On Our Merry Way (1948)

Three short stories revolving around the topic of the daily question posed by the roving reporter to the readers of a daily newspaper.

Directors:

Leslie Fenton, King Vidor

Writers:

Laurence Stallings (screenplay), Lou Breslow (screenplay)

Stars:

Paulette Goddard, Burgess Meredith, James Stewart

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paulette Goddard	...	Martha Pease
Burgess Meredith	...	Oliver M. Pease
James Stewart	...	Slim
Henry Fonda	...	Lank
Harry James	...	Himself (as Harry James)
Dorothy Lamour	...	Gloria Manners
Victor Moore	...	Ashton Carrington
Fred MacMurray	...	Al
William Demarest	...	Floyd
Hugh Herbert	...	Eli Hobbs
Charles D. Brown	...	Mr. Sadd
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Maxim
Betty Caldwell	...	Cynthia Robbs
Dorothy Ford	...	Lola Maxim
Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer	...	Leopold 'Zoot' Wirtz (as Carl Switzer)

Storyline

Oliver Pease gets a dose of courage from his wife Martha and tricks the editor of the paper (where he writes lost pet notices) into assigning him the day's roving question. Martha suggests, "Has a little child ever changed your life?" Oliver gets answers from two slow-talking musicians, an actress whose roles usually feature a sarong, and an itinerant cardsharp. In each case the "little child" is hardly innocent: in the first, a local auto mechanic's "baby" turns out to be fully developed as a woman and a musician; in the second, a spoiled child star learns kindness; in the third, the family of a lost brat doesn't want him returned. And Oliver, what becomes of him?

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Plot Keywords:

musician | sarong | auto mechanic | baby | actress | 

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Taglines:

One long joyride with 8 great stars!

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Genres:

Comedy | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Miracle Can Happen

Filming Locations:

Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Benedict Bogeaus Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 98 min (re-edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As already stated, "A Miracle Can Happen" was the original title of this film when released on Feb. 3, 1948, at the Warner Theater in Manhattan. It consisted of three short stories (about 20-25 minutes each) linked by the Burgess Meredith character. He played a reporter looking for a good scoop and in the second sequence Charles Laughton played a bible-reading minister. When it was released nationally in June, however, it had been decided that the "religious" story would be dropped and replaced by a more comic one featuring Dorothy Lamour. The film in this new version was then re-titled "On Our Merry Way." However, prints of the original film had already been sent abroad for dubbing. In Spain, "A Miracle Can Happen" became "Una Encuesta Llamada Milagro", complete with the original Laughton sequence intact (but without the alternative Dorothy Lamour story). As it has been released on DVD there, and retains the English-language soundtrack, the movie can now been seen as it was originally intended.

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Alternate Versions

The version released in Spain and always seen on both TV and DVD, in dubbed and subtitled versions (bearing the title card "A Miracle Can Happen"), includes the Charles Laughton episode but not the Dorothy Lamour one.

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Connections

Referenced in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to James Stewart (1980)

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Soundtracks

Frühlingslied (Spring Song)
(uncredited)
Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Played briefly at the contest on the small tuba

User Reviews

Entertaining and enjoyable ¨anthology picture¨ with all-star-cast giving top-drawer acting

¨A Miracle Can Happen" was the original title of this film , it deals with a down-and-out reporter called Oliver Pease (Burguess Meredith) gets a dose of courage from his wife Martha (Paulette Goddard) as she suggests him an interesting inquiry : "Has a little child ever changed your life?" . Oliver gets answers from two slow-talking musicians (Henry Fonda and James Stewart) , the second sequence Charles Laughton played a bible-reading minister , and the third part about an itinerant couple (Fred MacMurray , William Demarest) who is deceived by a child . In each case the "little child" is hardly innocent: in the first, a local auto mechanic's "baby" results out to be fully developed as a beautiful girl ; in the second , an unfortunate church Minister (Charles Laughton) teaches a grumpy father (Henry Hull) to learn kindness by Bible reading ; in the third, the family of a spoiled brat doesn't want him returned . Did You Ever See A Miracle Walking?

This is a sketches movie full of humor , fun situations , entertainment and amusement . Interesting screenplay by Laurence Stallings and Lou Breslow based on original story by Arch Oboler . The picture is made up of many vignettes featuring many capable stars , it belongs to sub-genre about ¨anthology film¨ ; movies like "Flesh and Fantasy" and "O. Henry's Full House" used large casts to tell several interlocked stories , though "Tales of Manhattan" is the best of the anthology films , it follows the adventures of a tuxedo's tailcoat as it passes through the hands of several diverse people , being also starred by Laughton and Fonda . This ¨A miracle can happen¨ consisted of three short stories , about 20-25 minutes each , linked by the Burgess Meredith character. Titled "A Miracle Can Happen", this film debuted on February 3, 1948 at the Warner Theatre in Manhattan , during February, the feature also opened in Philadelphia and Detroit ; in June, when released nationally, the picture ran nine minutes shorter than its original 107 minutes, and the film's name had been changed to "On Our Merry Way," thus avoiding any religious connection that moviegoers might assume by seeing the word "miracle" in the title . Nice acting by Burguess Meredith as a misfit journalist pursued by a creditor , he writes lost pet notices and looking for a good scoop he tricks the editor of the newspaper . Sensational duo formed by Henry Fonda and James Stewart , they are fabulous as an amusing couple become involved into a funny contest . Charles Laughton plays masterfully an unlucky Minister ; however, this segment was eliminated in some copies with a parody of an actress whose roles usually feature a sarong as Dorothy Lamour's South Seas movies , as the powers-that-be decided to drop this 'religious' story altogether and it was replaced by a more comic one . Independent producer David O. Selznick offered to buy the film in order to issue the Laughton sequence as a short, scrapping the rest of the picture ; Selznick's plan was rejected by producer Benedict Bogeaus and producer-star Burgess Meredith . In Spain, "A Miracle Can Happen", complete with the original Laughton sequence intact but of course without the alternative Dorothy Lamour story , as it has been released on DVD there, and retains the English-language soundtrack, the movie can now been seen as it was originally intended .

Extraordinary support cast formed by notorious secondaries such as Harry James , Victor Moore , William Demarest , Hugh Herbert , Eduardo Ciannelli , Henry Hull , John Qualen and Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer . The film has an atmospheric cinematography carried out by four prestigious cameramen as Joseph F. Biroc , Edward Cronjager , John F. Seitz and uncredited Ernest Laszlo . Evocative and appropriate original musical score by Heinz Roemheld . The motion picture was well directed by four classic Hollywood filmmakers as King Vidor, Leslie Fenton and, uncredited, John Huston and George Stevens . Rating : Good film , 6'5/10 .Well worth watching .