Having Wonderful Time (1938)

Ginger Rogers, a bored New York office girl, goes to a camp in the Catskill Mountains for rest and finds Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Director:

Alfred Santell

Writers:

Arthur Kober (stage play: New York), Arthur Kober (screen play),

Stars:

Ginger Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Peggy Conklin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ginger Rogers	...	Teddy
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Chick
Peggy Conklin	...	Fay
Lucille Ball	...	Miriam
Lee Bowman	...	Buzzy
Eve Arden	...	Henrietta
Dorothea Kent	...	Maxine
Red Skelton	...	Itchy (as Richard 'Red' Skelton)
Donald Meek	...	P.U. Rogers
Jack Carson	...	Emil Beatty
Clarence Wilson	...	Mr. G (as Clarence H. Wilson)
Allan Lane	...	Mac
Grady Sutton	...	Gus
Shimen Ruskin	...	Shrimpo
Dorothy Tree	...	Frances

Storyline

Ginger Rogers, an overworked New York office girl, seeks 2 weeks of rest and relaxation at a camp in the Catskills. She is definitely not a happy camper because of the crowded and noisy conditions. She tries her best to fit in and, after an initial dislike, falls for college educated Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., a waiter at the camp. Ginger becomes suspicious of his motives, however, and he becomes alarmed when she spends an innocent night in the cabin of a rival suitor. All ends happily, however, as their love proves true enough and trust triumphs over suspicions.

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Plot Keywords:

camp | waiter | mountain | party | doughnut | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 July 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Having a Wonderful Time

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original Broadway play, all the principle characters were Jewish. (In the early and mid 20th century, Catskill Mountain resorts like the one depicted in the story were vacation hot spots for East Coast Jews.) Because of anti-Semitism in America at the time, all references to Jewish-American culture (including the last names of many of the characters) were either removed or altered. For instance, in the adaptation process, the play's lead characters, Teddy Stern and Chick Kessler, were among a half dozen or so characters who were given names that were more Christian-sounding -- Teddy Shaw and Chick Kirkland. As Leonard Maltin puts it in his yearly movie guide: "[T]he original's satiric depiction of Jewish New Yorkers is completely homogenized."

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Connections

Referenced in The Mad Miss Manton (1938)

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Soundtracks

"My First Impression of You"
(1938)
Music by Sam H. Stept
Lyrics by Charles Tobias
Sung by Betty Jane Rhodes at the dance
Played also as background music

User Reviews

similar plot as all the Rogers/Astair matchups

A cavalcade of stars - Ginger Rogers, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden (all together in Stage Door) This has Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Jack Carson, Donald Meek, Alan Lane (voice of Mr. Ed), Red Skelton, Grady Sutton (made all those W.C. Fields movies). As others have noted, movie lost a lot in translation from the original play, which would be politically incorrect these days. This show has Ginger Rogers in the same formula plot from the Fred Astaire movies, where boy meets girl, girl acts spoiled and insulted, and boy spends remainder of movie trying to make it up to girl. Unfortunately, the script and interaction between actors just isn't up to the par of those Fred Astair films, but it IS interesting to see all those actors in their early years.