Cass Timberlane (1947)

Judge Cass Timberlane marries a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, Virginia Marshland. A baby is stillborn and she turns more and more to attorney friend of of Cass' Brad Criley. While... See full summary »

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Sinclair Lewis (novel), Donald Ogden Stewart (adaptation),

Stars:

Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, Zachary Scott

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Spencer Tracy	...	Cass Timberlane
Lana Turner	...	Virginia 'Jinny' Marshland
Zachary Scott	...	Bradd Criley
Tom Drake	...	Jamie Wargate
Mary Astor	...	Queenie Havock
Albert Dekker	...	Boone Havock
Margaret Lindsay	...	Chris Grau
Rose Hobart	...	Diantha Marl
John Litel	...	Webb Wargate
Mona Barrie	...	Avis Elderman
Josephine Hutchinson	...	Lillian Drover
Selena Royle	...	Louise Wargate
Frank Wilcox	...	Gregg Marl
Richard Gaines	...	Dennis Thane
John Alexander	...	Dr. Roy Drover

Storyline

Judge Cass Timberlane marries a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, Virginia Marshland. A baby is stillborn and she turns more and more to attorney friend of of Cass' Brad Criley. While quarreling the Judge tells Virginia to stay with Brad, but when she becomes sick he brings her home.

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Plot Keywords:

judge | older man younger woman relationship | allergy | car crash | marriage | 

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Taglines:

"In Love With Her Was Like Being in an Earthquake!"

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sinclair Lewis' Cass Timberlane

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Jones, Vivien Leigh, and Virginia Grey were among those thought out for the female lead.

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Goofs

In the scene where Cass and Bradd are moving a sofa Bradd is smoking a cigarette. They place the sofa and Bradd has the cigarette in his mouth. The next moment the cigarette is gone giving the appearance he dropped it in the sofa.

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Connections

Referenced in Forecast (1945)

User Reviews

Love isn't always easy

"Cass Timberlane" is a film about unexpected love and the choices you have to make when you're in love. Directed by George Sidney and starring Spencer Tracy as Cass, a judge in small-town Minnesota who is part of the middle-aged country club set. He's generally living a comfortable and content existence when he meets Virginia (Lana Turner), a woman who is at first a witness for a small claims case and later runs into. They strike up a friendship and then a romance, culminating in their marriage. When their child dies while being born, Virginia finds herself more and more restless and spending more time with Cass' best friend, the younger and handsome attorney Bradd (Zachary Scott). The country club set sees them getting closer, and collectively send Bradd to New York under the guise that he is being transferred for his job, just as Cass is starting to wonder if something is up between Bradd and Virginia. Virginia convinces him that there is nothing going on, and eventually Cass offers to move them to New York so she isn't so bored. Cass is then forced to choose between the love he has for his town and his job, and his love for his wife and her needs.

Spencer Tracy is excellent in this film, as he is in all of his films, and Lana Turner is also quite good. The scenes between she and Zachary Scott have enough heat in them to make us wonder if they are guilty of adultery as well. The story is a pretty straightforward drama, nothing special, but it is a good script and offers up enough conflict to satisfy without resorting to overload and ridiculous emotion. This is an average film that was well worth looking up. 6/10 --Shelly