It Happened to Jane (1959)

Director:

Richard Quine

Writers:

Norman Katkov (screenplay)
Norman Katkov (story)

Release Date:

14 July 1959 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Jane Osgood is trying to support her two young children by running a lobster business. After one of...

Plot Keywords:

Railway | Beautiful Woman | Train | Character Name In Title

Cast

Doris Day	...	Jane Osgood
Jack Lemmon	...	George Denham
Ernie Kovacs	...	Harry Foster Malone
Steve Forrest	...	Lawrence Clay 'Larry' Hall
Teddy Rooney	...	Billy Osgood
Russ Brown	...	Uncle Otis
Walter Greaza	...	Crawford Sloan
Parker Fennelly	...	Homer Bean
Mary Wickes	...	Matilda Runyon
Philip Coolidge	...	Wilbur Peterson
Max Showalter	...	Selwyn Harris (as Casey Adams)
John Cecil Holm	...	Aaron Caldwell
Gina Gillespie	...	Betty Osgood
Dick Crockett	...	Clarence Runyon
Napoleon Whiting	...	Eugene, the waiter

Also Known As:

Jane from Maine (USA) (alternative title)
Twinkle and Shine (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | West Germany:6 | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Chester, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Arwin Productions

Trivia:

Jack Lemmon wrote that he thought this was a good, funny movie that didn't do well because of its "terrible title". He thought he and Doris Day had very good chemistry together, and he regretted that they never did another film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mr Malone is talking with his colleague about the poster and adding more "broads", he has a piece of lobster in his left hand, when the camera goes back to him, a split second later, the piece of lobster is missing, his hand never left the screen so we would have seen him put it down.

Movie Connections:

References "I've Got a Secret" (1952)

a surprising delight

Having expected a run-of-the-mill comedy effort I was surprised to be drawn into this unusually well-written, -acted, and -produced effort. The story avoided dropping to the "cutesy" level; there was enough grit in the conflict between Jane and the railroad magnate to keep one involved. I can only echo the plaudits given by others in this space to the efforts of Day, Lemmon and, especially, the underrated Ernie Kovacs. I echo the criticism of the brief flash of gratuitous partisanship in Lemmon's little speech about the stingy, nasty Republican running for selectman, but it's a minor flaw. A nice plus is the rich look of the movie, with its portrayal of the New England countryside and its nice footage of the venerable steam locomotive, a form of transport sadly passing from the scene when the flick was made. (The color technology of films from this period is superior to what we have nowadays). All in all, a delightful surprise, and well worth catching.