June Bride
Encyclopedia
June Bride is a 1948 American
comedy film
directed by Bretaigne Windust
. Ranald MacDougall
's screenplay
, based on the unproduced play Feature for June by Eileen Tighe and Graeme Lorimer, was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award
for Best Written American Comedy. The film starred Bette Davis
and Robert Montgomery
. The Warner Bros.
release marked the screen debut of Debbie Reynolds
, although her appearance was uncredited.
Carey Jackson returns to New York City
when his newspaper
's Vienna
office is closed and is offered a job on a women's magazine
called Home Life. He accepts the position only because it will put him in daily contact with editor
Linda Gilman, whom he once loved. Linda is averse to the idea because of his leaving her three years earlier, but agrees to hire him if he will keep their relationship on a strictly professional level.
The two head for the Brinker home in Crestville, Indiana
to prepare a feature story
about eldest daughter Jeanne's wedding to Bud Mitchell for the June issue. Linda wants Carey to write a simple story about the young couple, but he insists on looking for an angle, which presents itself in the form of Jeanne's younger sister Barbara, who confesses she always has been in love with Bud, the brother of Jeanne's former beau Jim, who was dumped by Jeanne when he joined the Army. At first Carey proposes they ask an officer he knows to order Jim home for the wedding, but thinks better of it, knowing he will lose his job if the wedding plans are disrupted. Barbara, however, secretly telephones Carey's friend and arranges a leave
for Jim.
Complications ensue when Jim arrives home and Carey tries to get rid of him while Linda, unaware of the reality of the situation, intervenes and makes him stay. Jim and Jeanne elope, Linda fires Carey, Carey feigns interest in Barbara to make Bud jealous, and the scheme succeeds, with Bud proposing to Barbara. Despite losing his job, Carey writes his story, Linda realizes he always knew the truth about the couples, and the two reconcile.
also considered producing a film version of Tighe and Lorimer's play which Tighe, the editor of House and Garden
, had considered adapting into a stage musical
.
Bette Davis wanted either Dennis Morgan
or Jack Carson
for her co-star, but director Windust and producer Henry Blanke
convinced her to accept Robert Montgomery as her leading man, arguing he had a larger fan base. Blanke later admitted they believed the mid-forties Montgomery would make 40-year-old Davis look younger, but after watching the rushes, he realized the casting achieved the opposite effect, with Davis making Montgomery look younger.
June Bride was filmed during the 1948 Presidential campaign
. A line of dialogue delivered by Mary Wickes
, referring to the refurbishment the old-fashioned Brinker home, a dowdy house crammed full of Victoriana
kitsch
, desperately needed, was filmed twice, once as "How can I convert this McKinley
stinker into a Dewey modern?" and the second time with the name Truman substituted for Dewey. When the film opened in Manhattan
in late October, Dewey seemed a sure win, so the Dewey line was retained. When Truman unexpectedly won the election, a revised reel was sent to theaters. Davis, a staunch Truman supporter, sent Montgomery, who had headed the Hollywood Republican Committee to elect Dewey, a gloating telegram.
The film's success ensured Davis a new, four-picture contract with a salary of $10,285 a week, making her the highest paid woman in the United States
at the time .
Davis reprised her role of Linda Gilman in an August 29, 1949 Lux Radio Theatre broadcast co-starring James Stewart
as Carey Jackson. Irene Dunne
and Fred MacMurray
assumed the roles in a second Lux adaptation on December 28, 1953, and Marguerite Chapman
and Jerome Thor starred in a Lux Video Theatre
telecast on August 25, 1955 .
described the film as "a delightful vehicle [and] a sophisticated thing, largely dependent for its humors upon a complex of wry attitudes . . . [It is] also a pretty solid story of good old home-town folks, never too soggy with sentiment and just a shade satiric
around the edge . . . Maybe we owe our fullest tributes to Ranald MacDougall, who . . . has written some urbane dialogue which has more bounce and bubble in it than any we've recently heard. Maybe we owe Bretaigne Windust our particular votes of thanks for a fine job of volatile directing . . . Maybe we owe Miss Davis and Mr. Montgomery our special gratitude for playing a couple of smart worldlings with a lovely talent for the comic touch, for timing a line or a gesture to the micrometric dot . . . But this isn't a case where special mentions should be too specifically indulged. Everybody concerned does a grand job."
