Chicken Every Sunday
Encyclopedia
Chicken Every Sunday is a 1949 American comedy film
directed by George Seaton
. The screenplay by Seaton and Valentine Davies
is based on the 1944 play of the same title by Julius J. Epstein
and Philip G. Epstein
, which was based on the novel by Rosemary Taylor.
in 1910, Emily Hefferen visits attorney Robert Hart to file for divorce from her husband Jim, citing his lack of support as grounds. When Hart expresses surprise, given the local hotel, laundry, and dairy bear the Heffernen name, suggesting the family is wealthy, Emily describes her family life for the past twenty years.
On their wedding day, Emily discovers Jim, vice-president of the bank, has either donated or lost all his money on bad investments. In order to make ends meet, she takes in another newlywed couple as boarders in their home on the edge of town. As time passes and each of Jim's new moneymaking schemes fails, his wife takes in new boarders in order to make the monthly mortgage payment.
Over the years Jim's time increasingly is consumed by his attention to various business ventures, including a hospital, laundry, restaurant, dairy, opera house, and hotel. Every time he starts a new business, Emily adds another room to the house to accommodate more boarders, in addition to their growing family.
At daughter Rosemary's high school graduation ceremony, Jim learns the bank is foreclosing
the hotel, and Emily resigns herself to being the family's primary breadwinner. Jim decides to mine a nearby arroyo
for copper
, and when he learns new roomer Rita Kirby's abandoned husband George owns a New Jersey
construction company, he invites the man to come to Tucson in the hope he'll invest in his latest project. George arrives with his inebriated mother-in-law, ex-vaudeville
entertainer Minnie Moon, but he refuses to discuss any business propositions until he sorts through his personal problems, although he gives Emily a $250 check, which is enough money to pay off the mortgage on their home. When the owner of the arroyo threatens to close the mine unless Jim purchases the property immediately, he secretly takes out a new mortgage, hoping to buy it back after George invests in the venture. However, water instead of copper is found on the land, and all dealings with George end, and banker Sam Howell begins to repossess the Hefferen's furniture.
Having concluded telling Hart her story, Emily returns home and finds the furniture being returned, thanks to the kindness of Jim's friends, who paid off the loan. Jim, ashamed he has not provided for his family, prepares to leave. Rosemary reminds her mother that without Jim the town never would have had a hospital, laundry, restaurant, dairy, opera house, and hotel. Emily realizes her marriage is filled with the love required for a couple to overcome their trials and tribulations and urges Jim to stay.
originally bought the film rights to Rosemary Taylor's novel in August 1944, and the Epstein brothers fashioned a script from the stage play they had adapted from Taylor's book. Mervyn LeRoy
was signed to direct the film, but Warners then sold the property to 20th Century Fox
. Mary C. McCall, Jr. wrote a treatment of the story, but final credit for the screenplay went to director George Seaton and Valentine Davies.
Among the actors rumored to be considered for or actually cast in major roles before filming began were John Payne
, Maureen O'Hara
, Henry Fonda
, Jeanne Crain
, and Florence Bates
. The film was shot on location in the Tucson Mountains
and in the Nevada
towns of Gardnerville
, Minden
, Carson City
, Virginia City
, and Silver City
.
In June 1956, The 20th Century Fox Hour
, an hour-long anthology series broadcast by CBS
, aired The Hefferen Family, based on the Taylor novel. Three years later, Julius J. Epstein, the estate of his late brother Philip, and Taylor filed a copyright infringement
/breach of contract
suit against the film studio, claiming Fox did not own the television rights to the story. The case was settled out of court for $100,000.
of the New York Times said the film "is larded with rich and wholesome portions of nourishing Ma-Loves-Pa and it is seasoned with more than generous sprinklings of standard bucolic farce. But like any average menu which comes at you too many times, this one, with its obvious repetitions, tends to monotony . . . Mr. Dailey persistently offers himself as a slick and saucy gent who would be much more believable as a vaudevillian than he is as a small-town idea-man. In fact, his performance is so fashioned to the conventions of musical shows that one has a feeling of frustration when he doesn't grab occasional cues for songs. Miss Holm, too, is somewhat unsuited to the sentiments of a domestic role. Every so often, one trembles lest her Mama break out in travesty. And although her bantering humors with Mr. Dailey are generally smooth, they are not precisely the conduct of a middle-aged Mama with her spouse. It is just a bit disappointing that Mr. Seaton, who has heretofore got so much freshness in previous pictures — Miracle on 34th Street
and Apartment for Peggy
, notably — should have let this Chicken Every Sunday stew along in a much-warmed pot."
TV Guide
rated the film 2½ out of four stars and called it "light comedy . . . amusing, but poorly directed."
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by George Seaton
George Seaton
George Seaton was an American screenwriter, playwright, film director and producer, and theatre director.Born George Stenius in South Bend, Indiana, Seaton moved to Detroit after graduating from college to work as an actor on radio station WXYZ. John L...
