I Want a Divorce
Encyclopedia
I Want a Divorce is a 1940
Paramount
film
directed by Ralph Murphy. The screenplay was written by Frank Butler
(based on a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns
). The film starred then married actors Joan Blondell
and Dick Powell
, who would later divorce in real life.
1940 in film
The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Ralph Murphy. The screenplay was written by Frank Butler
Frank Butler (writer)
Frank Butler was an American film and theatre actor; he was also a screenwriter.-Theatre:His theatre career included two appearances in Broadway-theatre productions in New York City, New York....
(based on a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns
Adela Rogers St. Johns
Adela Rogers St. Johns was an American journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. She wrote a number of screenplays for silent movies and, late in life, appeared with other early twentieth-century figures as one of the 'witnesses' in Warren Beatty's Reds, but she is best remembered for her...
). The film starred then married actors Joan Blondell
Joan Blondell
Rose Joan Blondell was an American actress who performed in movies and on television for five decades as Joan Blondell.After winning a beauty pageant, Blondell embarked upon a film career...
and Dick Powell
Dick Powell
Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
, who would later divorce in real life.
Plot
Alan and Geraldine MacNally are a married couple, who are doubting if they did the right thing by marrying each other. Meanwhile, David and Wanda Holland are in the final stages of their divorce. It so happens Alan is the attorney who arranges their divorce. This makes him and Geraldine fall even further apart. Everything changes when Wanda commits suicide after she loses custody of her son. The MacNallys then start thinking about what is really important to them.Cast
- Joan BlondellJoan BlondellRose Joan Blondell was an American actress who performed in movies and on television for five decades as Joan Blondell.After winning a beauty pageant, Blondell embarked upon a film career...
– Geraldine MacNally (née Brokaw) - Dick PowellDick PowellRichard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
– Alan MacNally - Gloria DicksonGloria DicksonGloria Dickson was an American stage and screen actress of the 1930s and 1940s.-Life and career:Born in Pocatello, Idaho, Dickson began acting during high school in amateur theatre productions. Encouraged by her acting coaches, she moonlighted doing dramatic readings at social clubs and on KFOX...
– Wanda Holland - Frank FayFrank Fay (American actor)Frank Fay was an American film and stage actor, emcee, comedian, best known as an actor for having played "Elwood P. Dowd" in the play Harvey by the American playwright Mary Coyle Chase on Broadway...
– Jeff Gilman - Jessie RalphJessie RalphJessie Ralph was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic motion pictures....
– Grandma Brokaw - Harry Davenport – Grandpa Brokaw
- Conrad NagelConrad NagelConrad Nagel was an American screen actor and matinee idol of the silent film era and beyond. He was also a well-known television actor and radio performer.-Biography:...
– David Holland, Sr. - Dorothy BurgessDorothy BurgessDorothy Burgess was a stage and motion picture actress from Los Angeles, California.-Family, education:She was a niece of Fay Bainter. On her father's side she was related to George Montgomery of Montgomery and Stone. Her grandfather was Henry A. Burgess, Sr. He came to Los Angeles in 1893,...
– Peppy Gilman - Sidney BlackmerSidney BlackmerSidney Alderman Blackmer was an American actor.Blackmer was born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina. He started off in an insurance and financial business but gave up on it. While working as a builder's laborer on a new building, he saw a Pearl White serial being filmed and immediately...
– Erskine Brandon - Louise BeaversLouise BeaversLouise Beavers was an African-American film and television actress. Beavers appeared in dozens of films from the 1920s to the 1930s, most often in the role of a maid, servant, or slave. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Beavers was a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American...
– Celestine - Mickey Kuhn – David Holland, Jr.