Duffy's Tavern (1945)

The staff of a record factory drown their sorrows at Duffy's Tavern, while the company owner faces threats of bankruptcy.

Director:

Hal Walker

Writers:

Melvin Frank (screenplay), Norman Panama (screenplay)

Stars:

Ed Gardner, Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ed Gardner	...	Archie
Bing Crosby	...	Bing Crosby
Betty Hutton	...	Betty Hutton
Paulette Goddard	...	Paulette Goddard
Alan Ladd	...	Alan Ladd
Dorothy Lamour	...	Dorothy Lamour
Eddie Bracken	...	Eddie Bracken
Brian Donlevy	...	Brian Donlevy
Sonny Tufts	...	Sonny Tufts
Veronica Lake	...	Veronica Lake
Arturo de Córdova	...	Arturo de Cordova
Barry Fitzgerald	...	Bing Crosby's Father
Cass Daley	...	Cass Daley
Diana Lynn	...	Diana Lynn
Victor Moore	...	Michael O'Malley

Storyline

The staff of a record factory drown their sorrows at Duffy's Tavern, while the company owner faces threats of bankruptcy.

---

Plot Keywords:

based on radio show | bar | tavern | character name in title | 

---

Taglines:

Biggest Star Party in Hollywood History

---

Genres:

Comedy | Musical

---

Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

---

Quotes

Tough Guy: C'mon finish your drink and let's get out of here.
Veronica Lake: No!
Tough Guy: [he slaps her] I said finish your drink and let's get out of here.
Veronica Lake: I said no.
[he slaps her again]
Alan Ladd: [comes over to their table] Did I see you slap that young lady?
Veronica Lake: Yes you did, and I'm not going home
[Tough Guy slaps her again]
Alan Ladd: [stubbing out his cigarette] Let me see you do that again.
[Tough Guy slaps]
[...]

---

Connections

Spoofed in Swing Shift Cinderella (1945)

---

Soundtracks

Swinging on a Star
Music by Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyrics by Johnny Burke
Performed by Bing Crosby, Sonny Tufts, Arturo de Córdova, Cass Daley, Jean Heather, Helen Walker, Gail Russell, Diana Lynn, Billy De Wolfe, Betty Hutton, Howard Da Silva and Dorothy Lamour

User Reviews

Where the elite meet to eat

Ed Gardiner, creator and star of popular radio show Duffy's Tavern took the act to the silver screen at the end of World War II and Paramount provided him with an all star cast in support. Every studio had those all star cast variety shows at some point during the World War II years, some studios made more than one. I must admit I'm a sucker for them, so there's no way I could give this a bad review. Especially with the

guest stars headed by America's number one star at the time, Bing Crosby.

The plots of these extravaganzas were always paper thin. In this case Victor Moore owns a record factory and World War II, material and price controls have left him without shellac needed to produce those 78 rpms. Also the war has stripped him of his labor force. But the guys are

back from the war, but Moore has no money to open the factory and no shellac. His recently discharged from the service employees are eating and drinking on credit at Duffy's Tavern, managed by inimitable and resourceful Archie played by Ed Gardiner.

Taverns have always been a great source for comedy and drama of all kinds throughout the centuries. You could go all the way back to Shakespeare with Sir John Falstaff and Prince Hal and their boon drinking companions. Or for drama, what better than Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. Or in a lighter vein, William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life.

But Duffy's ain't that kind of a joint. Archie is part bartender, philosopher, with a touch of reprobate in him. We never see Mr. Duffy, but Archie reported in to him by phone several times during a given radio show. The bar is populated with a usual crew of characters who Archie comiserates with once a week. Archie's command of the English language is only equaled by Leo Gorcey's. I'm sure Gorcey must have studied under him.

So Ed Gardiner and Victor Moore set about to get the factory running and the men back to work. They have a master recording of Bing Crosby which should do the trick. A whole bunch of stars including Crosby, are staying at a hotel in New York where Moore's daughter Marjorie Reynolds is a switchboard operator.

If you can't figure the rest of this out, you ain't seen too many films from the forties.

Duffy's Tavern ran for years on radio. Ed Gardiner tried to take it to television, but it didn't succeed there. Strange because so many TV shows like Archie Bunker's Place, Jackie Gleason's Joe the Bartender sketches and George Carlin's show from a few years ago owe the format to what Gardiner did on radio.

A great place Duffy's Tavern, a place where Archie liked to say, "where the elite meet to eat."

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Duffy's Tavern

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1