Time
said, "Thanks largely to some bright dialogue and an artful performance by Robert Montgomery, this is the best Bette Davis picture in some time."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy film
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 Bretaigne Windust
Bretaigne Windust
Bretaigne Windust was a French-born theatre, film, and television director.-Early life:He was born Ernest Bretaigne Windust in Paris, France, the son of English violin virtuoso Ernest Joseph Windust and singer Elizabeth Amory Day from New York City...
. Ranald MacDougall
Ranald MacDougall
Ranald MacDougall was an American screenwriter who scripted such films as Mildred Pierce , The Unsuspected , June Bride , and The Naked Jungle ....
's screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, based on the unproduced play Feature for June by Eileen Tighe and Graeme Lorimer, was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
for Best Written American Comedy. The film starred Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
and Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery (actor)
Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
. The 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,...
release marked the screen debut of Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
, although her appearance was uncredited.
Plot
Foreign correspondentCorrespondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
Carey Jackson returns to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
when his newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
's Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
office is closed and is offered a job on a women's magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
called Home Life. He accepts the position only because it will put him in daily contact with editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
Linda Gilman, whom he once loved. Linda is averse to the idea because of his leaving her three years earlier, but agrees to hire him if he will keep their relationship on a strictly professional level.
The two head for the Brinker home in Crestville, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
to prepare a feature story
Feature story
- Published Features & news :While the distinction between published features and news is often clear, when approached conceptually there are few hard boundaries between the two. It is quite possible to write a feature in the style of a news story, for instance...
about eldest daughter Jeanne's wedding to Bud Mitchell for the June issue. Linda wants Carey to write a simple story about the young couple, but he insists on looking for an angle, which presents itself in the form of Jeanne's younger sister Barbara, who confesses she always has been in love with Bud, the brother of Jeanne's former beau Jim, who was dumped by Jeanne when he joined the Army. At first Carey proposes they ask an officer he knows to order Jim home for the wedding, but thinks better of it, knowing he will lose his job if the wedding plans are disrupted. Barbara, however, secretly telephones Carey's friend and arranges a leave
Leave (military)
In military, leave is a permission to be away from one's unit, either for a specified or unspecified period of time.The term AWOL, standing for absent without leave, is a term for desertion used in armed forces of many English speaking countries....
for Jim.
Complications ensue when Jim arrives home and Carey tries to get rid of him while Linda, unaware of the reality of the situation, intervenes and makes him stay. Jim and Jeanne elope, Linda fires Carey, Carey feigns interest in Barbara to make Bud jealous, and the scheme succeeds, with Bud proposing to Barbara. Despite losing his job, Carey writes his story, Linda realizes he always knew the truth about the couples, and the two reconcile.
Production
Paramount PicturesParamount 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...
also considered producing a film version of Tighe and Lorimer's play which Tighe, the editor of House and Garden
House & Garden (magazine)
House & Garden was an American shelter magazine published by Condé Nast Publications that focused on interior design, entertaining, and gardening....
, had considered adapting into a stage musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
.
Dennis Morgan
Dennis Morgan was an American actor-singer. Born as Earl Stanley Morner, he used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting his professional name....
or 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...
for her co-star, but director Windust and producer Henry Blanke
Henry Blanke
Henry Blanke was a German-born film producer who also worked as an assistant director, supervisor, writer, and production manager. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for The Nun's Story ....
convinced her to accept Robert Montgomery as her leading man, arguing he had a larger fan base. Blanke later admitted they believed the mid-forties Montgomery would make 40-year-old Davis look younger, but after watching the rushes, he realized the casting achieved the opposite effect, with Davis making Montgomery look younger.