. The screenplay by Seaton and Valentine Davies
Valentine Davies
Valentine Davies was an American film and television writer, producer, and director. His credits included Miracle on 34th Street , Chicken Every Sunday , The Bridges at Toko-Ri , and The Benny Goodman Story...
is based on the 1944 play of the same title by Julius J. Epstein
Julius J. Epstein
Julius J. Epstein was an American screenwriter, who had a long career, best remembered for the adaptation - in partnership with his twin brother, Philip, and others - of the unproduced play Everybody Comes to Rick's that became the screenplay for the film Casablanca , for which its team of writers...
and Philip G. Epstein
Philip G. Epstein
Philip G. Epstein was an American screenwriter most known for his adaptation in partnership with his twin brother, Julius, and others, of the unproduced play Everybody Comes to Rick's which became the Academy Award-winning screenplay of the film Casablanca .Epstein was born in New York City and...
, which was based on the novel by Rosemary Taylor.
Plot
In Tucson, ArizonaTucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
in 1910, Emily Hefferen visits attorney Robert Hart to file for divorce from her husband Jim, citing his lack of support as grounds. When Hart expresses surprise, given the local hotel, laundry, and dairy bear the Heffernen name, suggesting the family is wealthy, Emily describes her family life for the past twenty years.
On their wedding day, Emily discovers Jim, vice-president of the bank, has either donated or lost all his money on bad investments. In order to make ends meet, she takes in another newlywed couple as boarders in their home on the edge of town. As time passes and each of Jim's new moneymaking schemes fails, his wife takes in new boarders in order to make the monthly mortgage payment.
Over the years Jim's time increasingly is consumed by his attention to various business ventures, including a hospital, laundry, restaurant, dairy, opera house, and hotel. Every time he starts a new business, Emily adds another room to the house to accommodate more boarders, in addition to their growing family.
At daughter Rosemary's high school graduation ceremony, Jim learns the bank is foreclosing
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
the hotel, and Emily resigns herself to being the family's primary breadwinner. Jim decides to mine a nearby arroyo
Arroyo (creek)
An arroyo , a Spanish word translated as brook, and also called a wash is usually a dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Wadi is a similar term in Africa. In Spain, a rambla has a similar meaning to arroyo.-Types and processes:Arroyos...
for copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, and when he learns new roomer Rita Kirby's abandoned husband George owns a New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
construction company, he invites the man to come to Tucson in the hope he'll invest in his latest project. George arrives with his inebriated mother-in-law, ex-vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
entertainer Minnie Moon, but he refuses to discuss any business propositions until he sorts through his personal problems, although he gives Emily a $250 check, which is enough money to pay off the mortgage on their home. When the owner of the arroyo threatens to close the mine unless Jim purchases the property immediately, he secretly takes out a new mortgage, hoping to buy it back after George invests in the venture. However, water instead of copper is found on the land, and all dealings with George end, and banker Sam Howell begins to repossess the Hefferen's furniture.
Having concluded telling Hart her story, Emily returns home and finds the furniture being returned, thanks to the kindness of Jim's friends, who paid off the loan. Jim, ashamed he has not provided for his family, prepares to leave. Rosemary reminds her mother that without Jim the town never would have had a hospital, laundry, restaurant, dairy, opera house, and hotel. Emily realizes her marriage is filled with the love required for a couple to overcome their trials and tribulations and urges Jim to stay.
Production
Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
originally bought the film rights to Rosemary Taylor's novel in August 1944, and the Epstein brothers fashioned a script from the stage play they had adapted from Taylor's book. Mervyn LeRoy
Mervyn LeRoy
Mervyn LeRoy was an American film director, producer and sometime actor.-Early life:Born to Jewish parents in San Francisco, California, his family was financially ruined by the 1906 earthquake...
was signed to direct the film, but Warners then sold the property to 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. Mary C. McCall, Jr. wrote a treatment of the story, but final credit for the screenplay went to director George Seaton and Valentine Davies.
Among the actors rumored to be considered for or actually cast in major roles before filming began were John Payne
John Payne (actor)
John Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films, and for his leading roles in Miracle on 34th Street and the NBC western television series The Restless Gun.-Background:Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
, Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
, Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
, Jeanne Crain
Jeanne Crain
Jeanne Elizabeth Crain was an American actress.-Early life:Crain was born in Barstow, California, to George A. Crain, a school teacher, and Loretta Carr; she was of Irish heritage on her mother's side, and of English and distant French descent on her father's...
, and Florence Bates
Florence Bates
Florence Bates was an American character actress who often played grande dame characters in her films.Born Florence Rabe in San Antonio, Texas, the second child of Jewish immigrants, Bates showed musical talent as a child, but a hand injury inhibited her from continuing her piano studies...
