George Washington Slept Here
Encyclopedia
George Washington Slept Here is a 1942 comedy film
starring Jack Benny
and Ann Sheridan
. It was based on the 1940 play of the same name by Moss Hart
and George S. Kaufman
, adapted by Everett Freeman, and was directed by William Keighley
. The film also starred Hattie McDaniel
the first black woman to ever win an Academy Award.
ers who purchase a dilapidated farmhouse where, according to rumors, George Washington
spent the night.
for Max Parker
, Mark-Lee Kirk
and Casey Roberts
.
, with Carole Landis
and Jack Carson
. It was also presented on the November 23, 1947 broadcast of the Ford Theatre
with Karl Swenson
and Claudia Morgan
.
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...
starring Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
and Ann Sheridan
Ann Sheridan
-Life and career:Born Clara Lou Sheridan in Denton, Texas on February 21, 1915, she was a student at the University of North Texas when her sister sent a photograph of her to Paramount Pictures. She subsequently entered and won a beauty contest, with part of her prize being a bit part in a...
. It was based on the 1940 play of the same name by Moss Hart
Moss Hart
Moss Hart was an American playwright and theatre director, best known for his interpretations of musical theater on Broadway.-Early years:...
and George S. Kaufman
George S. Kaufman
George Simon Kaufman was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals, notably for the Marx Brothers...
, adapted by Everett Freeman, and was directed by William Keighley
William Keighley
William Jackson Keighley was an American stage actor and Hollywood film director....
. The film also starred Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
the first black woman to ever win an Academy Award.
Plot
Bill and Connie Fuller are New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
ers who purchase a dilapidated farmhouse where, according to rumors, George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
spent the night.
Cast
- Jack BennyJack BennyJack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
as Bill Fuller - Ann SheridanAnn Sheridan-Life and career:Born Clara Lou Sheridan in Denton, Texas on February 21, 1915, she was a student at the University of North Texas when her sister sent a photograph of her to Paramount Pictures. She subsequently entered and won a beauty contest, with part of her prize being a bit part in a...
as Connie Fuller - Charles CoburnCharles CoburnCharles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,...
as Uncle Stanley J. Menninger - Percy KilbridePercy KilbridePercy W. Kilbride was an American character actor. The son of Irish immigrants, he made a career of playing country hicks, most memorably as Pa Kettle in the Ma and Pa Kettle series of feature films.-Career:...
as Mr. Kimber, the handyman - Hattie McDanielHattie McDanielHattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
as Hester, the Fullers' maid - William TracyWilliam TracyWilliam Tracy was an American character actor. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Tracy is perhaps best known for the role of Pepi Katona, the delivery boy, in The Shop Around the Corner. He also starred in the John Ford film Tobacco Road . That same year, he began a recurring role as Sgt...
as Steve Eldridge - Joyce Reynolds as Madge
- Lee PatrickLee Patrick (actress)Lee Patrick was an American theater and film actress.-Early life and education:Born in New York City, Patrick began acting on Broadway in 1924. For more than a decade, she was constantly employed and established herself as a popular actress. She appeared in the original 1929 production of June...
as Rena Leslie - Charles DingleCharles DingleCharles Dingle was an American stage and film actor.He was best-known for his role as Ben Hubbard in The Little Foxes and for his role as a senator in the film version of Call Me Madam...
as Mr. Prescott - John Emery as Clayton Evans
- Douglas CroftDouglas CroftDouglas Croft, born Douglas Malcom Wheatcroft was an early American child actor who is best remembered for being the first actor to portray the DC Comics character Robin the Boy Wonder, in the 1943 serial Batman, at 16 years of age.Croft was born in Seattle, Washington...
as Raymond - Harvey Stephens as Jeff Douglas
Awards and honors
George Washington Slept Here was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art DirectionAcademy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
for Max Parker
Max Parker
Max Parker was an American art director. He was nominated for an Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction for the film George Washington Slept Here. He worked on 86 films between 1916 and 1947....
, Mark-Lee Kirk
Mark-Lee Kirk
Mark-Lee Kirk was an American art director. He was nominated for three Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on 52 films between 1936 and 1959.-Selected filmography:...
and Casey Roberts
Casey Roberts
Casey Roberts was an American set decorator. He was nominated for three Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.He was born in Illinois and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...
.
Adaptations to other media
George Washington Slept Here was adapted as a half-hour radio play on the November 8, 1943 broadcast of The Screen Guild TheaterThe Screen Guild Theater
The Screen Guild Theater was a popular radio anthology series during the Golden Age of Radio, broadcast from 1939 until 1952, with leading Hollywood actors performing in adaptations of popular motion pictures such as Going My Way and The Postman Always Rings Twice.The show had a long run, lasting...
, with Carole Landis
Carole Landis
Carole Landis was an American film and stage actress whose break-through role was as the female lead in the 1940 film One Million B.C.. Landis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1765 Vine Street....
and Jack Carson
Jack Carson
John Elmer "Jack" Carson was a Canadian-born U.S.-based film actor.Jack Carson was one of the most popular character actors during the 'golden age of Hollywood', with a film career spanning the 1930s, '40s and '50s...
. It was also presented on the November 23, 1947 broadcast of the Ford Theatre
Ford Theatre
Ford Theatre was a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s. At various times the television series appeared on all three major television networks, while the radio version was broadcast on two separate networks and on two separate coasts...
with Karl Swenson
Karl Swenson
Karl Swenson was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor.-Biography:Born in Brooklyn, New York of Swedish parentage, Swenson made several appearances with Pierre-Luc Michaud on Broadway in the 1930s and 40s, including the title role in Arthur Miller's first production, The Man Who...
and Claudia Morgan
Claudia Morgan
Claudia Morgan was an American film, television and radio actress. She was best known for playing the role of Vera Claythorne in the first Broadway production of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians and for her portrayal of Nora Charles on the 1940s radio series, The Adventures of the Thin...
.