I Dood It (1943)

Constance Shaw is a dance star on Broadway, Joseph Rivington Reynolds is a keen fan of her. After she is fed up with her friend, she meets Joseph and marries him, because she thinks he is ... See full summary »

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Sig Herzig, Fred Saidy

Stars:

Red Skelton, Eleanor Powell, Richard Ainley

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Red Skelton	...	Joseph 'Joe' Rivington Renolds
Eleanor Powell	...	Miss Constance 'Connie' Shaw
Richard Ainley	...	Larry West
Patricia Dane	...	Suretta Brenton
Sam Levene	...	Ed Jackson
Thurston Hall	...	Kenneth 'Ken' Cawlor
Lena Horne	...	Herself
Hazel Scott	...	Herself
Jimmy Dorsey	...	Himself (as Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra)
Helen O'Connell	...	Herself
Bob Eberly	...	Himself
John Hodiak	...	Roy Hartwood
Butterfly McQueen	...	Annette
Marjorie Gateson	...	Mrs. Alice Spelvin
Andrew Tombes	...	Mr. Alfred Spelvin

Storyline

Constance Shaw is a dance star on Broadway, Joseph Rivington Reynolds is a keen fan of her. After she is fed up with her friend, she meets Joseph and marries him, because she thinks he is the owner of a mine. But that's a missunderstanding, he works at a cleaning shop. After disturbing rehearsals he is thrown out of the theater, but when he sneaks in again, he discovers his boss talking about a bomb they want to set in the theater to blow up an ammunition store next door.

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Plot Keywords:

theater | bomb | nightclub | pants presser | theatrical backer | 

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Genres:

Romance | Comedy | Musical | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mademoiselle ma femme

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Eleanor Powell reportedly knocked herself out cold during rehearsals for the lariat dance.

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Connections

Referenced in Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)

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Soundtracks

" (I Wish I Was in) Dixie's Land"
(1860) (uncredited)
Music by Daniel Decatur Emmett
Played before the start of the show "Dixie Lou"

User Reviews

Silly comedy enlivened by some glittering production numbers...

You have to be a die-hard RED SKELTON fan to approve of his slapstick performance in I DOOD IT, but some of his routines just fall flat. He and ELEANOR POWELL have to deal with a less than spectacular script in which he's mistaken for a wealthy man when he's actually a pants presser. The gags that follow are weak, for the most part, but occasionally some bright bits of humor do crop up along the way.

For comic timing, nothing beats the scene where Powell takes the sleep medicine by mistake and Skelton is unable to wake her up to either put her in a chair or on a bed. Her limber body provides a lot of chuckles as he struggles to get her off the floor. The timing by both is impeccable and it's one of the film's best routines.

Too bad her dance numbers aren't staged as well as that sequence which runs a little too long. They're serviceable, but that's about all.

Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra play some nice tunes, best of which is "Star Eyes" sung by Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell. An "audition" scene featuring Hazel Scott at the piano and Lena Horne as vocalist on "Jericho" is a lively routine that gives the film a much needed musical highlight.

But for both Skelton and Powell, this is one of their lesser efforts. Sam Levene, Thurston Hall, John Hodiak and Richard Ainley offer good support.