June Bride was filmed during the 1948 Presidential campaign
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
. A line of dialogue delivered by Mary Wickes
Mary Wickes
Mary Wickes was an American film and television actress.-Career:Wickes was born as Mary Isabelle Wickenhauser in St. Louis, Missouri, of German Irish Protestant extraction. She graduated at the age of eighteen with a degree in political science from Washington University in St. Louis, where she...
, referring to the refurbishment the old-fashioned Brinker home, a dowdy house crammed full of Victoriana
Victoriana
Victoriana refers to items or material from the Victorian period , especially those particularly evocative of the design style and outlook of the time....
kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
, desperately needed, was filmed twice, once as "How can I convert this McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
stinker into a Dewey modern?" and the second time with the name Truman substituted for Dewey. When the film opened in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in late October, Dewey seemed a sure win, so the Dewey line was retained. When Truman unexpectedly won the election, a revised reel was sent to theaters. Davis, a staunch Truman supporter, sent Montgomery, who had headed the Hollywood Republican Committee to elect Dewey, a gloating telegram.
The film's success ensured Davis a new, four-picture contract with a salary of $10,285 a week, making her the highest paid woman in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the time .
Davis reprised her role of Linda Gilman in an August 29, 1949 Lux Radio Theatre broadcast co-starring James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
as Carey Jackson. Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne was an American film actress and singer of the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. Dunne was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her performances in Cimarron , Theodora Goes Wild , The Awful Truth , Love Affair and I Remember Mama...
and Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
assumed the roles in a second Lux adaptation on December 28, 1953, and Marguerite Chapman
Marguerite Chapman
Marguerite Chapman was an American actress.Born in Chatham, New York, she was working as a telephone switchboard operator in White Plains, New York when her good looks brought about the opportunity to pursue a career in modeling...
and Jerome Thor starred in a Lux Video Theatre
Lux Video Theatre
Lux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....
telecast on August 25, 1955 .
Cast
- Bette Davis as Linda Gilman
- Robert Montgomery as Carey Jackson
- Fay BainterFay BainterFay Okell Bainter was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Charles F. Bainter and Mary Okell. In 1910, she was a traveling stage actress...
as Paula Winthrop - Betty LynnBetty LynnBetty Lynn is an American actress. She is best known for playing Thelma Lou in The Andy Griffith Show.-Career:...
as Barbara Brinker - Tom TullyTom TullyTom Tully was an American actor.-Biography:Born in Durango, Colorado, Thomas Kane Tulley served in the United States Navy, was a private pilot and worked as junior reporter for the Denver Post before going into acting because he felt the pay was better. Tully started out on stage before eventually...
as Whitman Brinker - Barbara BatesBarbara BatesBarbara Bates was an American actress best known for her role as Phoebe in the 1950 drama All About Eve.-Early life:...
as Jeanne Brinker - Jerome CowanJerome CowanJerome Palmer Cowan was an American film and television actor. At eighteen he joined a travelling stock company, shortly afterwards enlisting in the navy in World War I. After the war he returned to the stage and became a vaudeville headliner, then gained success on the New York stage...
as Carleton Towne - Mary Wickes as Rosemary McNally
- Raymond Roe as Bud Mitchell
- Ray Montgomery as Jim Mitchell
Critical reception
In his review in the New York Times, 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...
described the film as "a delightful vehicle [and] a sophisticated thing, largely dependent for its humors upon a complex of wry attitudes . . . [It is] also a pretty solid story of good old home-town folks, never too soggy with sentiment and just a shade satiric
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
around the edge . . . Maybe we owe our fullest tributes to Ranald MacDougall, who . . . has written some urbane dialogue which has more bounce and bubble in it than any we've recently heard. Maybe we owe Bretaigne Windust our particular votes of thanks for a fine job of volatile directing . . . Maybe we owe Miss Davis and Mr. Montgomery our special gratitude for playing a couple of smart worldlings with a lovely talent for the comic touch, for timing a line or a gesture to the micrometric dot . . . But this isn't a case where special mentions should be too specifically indulged. Everybody concerned does a grand job."
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
said, "Thanks largely to some bright dialogue and an artful performance by Robert Montgomery, this is the best Bette Davis picture in some time."