They All Kissed the Bride (1942)

Director:

Alexander Hall

Writers:

Andrew Solt (story) and
Gina Kaus (story)

Release Date:

11 June 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A TENDER WARMLY HUMAN ROMANCE! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Margaret Drew runs her trucking company single-mindedly, if not ruthlessly. The only thorn in her side...

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Writer | Book | Sister | Contest

Cast

Joan Crawford	...	Margaret J. 'M.J.' Drew
Melvyn Douglas	...	Michael 'Mike' Holmes
Roland Young	...	Marsh
Billie Burke	...	Mrs. Drew
Allen Jenkins	...	Johnny Johnson
Andrew Tombes	...	Crane
Helen Parrish	...	Vivian Drew
Emory Parnell	...	Mahoney
Mary Treen	...	Susie Johnson
Nydia Westman	...	Lewis - M.J.'s Secretary
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Dr. Cassell
Roger Clark	...	Stephen Pettingill
Edward Gargan	...	Private policeman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Coleman	...	Butler (scenes deleted)
Charles Halton	...	Doctor (scenes deleted)
Ralph Sanford	...	Detective (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

He Kissed the Bride (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:Not Rated | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

'Joan Crawford''s famous line "When I want a sneak, I'll hire the best and get a Jap" drew the movie's biggest laugh from 1942 audiences. The line is now considered offensive in these politically correct times, and has been cut from most current prints.

Quotes:

Margaret Drew: When I want a sneak, I'll hire the best and get a Jap.

Soundtrack:

You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby

An Eerie Parallel

Though They All Kissed The Bride dated a bit with the outbreak of World War II, it still holds up well today. Joan Crawford did a very fine job stepping in for Carole Lombard as the trucking company CEO who gets brought down romantically by the charming Melvyn Douglas.

It's easy to see why Harry Cohn wanted Douglas in the part, the film is a domestic version of Ninotchka. Douglas is a crusading reporter writing an article about the abuses in a trucking company where they seem not to have heard of the Wagner Act. Joan Crawford is the daughter of the firm's founder who steps in to run the place after dad's demise.

Don't let her sex fool you, she's all business until she meets up with Melvyn Douglas. In fairness to her, Crawford is stepping up to the plate with an apparently scatterbrained Billie Burke for a mother and a princess débutante in Helen Parrish as a sister not capable of doing much of anything.

In an eerie parallel in real life, after her fourth husband Alfred Steele from Pepsi Cola died, Crawford went into the business world with a vengeance and her years in Hollywood turned out to be a training ground for that new field of endeavor.

Best moment is Crawford and Allen Jenkins winning a jitterbug contest when she goes to the company banquet incognito.

Though I can see this film would have suited Carole Lombard better, Joan Crawford does just fine in this bright comedy.