. The film was shot on location in the Tucson Mountains
Tucson Mountains
The Tucson Mountains are a minor mountain range west of Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Mountains, including Wasson Peak, are one of four notable mountain ranges surrounding the Tucson valley...
and in the Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
towns of Gardnerville
Gardnerville, Nevada
Gardnerville is a census-designated place in Douglas County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the county seat of Minden. The population was 3,357 at the 2000 census....
, Minden
Minden, Nevada
Minden is a census-designated place in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. The population was 2,836 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Douglas County and is adjacent to the city of Gardnerville. It is named after the town of Minden, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It...
, Carson City
Carson City, Nevada
The Consolidated Municipality of Carson City is the capital of the state of Nevada. The words Consolidated Municipality refer to a series of changes in 1969 which abolished Ormsby County and merged all the settlements contained within its borders into Carson City. Since that time Carson City has...
, Virginia City
Virginia City, Nevada
Virginia City is a census-designated place that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 855 at the 2010 Census.- History :...
, and Silver City
Silver City, Nevada
Silver City is a town in Lyon County, Nevada, USA, near the Lyon/Carson border. The population as of the 2000 census was 170....
.
In June 1956, The 20th Century Fox Hour
The 20th Century Fox Hour
The 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title Hour of Stars...
, an hour-long anthology series broadcast by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, aired The Hefferen Family, based on the Taylor novel. Three years later, Julius J. Epstein, the estate of his late brother Philip, and Taylor filed a copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
/breach of contract
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
suit against the film studio, claiming Fox did not own the television rights to the story. The case was settled out of court for $100,000.
Cast
- Dan DaileyDan DaileyDaniel James Dailey Jr. was an American dancer and actor.-Early life and career:Born in New York City on December 14, 1915, to James J. and Helen Dailey, both born in New York City. He appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in...
..... Jim Hefferan - Celeste HolmCeleste HolmCeleste Holm is an American stage, film, and television actress, known for her Academy Award-winning performance in Gentleman's Agreement , as well as for her Oscar-nominated performances in Come to the Stable and All About Eve...
..... Emily Hefferan - Colleen TownsendColleen TownsendColleen Townsend is an American actress, author and humanitarian.Townsend began a film career in 1944, appearing in minor roles in several films. By 1946, she was appearing on the cover of magazines, and in 1947 was signed to a contract by 20th Century Fox...
..... Rosemary Hefferan - William FrawleyWilliam FrawleyWilliam Clement "Bill" Frawley was an American stage entertainer, screen and television actor. Although Frawley acted in over 100 films, he achieved his greatest fame playing landlord Fred Mertz for the situation comedy I Love Lucy.-Early life:William was born to Michael A. Frawley and Mary E....
..... George Kirby - Alan YoungAlan YoungAlan Young is an English-Canadian actor and voice actor, best known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney films, TV series and video games...
..... Geoffrey Lawson - Natalie WoodNatalie WoodNatalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
..... Ruth Hefferan - Connie GilchristConnie GilchristConnie Gilchrist was a stage, film and television character actress.Born Rose Constance Gilchrist in Brooklyn, New York...
..... Millie Moon - Veda Ann BorgVeda Ann BorgVeda Ann Borg was an American film actress.Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Borg was the daughter of Gottfried Borg, a Swedish immigrant and Minna Noble. She became a model in 1936 before winning a contract at Paramount Pictures. A car crash in 1939 necessitated drastic reconstruction of her face by...
..... Rita Kirby
Critical reception
Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
of the New York Times said the film "is larded with rich and wholesome portions of nourishing Ma-Loves-Pa and it is seasoned with more than generous sprinklings of standard bucolic farce. But like any average menu which comes at you too many times, this one, with its obvious repetitions, tends to monotony . . . Mr. Dailey persistently offers himself as a slick and saucy gent who would be much more believable as a vaudevillian than he is as a small-town idea-man. In fact, his performance is so fashioned to the conventions of musical shows that one has a feeling of frustration when he doesn't grab occasional cues for songs. Miss Holm, too, is somewhat unsuited to the sentiments of a domestic role. Every so often, one trembles lest her Mama break out in travesty. And although her bantering humors with Mr. Dailey are generally smooth, they are not precisely the conduct of a middle-aged Mama with her spouse. It is just a bit disappointing that Mr. Seaton, who has heretofore got so much freshness in previous pictures — Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 Christmas film written by George Seaton from a story by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn...
and Apartment for Peggy
Apartment for Peggy
Apartment for Peggy is a 1948 film about a depressed professor whose spirits are lifted when he rents part of his home to a young couple. It was based on the novelette An Apartment for Jenny by Faith Baldwin. Campus exteriors were filmed at the University of Nevada, Reno.-Plot:Jason Taylor is a...
, notably — should have let this Chicken Every Sunday stew along in a much-warmed pot."
TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
rated the film 2½ out of four stars and called it "light comedy . . . amusing, but poorly directed."