Pillow to Post (1945)

With a war on and most men being drafted, Howard Oil Supply Company has no salesmen left. So daughter Jean hits the road and does not make one sale. She finally gets one tentative sale with... See full summary »

Director:

Vincent Sherman

Writers:

Charles Hoffman (screenplay), Rose Simon Kohn (play)

Stars:

Ida Lupino, Sydney Greenstreet, William Prince

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ida Lupino	...	Jean Howard
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Colonel Michael Otley
William Prince	...	Lieutenant Don Mallory
Stuart Erwin	...	Captain Jack Ross
Johnny Mitchell	...	Earl 'Slim' Clark
Ruth Donnelly	...	Mrs. Grace Wingate
Barbara Brown	...	Mrs. Kate Otley
Frank Orth	...	Clayfield Taxi Driver
Regina Wallace	...	Mrs. Mallory, Don's Mother
Willie Best	...	Lucille, Colonial Auto Court Porter
Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra	...	Themselves at the Tavern
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Louis Armstrong	...	Orchestra Leader
Marie Blake	...	Wilbur's Mother (scenes deleted)
Bob Crosby	...	Clarence Wilson (scenes deleted)
Ferdinand Munier	...	Traveling Salesman (scenes deleted)

Storyline

With a war on and most men being drafted, Howard Oil Supply Company has no salesmen left. So daughter Jean hits the road and does not make one sale. She finally gets one tentative sale with the Black Hills Oil Co., but Earl wants dinner with her. With the shortage of housing due to the war, Jean needs a military husband to get a place to stay in Clayfield, which is next to Camp Clay. She gets Lt. Mallory to act as her husband just to register. Then things go wrong as his commanding officer is there and believes them to be married. It gets worse as Don's mother shows up and then Jean's father.

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Plot Keywords:

saleswoman | based on play

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 June 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hulluuden huippu

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on December 31, 1945 with Ida Lupino reprising her film role.

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Quotes

Lieut. Don Mallory: [Seeing Jean in a skimpy nightgown] Holy mackerel!
Jean Howard: What are you staring at?
Lieut. Don Mallory: Is that a special outfit for brushing your teeth?
Jean Howard: It happens to be the latest thing in night-ware.
Lieut. Don Mallory: Oh... I suppose it gives you more freedom?
Jean Howard: Well, that's what we're fighting for, isn't it?

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Soundtracks

"How Many Hearts Have You Broken (With Those Great Big Beautiful Eyes)"
(uncredited)
Music by Al Kaufman
Played when Jean and Slim dance at the Tavern

User Reviews

Cousin of "Christmas"

Basically a limp re-working of "Christmas in Connecticut", with a pampered woman desperately pretending to be something she's not, and in both cases trying to dupe fat, gullible Sydney Greenstreet in the process.

Unfortunately Ida Lupino is no Barbara Stanwyck when it comes to playing comedy. She's brittle and high-strung and doesn't know how to milk the shopworn script for laughs. Her reactions aren't varied enough, she almost always seems to be on the verge of tears and simply doesn't seem to be having much fun. Her romantic interest, William Prince, is pleasant but unremarkable.

Still the film is worth sitting through if only to hear that great blustering character actor Greenstreet thunder out lines like, "That's the most preposterous thing I've ever heard!" and, "What the devil is going on here?" in that inimitable voice of his.