''The Shining Hour'' is a 1938 American romantic drama film directed by

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage (; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an Academy Award-winning American film director and actor, known for directing '' 7th Heaven'' (1927), '' Street Angel'' (1928), '' Bad Girl'' (1931), ''A Farewell to Arms'' (1932), '' Man's ...

, based on the 1934 play '' The Shining Hour'' by Keith Winter, and starring

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pic ...

and Margaret Sullavan. The supporting cast of the MGM film features

Robert Young Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob, or Bobby Young may refer to: Academics * R. A. Young (Robert Arthur Young, 1871–1959), British physician * Robert J. C. Young (born 1950), British cultural critic and historian * Robert J. Young (born 1942), Canadian h ...

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy '' Ninotch ...

Fay Bainter Fay Okell Bainter (December 7, 1893 – April 16, 1968) was an American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Jezebel (1938 film), Jezebel'' (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ea ...

and

Hattie McDaniel Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893October 26, 1952) was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. For her role as Mammy in ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, ...

Plot

Olivia Riley (

), a

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 U ...

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

dancer, tires of the fast life and consents to marry Henry Linden (

), a wealthy farmer from

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Even before they engage to be married, however, Henry's brother David (

) is sent to New York by their domineering sister Hannah (

) to dissuade him from marrying Olivia. In private, Olivia slaps David when her integrity is questioned, but she marries Henry because she says he's the only person in her life who is endlessly positive. When Olivia moves to her new husband's farm in Wisconsin, she encounters trouble from her sister-in-law Hannah, who does not approve of her. Olivia finds an ally in David's wife, Judy ( Margaret Sullavan), who is in a loveless marriage. Olivia comes to realize that she and Judy are in the same situation. Olivia's situation is further complicated when David defends her from the unwanted advances of a farm hand and he begins to fall in love with her. Henry is unaware of this, but Hannah finds out what is going on, and in a drunken rage she sets fire to the house that's being built for Henry and Olivia. Olivia saves a badly burned Judy, and David realizes he has loved Judy after all. Olivia then decides to leave the farm; and, as she drives away, Henry joins her and they leave together.

Cast

as Olivia Riley * Margaret Sullavan as Judy Linden *

as David Linden *

as Henry Linden *

as Hannah Linden * Allyn Joslyn as Roger Q. Franklin *

as Belvedere *

Oscar O'Shea Oscar O'Shea (8 October 1881 – 6 April 1960) was a Canadian-American character actor with over 100 film appearances from 1937 to 1953. Early years O'Shea was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Acting O'Shea was a comic actor who earne ...

as Charlie Collins *

Frank Albertson Francis Healey Albertson (February 2, 1909 – February 29, 1964) was an American actor who had supporting roles in films such as ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) and ''Psycho'' (1960). Early life Albertson was a native of Fergus Falls, ...

as Benny Collins *

Harry Barris Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was an American popular singer and songwriter. He was one of the earliest singers to use " scat singing" in recordings. Barris, one of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, along with Bing Crosby a ...

as Bertie

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $942,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $425,000 in other markets, realizing for the studio a total box office of $1,367,000. Those receipts, less the production's cited budget of $1,068,000, resulted in a profit of $299,000 for MGM.

References

External links

* * * * 1938 films 1938 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films Films scored by Franz Waxman Films directed by Frank Borzage American films based on plays Films set in New York City Films set in Wisconsin Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films produced by Frank Borzage Films produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz Films with screenplays by Jane Murfin 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-drama-film-stub