''The Shopworn Angel'' is a 1938 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by H. C. Potter and starring Margaret Sullavan,

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

and Walter Pidgeon. The

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

release featured the second screen pairing of Margaret Sullavan and

following their successful teaming in the

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

production '' Next Time We Love'' two years earlier. The

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

Waldo Salt Waldo Miller Salt (October 18, 1914 – March 7, 1987) was an American screenwriter. He wrote the Academy Award-winning screenplays for ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969) and ''Coming Home (1978 film), Coming Home'' (1978). Early life and career S ...

is the third

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

adaptation of a Dana Burnet

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

, "Private Pettigrew's Girl", originally published in the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'' in 1918. The first version was '' Pettigrew's Girl'', a

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

released in 1919, and the second was '' The Shopworn Angel'' (1928), a part-talkie released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

starring Nancy Carroll, Gary Cooper, and Paul Lukas.

Plot

After the United States enters

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1917, the limousine carrying Daisy Heath, a sophisticated Broadway

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

star, knocks down Bill Pettigrew, a naive young soldier from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. A policeman orders the chauffeur to take Bill back to camp. During the ride, he becomes slightly acquainted with the cynical, but not cold-hearted Daisy. Upon their arrival at the army camp, Bill lets his buddies assume that Daisy is the date he had lied about. In fact, he has no one. When they find out the truth, they decide to get even. On their next leave, they take Bill to Daisy's show, so he can introduce them. However, Daisy pretends that she is Bill's girl. As they spend more time together, she begins to warm to him, much to the increasing jealousy of her wealthy real boyfriend, Sam Bailey, who is financing Daisy's show. When Sam takes Daisy out for an afternoon at his Connecticut estate for the first time, she tells him that Bill has shown her what true love looks like and made her realize she actually does love Sam. She also believes that the rivalry has also given new depth to Sam's love for her. That same day, Bill learns that his unit is finally going to ship out for the fighting in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. When he cannot get a leave, he goes AWOL so he can propose marriage. Daisy opts to accept so that he can sail for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with something to look forward to. Sam objects to the odd arrangement privately to Daisy, but kindly refrains from telling Bill the truth. The two marry; then Bill has to leave immediately. He sends her cheerful letters every day. Then, a letter comes from the War Department. As Daisy is in the middle of a performance, her maid Martha takes it to Sam, sitting in the audience. When Sam opens the letter, Bill's ID tag falls out. Daisy sees it, tears fill her eyes as she realizes that Bill has been killed, but she bravely finishes singing " Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag".

Cast

* Margaret Sullavan as Daisy Heath *

as Bill Pettigrew * Walter Pidgeon as Sam Bailey * Hattie McDaniel as Martha * Nat Pendleton as "Dice", one of Bill's army buddies * Alan Curtis as "Thin Lips", another army buddy * Sam Levene as "Leer", an army buddy * Eleanor Lynn as Sally * Charles D. Brown as McGonigle, Daisy's boss

Production

The film underwent major personnel changes during its development stages. The directing assignment first went to

Richard Thorpe Richard Thorpe (born Rollo Smolt Thorpe; February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His obituary called him "a capable and versatile director willing to take on any ass ...

, then

Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are ''La Bandera (film), La Bandera'', ...

, before Potter was given the task. Originally cast as Daisy Heath was

Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...

, who died before filming began. She initially was replaced by

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

, who then yielded the role to Rosalind Russell, before newly signed MGM contract player Sullavan finally came on board.

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in 1929 as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy '' Ninotchka'' ( ...

originally was signed to play Sam Bailey, but the role ultimately went to Walter Pidgeon. First-time screenwriter Salt had to adhere to the strict regulations of the Hays Code, which required him to dilute many of the sexually explicit elements of the preceding film versions of the story. This included transforming Daisy from a hard-edged chorus girl into a leading lady and Sam from her gangster lover into her wealthy, high society boyfriend. Although not deemed an official remake of ''The Shopworn Angel'', the

film '' That Kind of Woman'' (1959) shared a very similar plot.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack included tunes popular during World War I such as " You're in the Army Now," " Over There," " Stars and Stripes Forever," " K-K-K-Katy," " The Darktown Strutters' Ball," "(There Are) Smiles," and " Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit-Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile!." Margaret Sullavan's vocals were dubbed by

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific (musica ...

Critical reception

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' described the film as "a tearjerker in the grand manner — simple, senile and heroically sentimental."''Time'' review
/ref>

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $722,000 in the US and Canada and $320,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $146,000.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shopworn Angel, The 1938 films 1938 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films based on short fiction Films directed by H. C. Potter Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Sound film remakes of silent films American World War I films Films set in 1917 Films produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz Films with screenplays by Waldo Salt Films scored by Edward Ward (composer) 1930s American films English-language romantic drama films