The Good Fairy (1935)

A naive girl just out of a cloistered orphanage finds that being a 'good fairy' to strangers makes life awfully complicated.

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Jane Hinton (English translation of play), Ferenc Molnár (play),

Stars:

Margaret Sullavan, Herbert Marshall, Frank Morgan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Margaret Sullavan	...	Luisa 'Lu' Ginglebuscher
Herbert Marshall	...	Dr. Max Sporum
Frank Morgan	...	Konrad
Reginald Owen	...	Detlaff, the Waiter
Eric Blore	...	Dr. Metz
Beulah Bondi	...	Dr. Schultz
Alan Hale	...	Maurice Schlapkohl
Cesar Romero	...	Joe
Luis Alberni	...	The Barber
June Clayworth	...	Mitzi, on-screen actress

Storyline

Young, naive Luisa Ginglebusher, who loves fairy tales, leaves the Budapest orphanage to become a movie usherette. Soon she befriends paternal waiter Detlaff and not so paternal Konrad, a meat-packing millionaire. Uninterested in Konrad's rich gifts, Luisa schemes to be a "good fairy" and divert some of this wealth to poor stranger Dr. Sporum. But it's not that simple...

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Plot Keywords:

usherette | orphan | foreign language adaptation | coming of age | based on play

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 February 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Boa Fada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On July 31, 1944, Deanna Durbin, Fredric March and June Lockhart acted in a 30-minute radio adaptation of the film, presented on the "Screen Guild Theatre" by CBS. Two-and-one-half years later, Miss Durbin starred in a musical remake of this picture, entitled I'll Be Yours, which opened on February 2.

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Quotes

Konrad: I can use one honest lawyer, but don't overdo it.

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Connections

Version of I'll Be Yours (1947)

User Reviews

Dialog over Special Effects. Yes, there can be a film with no explosions.

I am always amazed with the talent of Preston Sturgis. He is a true painter of WORDS, a tunesmith of dialog and staging. In this early William Wyler Universal film using Preston Sturgis screen play we have scene after scene of people acting and reacting off each other's follies which is a true documentation of this race we call Human. This film depicts the constant struggle to make sense of human interaction.

The nice thing is there is no murders, explosions, mayhem or outright evil. All these things get in the way of DIALOG. I watch this film in awe, there is musical rhythm in the first third of the film combining dialog, action and music. You will really like all these people at the end of the film.

Time Well Spent., No Noise