Listen, Darling (1938)

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writers:

Katharine Brush (story)
Elaine Ryan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 October 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical | Romance

Plot:

To stop Pinkie's mother Dottie from marrying a man they know she does not love, Pinkie and her friend...

Plot Keywords:

Millionaire | Small Town Life | Camping | Road Trip | House Trailer

Cast

Judy Garland	...	'Pinkie' Wingate
Freddie Bartholomew	...	Herbert 'Buzz' Mitchell
Mary Astor	...	Mrs. Dorothy 'Dottie' Wingate
Walter Pidgeon	...	Richard Thurlow
Alan Hale	...	J.J. Slattery
Scotty Beckett	...	Billie Wingate
Barnett Parker	...	Abercrombie
Gene Lockhart	...	Mr. Arthur Drubbs
Charley Grapewin	...	Uncle Joe Higgins

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) | Stereo

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #4561)

Company:

Loew's

Quotes:

'Pinkie' Wingate: [sings] I've got you. You've got me. Who cares how rough the road may be? We'll go bumpty, bumpty, bumpty, bump. On the bumpy road to love.

Movie Connections:

References Three Smart Girls (1936)

Soundtrack:

On the Bumpy Road to Love

Young Judy Shines in Lighthearted, Fun Film

Cute story that got better as it went along of two teenagers (played by Judy Garland and Freddie Bartholomew) who kidnap the girl's broke, widowed mother (played by Mary Astor) before she marries an old man for his money. Driving her away in the back of their camper/trailer in hopes of keeping her away long enough so she doesn't marry the guy - it actually takes these two kids longer than you would think to come up with the obvious - find the mom a single man closer to her age who might be more to her liking. Luckily, within minutes it seems, handsome Walter Pigeon (annoying spell checker keeps changing the last name spelling, sigh, oh well) arrives in the next trailer and seems like the perfect catch for mom.

While the story in this may seem a little silly, the excellent performances by all makes this a charming, fun film. I like the chemistry between Astor and Pigeon, Scotty Beckett does well playing the super brat little brother you "love-to-hate", and Judy Garland's star quality absolutely shines in this film. Giving an emotional, endearing performance, she sings several lively, fun-to-listen-to songs, and when the film starts with a very young and lovely Judy singing a wonderful rendition of "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart", I just knew this film wouldn't be all bad. Two things I wonder about though - first, even though they are shown graduating from "junior high school" in the beginning, Freddie drives the car. Second, how come Freddie wants to hook mom up with old man Alan Hale at one point, almost as old and unattractive as the first man (both are described as rich so it can't be just for the money - and mom doesn't love either one). Yes, this film is fluff, but I quite enjoyed it and as the film ended I had a smile on my face and that's a good thing.