Joy of Living (1938)

Director:

Tay Garnett

Writers:

Dorothy Fields (story) and
Herbert Fields (story) ...

Release Date:

6 May 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Plot:

Broadway star Margaret Garrett has spent her whole life working to support her sponging relatives. When she meets carefree Dan Webster...

Plot Keywords:

Financial Crisis | Twins | Hotel | Greed | Judge

Cast

Irene Dunne	...	Maggie Garret
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Daniel 'Dan' Brewster
Alice Brady	...	Minerva Garret
Guy Kibbee	...	Dennis Garret
Jean Dixon	...	Harrison
Eric Blore	...	Potter
Lucille Ball	...	Salina Garret Pine
Warren Hymer	...	Mike
Billy Gilbert	...	Cafe Owner
Frank Milan	...	Bert Pine
Dorothy Steiner	...	Dotsy Pine
Estelle Steiner	...	Betsy Pine
Phyllis Kennedy	...	Marie
Franklin Pangborn	...	Orchestra Leader
James Burke	...	Policeman Mac McCarty

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #3976)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Bert greets his parents-in-law at breakfast, he says, "Morning Ma!" to his mother-in-law, then "Hello Kibbee!" to his father-in-law Dennis Garret, played by Guy Kibbee.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Public Eye (1992)

Soundtrack:

Rock-a-Bye Baby

Longing to Escape that Depression

The 1930s were one of the worst decades in our history in terms of economics. People if they were lucky to have even the most menial of jobs, just scrimped and got by. You did that too if you were on what was then called relief.

Lots of socially relevant films were made, but they didn't draw flies as compared with escapist entertainment like Joy of Living. That's what people wanted to see, to keep their minds off their troubles.

And they wanted to see beautiful people and certainly stars Irene Dunne and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. fill that bill. Dunne is a musical comedy star on Broadway who has these leeches of a family dependent on her. And she meets playboy Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. who is a sea captain by avocation who wants to take her to the South Seas. Experience the Joy of Living.

I'm convinced part of the charm of this movie at least for the men is the notion they could escape with Doug and Irene by signing on as a deckhand. And the women sat in the audience hoping that a Fairbanks would come into their lives.

Well, maybe if they sang like Irene Dunne. Playing a musical comedy star gave her to sing some tunes from her favorite composer Jerome Kern. Besides Joy of Living, Irene Dunne did four other films with Jerome Kern scores. Sweet Adeline, Showboat, Roberta, and High Wide and Handsome were the others. From the score of Joy of Living, Just Let Me Look at You and You Couldn't Be Cuter sold quite a few 78 rpm platters back in 1938.

Escapist stuff like this depends on the charm of it's leads and charm is what Fairbanks and Dunne have in abundance. Nice and entertaining and easy to take is Joy of Living.