Casanova Brown (1944)

Cass Brown is about to marry for the second time; his first marriage, to Isabel, was annulled. But when he discovers that Isabel just had their baby, Cass kidnaps the infant to keep her ... See full summary »

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

Floyd Dell (play), Nunnally Johnson,

Stars:

Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Frank Morgan

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gary Cooper	...	Casanova (Cass) Brown
Teresa Wright	...	Isabel Drury
Frank Morgan	...	Mr. Ferris
Anita Louise	...	Madge Ferris
Edmund Breon	...	Mr. Drury (as Edmond Breon)
Patricia Collinge	...	Mrs. Drury
Jill Esmond	...	Dr. Zernerke
Mary Treen	...	Monica Case, the Maid
Emory Parnell	...	Frank, the Bell Captain
Isobel Elsom	...	Mrs. Ferris
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Charles, the Butler
Charles Cane	...	Hicks
Larry Olsen	...	Junior (as Larry Joe Olsen)
Irving Bacon	...	Hotel Manager
Dorothy Tree	...	Nurse Clark

Storyline

Cass Brown is about to marry for the second time; his first marriage, to Isabel, was annulled. But when he discovers that Isabel just had their baby, Cass kidnaps the infant to keep her from being adopted. Isabel's parents hunt for the child and discover that Cass and Isabel are still hopelessly in love.

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Plot Keywords:

baby | marriage | butler | pregnant woman | flashback | 

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Taglines:

LIGHT-HEARTED ROMANCE! LIGHT-HEADED COMEDY! WITH A GREAT LOVER! (original ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 1944 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Casanova Júnior

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Pictures (I), Christie Corporation, Nunnally Johnson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on December 11, 1944 with Gary Cooper reprising his film role.

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Connections

Version of Little Accident (1939)

User Reviews

Teresa Says, "Just Gary and Me, and Baby Makes Three."

Gary Cooper in the first half of the Forties made four films for director Sam Wood. Three of them were big budget items, Pride of the Yankees, For Whom The Bells Toll, and Saratoga Trunk. The fourth is a pleasant and innocuous little comedy called Casanova Brown.

The film was adapted by Floyd Dell who wrote the novel and play it was based on called Accidental Father. It had previously been filmed twice by Warner Brothers and once by the French cinema. It ran on Broadway in the 1929 season and probably got closed with the stock market crash.

All the names were changed in this adaption, but the plot line remained essentially the same. Gary Cooper is about to get married to Anita Louise when he gets a cryptic note from Teresa Wright. He confides in Anita's father, Frank Morgan who is a fellow colleague at the college where Cooper is an English professor. Morgan also seems to function more as a western sidekick for Cooper than a father of the bride for Louise.

Cooper's little secret is that he was ever so briefly married to Teresa Wright. Her cryptic note says he should go to a maternity hospital in Chicago and see a certain doctor there. Cooper of course arrives at some logical conclusions.

Teresa of course has an agenda of her own and I can't say too much more as both women fight for Cooper. Of course with that baby, Ms. Wright definitely has the upper hand.

Casanova Brown was the second of two films Cooper and Wright did together, the first being the highly acclaimed Pride of the Yankees. This film isn't anything like the epic story of Lou Gehrig, but it is definitely a pleasant enough diversion.

It's an opportunity to see Frank Morgan in a rare appearance outside the MGM studio. He has some very good moments in Casanova Brown as Cooper's confidante.

However Casanova Brown has one claim to immortality. There is a flashback sequence where Cooper is telling Morgan about the relationship with Wright. After they've eloped Wright brings Cooper to meet her parents who are played by Edmond Breon and Patricia Collinge. Collinge is a believer in astrology and no smoking. Cooper in an effort to hide the fact he smoked a cigarette in their house, manages to burn their house down. It is one of the most hilarious things ever put on film.

The rest of the film is good and entertaining, but it doesn't match up to that scene. See Casanova Brown for that alone.