Once Upon a Time (1944)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Alexander Hall

Writers:

Norman Corwin (story)
Irving Fineman (adaptation)

Release Date:

29 June 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy

Plot:

Smalltime crookster and showman Jerry Flynn is desperately searching for a new act to promote in order to save him from ruin...

Plot Keywords:

Caterpillar | Dancing Caterpillar | Beautiful Woman | Con Trick | Once Upon A Time In The Title

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Jerry Flynn
Janet Blair	...	Jeannie Thompson
James Gleason	...	McGillicuddy aka The Moke
Ted Donaldson	...	Arthur 'Pinky' Thompson
William Demarest	...	Brandt
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eddie Acuff	...	Shipyard worker (scenes deleted)
Kirk Alyn	...	Attendant (scenes deleted)
Lionel Braham	...	Weightlifter (scenes deleted)
George Bruggeman	...	Trapeze artist (scenes deleted)
Leonard Carey	...	English bobby (scenes deleted)
Lane Chandler	...	Doorman (scenes deleted)
Bill Chaney	...	Call boy (scenes deleted)
Charles Coleman	...	English bobby (scenes deleted)
Jeff Donnell	...	Girl from Brooklyn (scenes deleted)
George Eldredge	...	Man (scenes deleted)
Clyde Fillmore	...	FBI agent (scenes deleted)
Dick Gordon	...	Man (scenes deleted)
Harrison Greene	...	Businessman (scenes deleted)
Frank Hagney	...	Assistant cyclist (scenes deleted)
Eddie Hall	...	Bike rider (scenes deleted)
Esther Howard	...	Clerk (scenes deleted)
John Kelly	...	Truckman (scenes deleted)
Phyllis Kennedy	...	Telephone operator (scenes deleted)
Tom Kennedy	...	Truckman (scenes deleted)
Lawrence Lathrop	...	Call boy (scenes deleted)
Jing Lin	...	Chinese man (scenes deleted)
Norval Mitchell	...	Masseur (scenes deleted)
Walter Pietila	...	Trapeze artist (scenes deleted)
Cyril Ring	...	Man (scenes deleted)
Ronald R. Rondell	...	Gaucho (scenes deleted)
Ray Teal	...	Shipyard worker (scenes deleted)
George Tyne	...	Jitterbug dancer (scenes deleted)
Charles Waldron	...	Preacher (scenes deleted)
Ruth Warren	...	Mother of Fatso (scenes deleted)
Robert Williams	...	Stage manager (scenes deleted)
Isabel Withers	...	Woman (scenes deleted)
William Yip	...	Chinese man (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

My Client Curly (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Movie Connections:

Version of Sametka (1967)

Soundtrack:

Yes Sir, That's My Baby

Originally, a radio play by Norman Corwin, titled "My Client Curly"

This was a wonderful radio play Norman Corwin wrote for CBS Radio in the 1940s. It starred Fred Allen, and because it was during the infamous Petrillo Musician's Union Strike, the background music was vocalized by a chorus. I was charmed by it then, but felt then (and now) that the imaginative quality of the radio play would be diminished in a film. I also felt Allen would be far better than Cary Grant in the lead role. But Allen would have sold far fewer tickets.