September 19, 2000) was an American character actress, possibly best known as the mother of Jim Stark (James Dean) in '' Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955). She was an early member of the Screen Actors Guild and s ...

as Alice Abbott

Production

Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

, ''Roughly Speaking'' based on the life of Louise Randall Pierson, for $35,000."Notes: Roughly Speaking (1945)."
''Turner Classic Movies'', Retrieved: October 27, 2014. Principal photography for ''Roughly Speaking'' took place from late April to mid-July 1944. Rosalind Russell and Jack Carson reprised their roles in ''Roughly Speaking'' for a

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

broadcast on October 8, 1945.

Reception

The story connecting a long timeline of a half-century, resulting in ''Roughly Speaking'' emerging as a 150-minute feature, that after previews, was cut back to 117 minutes. The detailed plot was noticeable and although the film was generally well received by audiences, was an aspect of the film that many reviewers noted. Bosley Crowther of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the film a favorable review. "The charmingly giddy life story of Louise Randall Pierson, which that lady quite frankly told with considerable gusto and good humor in ''Roughly Speaking'' a couple of years ago, has now been used to peg a picture which follows, roughly, the same general line ..."Crowther, Bosley
"Roughly Speaking (1945); The screen: 'Roughly Speaking' presented at the Hollywood with Rosalind Russell."
''

'', February 1, 1945.

Box office

According to records at Warner Bros., the film earned $1,850,000 in the U.S. and $728,000 in other markets.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Aylesworth, Thomas G. ''The Best of Warner Bros.'' London: Bison Books, 1986. .

External links

* * * * {{Michael Curtiz − 1945 films 1940s biographical films 1945 comedy-drama films American aviation films American biographical films American black-and-white films American comedy-drama films Films based on biographies Films directed by Michael Curtiz Films set in the 1900s Films set in the 1910s Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s Warner Bros. films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films