Friday, December 26, 2008

Tonight's Movie: The Sailor Takes a Wife (1945)

John (Robert Walker) and Mary (June Allyson) wed after a whirlwind courtship of just a few hours at the start of the WWII comedy THE SAILOR TAKES A WIFE.

The rest of the film depicts John and Mary actually getting to know one another after the wedding ceremony, as their attempts to be alone to celebrate their honeymoon are thwarted at every turn. Mary's jealous boss (Hume Cronyn), an eccentric Romanian neighbor (Audrey Totter), and a ramshackle apartment building add to the complications. It's not a classic, by any means, but it's a cute little movie which fans of June Allyson will probably find entertaining, as I did.

Totter is amusing as John and Mary's war refugee neighbor, and there is also a funny turn by Eddie "Rochester" Anderson as the superintendent of the temperamental apartment building. The supporting cast also includes Reginald Owen.

The lovely photo to the right is from the archives of Life magazine, recently made available online.

THE SAILOR TAKES A WIFE was directed by Richard Whorf. Whorf was also an actor in films such as BLUES IN THE NIGHT (1941). The movie was shot in black and white and runs 92 minutes.

THE SAILOR TAKES A WIFE can be seen on Turner Classic Movies. It's not available on VHS or DVD.

The trailer can be seen here.

4 Comments:

Blogger Raquel Stecher said...

I really enjoyed this film! Especially since Robert Walker is in it. Shame it's not available on DVD.

2:35 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

Hi Raquelle!

Glad to hear from someone else who liked it. Leonard Maltin's rating, which I'd checked out beforehand, wasn't very encouraging, but as it turned out I had a good time watching it.

I'd especially love to see a June Allyson boxed DVD set but I suspect she's not a big enough name for my wish to come true...still, you never know!

Best wishes,
Laura

2:43 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I'd seen this movie before. And I'd initially seen it because I am a HUGR Robert Walker fan-and also a big fan of Eddie"Rochester"Anderson .so it's pure gold seeing both Robert Walker &Eddie Anderson interacting with each other in their scenes together And this movie also showed off Hume Cronyn's underrated comedy acting talents.I would've loved seeing Hume Cronyn teamed up with Keenan Wynn in comedies back in the mid-1940s..If MGM would've done"The Odd Couple"in 1944/'45-they would've been the perfect"Oscar & Felix" And what really surprised me was just how funny Joe DeRita was in this movie .playing a waiter in a high-end N.Y.Restaurant..in what was probably the funniest scene in this very cute,very funny film! Joe DeRita was really not that funny as the"Curley Joe"character in The Three Stooges movies&t v.dhow in the 1960s..but he was a very funny comic with great comic timing in the 1940s comedies he was featured in as"Second Banana".And Audrey Totter also got to show off what s good comedy actress she was in this film.Shr and Agnes Morehead could've both played sexy but pushy, eccentric"Man-Hungry"sisters in a mid-1940s MGM Comedy back then.I could've even seen Audrey Totter playing"Alice Kramden"in "The Honeymooners"in the early-1950s.

3:21 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

I enjoyed your comments on THE SAILOR TAKES A WIFE and appreciated your sharing your related thoughts.

I always especially enjoy Audrey Totter!

Best wishes,
Laura

6:11 PM  

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