So This Is New York (1948)

A small town man inherits a significant fortune and takes his family to New York City. Urban culture shock takes the form of strange ways and oddball characters Based on Ring Lardner 's novel "The Big Town."

Director:

Richard Fleischer (as Richard O. Fleischer)

Writers:

Carl Foreman (screenplay), Herbert Baker (screenplay)

Stars:

Henry Morgan, Rudy Vallee, Bill Goodwin

Cast

Cast overview:
Henry Morgan	...	Ernie Finch
Rudy Vallee	...	Herbert Daley
Bill Goodwin	...	Jimmy Ralston / Captain Shaw in Play
Hugh Herbert	...	Mr. Lucius Trumball
Leo Gorcey	...	Sid Mercer - Jockey
Virginia Grey	...	Ella Goff Finch
Dona Drake	...	Kate Goff / Maid in Play
Jerome Cowan	...	Francis Griffin
Dave Willock	...	Willis Gilbey
Frank Orth	...	A.J. Gluskoter
Arnold Stang	...	Western Union Clerk
William Bakewell	...	Hotel Clerk

Storyline

A small town man inherits a significant fortune and takes his family to New York City. Urban culture shock takes the form of strange ways and oddball characters Based on Ring Lardner 's novel "The Big Town."

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Plot Keywords:

culture shock | jockey | horse race | horse racing | 

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Taglines:

IT'S A BANG-UP LAUGH FILLED JOY RIDE WITH GALS-GALS-GALS and MORE GALS AND THEIR FASCINATING CHARACTERS,

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie is based on the novel "The Big Town" by Ring Lardner.

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Connections

References Lost in the Arctic (1928)

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Soundtracks

Moonlight Sonata
(uncredited)
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven

User Reviews

Too New Yorky?

This movie really was not a success, but give the studio credit for throwing a lot of talent at it. The movie was, if we are to believe IMDb, Stanley Kramer's first production. He and writer Carl Foreman collaborated on two more movies in the next three years: Champion, and High Noon. Kramer went on to produce many thoughtful movies (too many to list here) and Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Director Richard Fleischer also had a long career after So This Is New York, up to and including Conan the Barbarian.

Morgan had a reputation of, for a comedian, being an intellectual. He wrote for and became friends with Fred Allen. When his success on radio brought him to Hollywood's attention, his fellow New Yorker, Stanley Kramer, and he came up with a Ring Lardner tale called the Big Town. The choice was almost inevitable: Lardner's cynicism outmatched Morgan's. With Morgan being little known outside New York, they loaded the cast with familiar faces, not necessarily big stars, but familiar faces: Jerome Cowan, who was in every other Warner Brothers movie of the early 40s ( e.g., Miles Archer in the Maltese Falcon), Rudy Vallee, Hugh Herbert, and Leo Gorcey (perhaps a Carl Foreman connection here: Foreman wrote two Bowery Boys scripts a few years earlier). The ladies, Virginia Grey and Dona Drake, were glamorous. The score was by Dmitri Tiomkin, but I honestly can't remember a note he wrote. He did a more memorable score when he rejoined Kramer and Foreman on High Noon.

The weak link, I regret to say, was Henry. Aside from the witty voice-overs, he mostly sat and looked glum while the others acted rings around him. Even Arnold Stang, the stooge from Henry's radio show, stole their one brief scene together. And, there was zero chemistry between Henry and his wife played by Virginia Grey. Henry Morgan fans will be willing to overlook his shortcomings as a screen actor because this is his only comedy movie role. The rest of the world won't, and there are more of them than there are of us.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Broadway Guys

Company Credits

Production Co:

Enterprise Productions, Stanley Kramer Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1