One Sunday Afternoon (1933)

Director:

Stephen Roberts

Writers:

James Hagan (play)
Grover Jones (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 September 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Hugo and Biff were friends until they met Virginia. Biff could think of no one but Virginia, but she would never be happy with a big slow bully...

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Bully | Employment Dismissal | Toothache | Small Town Life

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Dr. Lucius Griffith 'Biff' Grimes
Fay Wray	...	Virginia 'Virgie' Brush Barnstead
Frances Fuller	...	Amy Lind Grimes
Roscoe Karns	...	Snappy Downer
Neil Hamilton	...	Hugo Barnstead, Owner Phoenix Carriage Factory
Jane Darwell	...	Mrs. Lind, Amy's Mother
Clara Blandick	...	Mrs. Brush, Virginia's Mother (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

85 min | USA:69 min (Turner Library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #1380-R, 31 August 1935 for re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The play opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 15 February 1933 and ran for 322 performances. The opening cast included Percy Helton and Lloyd Nolan.

Movie Connections:

Version of One Sunday Afternoon (1948)

Soundtrack:

Good-Bye, Little Girl, Good-Bye

Very good and very watchable, but it lacks the life and fun of the remake.

The film begins in a dental office, as the dentist, Biff (Gary Cooper), talks to a friend (Roscoe Karns) about this relationship with Hugo (Neil Hamilton) back in the Gay 90s when they had been friends. This is instigated when Hugo comes to the office and sees Biff for the first time in decades. Hugo needs a tooth pulled and while he is sedated with gas, Biff recalls their past when they were both ardently pursuing a pretty young lady (Fay Wray)--while pretty much ignoring her more plain but much sweeter friend (Frances Fuller). Through the course of the film, Hugo stabs his supposed friend in the back again and again.

This movie is the original--with remakes in 1941 (THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE) and 1948 (ONE Sunday AFTERNOON). While I rarely prefer remakes, I must say that the 1941 version is much more watchable and fun. Part of this is because the 1933 version is so very, very quiet--with very little music to help set the mood. Also, the whole mood of the 1933 film is more somber and the story a bit more direct and "bare bones" in style. Also, while I like Gary Cooper films, for a comedy like this one, Cagney was better and the supporting actors he had were also superior and gave THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE so much more energy. This film is still well worth seeing, but the 1941 film has a more polished plot, better characters and the full Warner Brothers package (wonderful and first-rate production values) that this Paramount film lacks.