Listen, Darling (1938)

To stop Pinkie's mother Dottie from marrying a man they know she does not love, Pinkie and her friend Buzz kidnap her in the family trailer to live a life on the open road without worries ... See full summary »

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writers:

Elaine Ryan (screenplay), Anne Morrison Chapin (screenplay),

Stars:

Judy Garland, Freddie Bartholomew, Mary Astor

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Judy Garland	...	'Pinkie' Wingate
Freddie Bartholomew	...	'Buzz' Mitchell
Mary Astor	...	Dottie Wingate
Walter Pidgeon	...	Richard Thurlow
Alan Hale	...	J.J. Slattery
Scotty Beckett	...	Billie Wingate
Barnett Parker	...	Abercrombie
Gene Lockhart	...	Mr. Drubbs
Charley Grapewin	...	Uncle Joe

Storyline

To stop Pinkie's mother Dottie from marrying a man they know she does not love, Pinkie and her friend Buzz kidnap her in the family trailer to live a life on the open road without worries about how to make ends meet. They then get the idea to find a husband for her whom both she and Pinkie would like.

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Plot Keywords:

school | marriage of convenience | roadtrip | young singer | skunk | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dois Garotos Endiabrados

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) Stereo

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Connections

References Three Smart Girls (1936)

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Soundtracks

"Ten Pins in the Sky"
(1938)
Music and lyrics by Joseph McCarthy and Milton Ager
Played during the opening credits
Sung by Judy Garland (uncredited) in Slattery's home
Reprised a cappella by Judy Garland (uncredited), Walter Pidgeon (uncredited) and Mary Astor (uncredited)
Whistled and sung offscreen by Walter Pidgeon (uncredited)

User Reviews

Nice Film for Garland & Cast

Listen, Darling (1938)

*** (out of 4)

Far-fetched but cute comedy/drama from MGM has a single mother (Mary Astor) struggling to make ends meet after her husband dies without any insurance. She's about to marry a man (Gene Lockhart) who she doesn't really love so her daughter (Judy Garland) and her friend (Freddie Bartholomew) decide to kidnap her and take her away. Once on the road they look for better husbands and think they might find on in Richard (Walter Pidgeon). There's certainly nothing Earth-shattering or Oscar-worthy here but this is pleasant enough of a film and it's terrific cast makes it well worth watching. I think if you're a fan of anyone in the cast then you're going to be drawn into the story no matter how silly it is. In fact, the characters are build up to be so "together" and "happy" that I'm surprised MGM didn't try to turn this into a longer running series. It certainly shares a lot in common with the Andy Hardy series but perhaps Garland just got too big with other projects (plus the upcoming THE WIZARD OF OZ) that everyone decided to just leave it at this one. Garland clearly steals the film with her tender performance as she manages to be cute but also touching in her more dramatic scenes worrying about her broke mother. She also gets some songs to sing including the charming Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart, Ten Pins in the Sky and On the Bumpy Road to Love, which also gets a second take at the end of the film with the entire cast singing along. Astor and Pidgeon are dependable as always and they come across with some nice chemistry that makes us believe they're really falling for one another. It seems Bartholomew has film buffs debating his merit whenever they discuss him but I thought he was fine here even though he's pretty much playing the same type of character he did in all of his movies. Lockhart is good in his few scenes as is Alan Hale. The film runs a short 75-minutes and for the most part there isn't any slow moments to be found. This is pretty much the type of family film you'd get from MGM as you get romance, comedy, a little drama and the typical family is the most important message. If you fans as Garland, Astor or Pidgeon it's worth sitting through.