Come Live with Me (1941)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

Virginia Van Upp (story)
Patterson McNutt (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 January 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Their FIRST TIME together...proves the LAST WORD in ROMANCE!

Plot:

Illegal immigrant and showgirl Johnny Jones is due to be deported from the USA, her only hope is to get married...

Plot Keywords:

Marriage Of Convenience | Immigrant | Marriage | Publisher | Financial Problem

Cast

James Stewart	...	Bill Smith
Hedy Lamarr	...	Johnny Jones
Ian Hunter	...	Barton Kendrick
Verree Teasdale	...	Mrs. Diane Kendrick
Donald Meek	...	Joe Darsie
Barton MacLane	...	Barney Grogan
Edward Ashley	...	Arnold Stafford
Ann Codee	...	Yvonne - Diane's Maid
King Baggot	...	Arthur - Hotel Doorman
Adeline De Walt Reynolds	...	Grandma (as Adeline de Walt Reynolds)
Frank Orth	...	Jerry - the Milkman
Frank Faylen	...	Waiter
Horace McMahon	...	Taxi Driver (as Horace MacMahon)
Greta Meyer	...	Frieda aka Martha

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6917)

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The title came from Christopher Marlowe's poem "The Passionate Shepherd". It begins, "Come Live With me, and be my love..."

Quotes:

Grandma: After all, time does heal all wounds.
Johnny Jones: Does it?
Grandma: No arguing about it. There's no arguing with any of the old sayings because that's why they are old 'cause they tell the truth, and the truth lasts.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Main Street on the March! (1941)

Soundtrack:

There is a Tavern in the Town (1891)

more writing might have helped this pleasant movie

Jimmy, Hedy, goofy Ian Hunter, and "sensible" Verree Teasedale make a wonderful primary cast for this nice film. Unusually, I keep looking for more nuances each time I view it, hoping that there is more to the characters in facial nuances and body gestures. I think 5-10 minutes of additional dialogue to flesh out the characters and their relationships with each other would have helped this movie go beyond its superficiality. This is one of those films where I wonder what was cut from the script and what ended up on the cutting room floor. Clarence Brown directed a lot of fantastic films, so I'm guessing the script/story faults are partly from Virginia Van Upp (story) and Patterson McNutt (screenplay); who knows what the role producers at MGM had in trimming the movie for release.