Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman (1940)

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

Christopher Morley (novel)
Dalton Trumbo (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

27 December 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The natural history of a woman.

Plot:

Ginger Rogers, a hard-working white-collar girl from a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania low, middle-class family...

Plot Keywords:

Socialite | Department Store | Marriage | Divorce | Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Ginger Rogers	...	Kitty Foyle
Dennis Morgan	...	Wynnewood 'Wyn' Strafford VI
James Craig	...	Dr. Mark Eisen
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Giono (as Edward Ciannelli)
Ernest Cossart	...	Pop
Gladys Cooper	...	Mrs. Strafford
Odette Myrtil	...	Delphine Detaille
Mary Treen	...	Pat
K.T. Stevens	...	Molly (as Katharine Stevens)
Walter Kingsford	...	Mr. Kennett
Cecil Cunningham	...	Grandmother
Nella Walker	...	Aunt Jessica
Edward Fielding	...	Uncle Edgar
Kay Linaker	...	Wyn's Wife
Richard Nichols	...	Wyn's Boy
Florence Bates	...	Customer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Spencer Charters	...	Father (scenes deleted)
Heather Angel	...	Wife in Prologue (uncredited)
Polly Bailey	...	Tenement Woman (uncredited)
Brooks Benedict	...	Speakeasy Patron - 100% American (uncredited)
Mary Benoit	...	(uncredited)
Joseph E. Bernard	...	Nightclub Waiter #1 (uncredited)
May Boley	...	Fainting Customer (uncredited)
Tyler Brooke	...	Husband in Prologue (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Speakeasy Patron (uncredited)
Helen Brown	...	Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Julie Carter	...	Second Girl in Elevator (uncredited)
Patricia Conway	...	Infant Baby (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Speakeasy Waiter (uncredited)
Mary Currier	...	Clerk at Delphine's (uncredited)
Max Davidson	...	Flower Man (uncredited)
Mimi Doyle	...	Jane (uncredited)
William Elmer	...	Neway (uncredited)
Harold Entwistle	...	Harrison - Strafford's Butler (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Renee Godfrey	...	(uncredited)
Mary Gordon	...	First Charwoman (uncredited)
Fay Helm	...	Prim Girl (uncredited)
Tom Herbert	...	Nightclub Waiter #2 (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Drunk (uncredited)
Donald Kerr	...	First New York Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Speakeasy Doorman (uncredited)
Helen Lynd	...	Girl in Elevator (uncredited)
Patricia Maier	...	(uncredited)
Edward McNamara	...	Tim - Hotel Doorman (uncredited)
Frank Milan	...	Parry - Office Worker (uncredited)
Charles F. Miller	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Anna Mills	...	Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Gerda Mora	...	(uncredited)
Hattie Noel	...	Myrtle - Black Woman (uncredited)
Rosa Palmese	...	Flower Woman (uncredited)
Jane Patten	...	(uncredited)
Hilda Plowright	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Charles Quigley	...	Bill - Office Worker (uncredited)
Tom Quinn	...	Speakeasy Patron (uncredited)
Bill Ramsay	...	(uncredited)
Joey Ray	...	Bass Player (uncredited)
Mel Ruick	...	Bandleader and Violinist (uncredited)
Walter Sande	...	Trumpeter (uncredited)
Ray Teal	...	Clarinet Player (uncredited)
Gohr Van Vleck	...	(uncredited)
Dorothy Vaughan	...	Second Charwoman (uncredited)
Theodore von Eltz	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Doodles Weaver	...	Pianist (uncredited)
Joe Whitehead	...	Porter (uncredited)
Jan Wiley	...	Miss Bala - Office Worker (uncredited)

Directed by
Sam Wood

Writing credits
Christopher Morley		(novel)
Dalton Trumbo		(screenplay)
Donald Ogden Stewart		(additional dialogue)

Produced by
Harry E. Edington	....	executive producer
David Hempstead	....	producer

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
Robert De Grasse		(director of photography) (as Robert de Grasse)

Film Editing by
Henry Berman

Art Direction by
Van Nest Polglase

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Renié		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Argyle Nelson	....	assistant director

Art Department
Mark-Lee Kirk	....	associate art director

Sound Department
John L. Cass	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Vernon L. Walker	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
John Miehle	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Fletcher Henderson	....	music arranger (uncredited)

Other crew
Robert Ardrey	....	treatment (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Turner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1946) (France) (theatrical) (as RKO Radio Films)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Kitty Foyle (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:A | USA:Approved (PCA #6639)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

This was RKO's biggest hit of 1940, earning $869,000 in profits.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Tom Foyle's waste basket catches fire Kitty pours whiskey on it to put it out, yet the fire doesn't flare up.

Quotes:

Tom Foyle: From now on, you're going to Sunday School every Sunday. Rain or shine, you're going.
Kitty Foyle: But why, Pop?
Tom Foyle: Well, it'll be giving you a little Christian upbringing. A sense of values.
Kitty Foyle: Oh. And then you mean I won't ever sin or anything.
Tom Foyle: Well, it might not keep you from sinning, but by Judas Priest, it'll keep you from getting any fun out of it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Daisy Bell

Another Philadelphia Story

This must have been the year for the City of Brotherly Love. James Stewart wins his Academy Award for The Philadelphia Story and Ginger Rogers who he was going out with at some point, wins Best Actress for Kitty Foyle, a film also set in Philadelphia. Too bad neither the Athletics or the Phillies won the World Series that year, but neither of them came close.

Although Stage Door more than amply demonstrated Ginger Rogers's abilities at serious drama, this particular film cemented her as dramatic actress. Most of Ginger's films up to this point had been musicals, mostly with Fred Astaire. After Kitty Foyle she rarely did any musicals.

The story is told in flashback after Ginger engages in some dialog with her alter ego in the mirror. That one in the mirror is usually the one person you cannot fool. So the ego narrates the ups and downs of the life of Kitty Foyle.

Ginger's a working class Irish lass whose got two men going for her big time, young earnest doctor James Craig, and mainline millionaire heir Dennis Morgan. Morgan's family name is Stratton and no doubt the Strattons socialized with the Lords of The Philadelphia Story. But they're definitely not as fun a group.

Ginger's alter ego narration and her scene upon being told she suffered a miscarriage probably are what won her the Academy Award. She's very effective in those scenes and in her scene where her father, Ernest Cossart dies.

Kitty Foyle is good soap opera material, I'm surprised it's characters weren't used in one. It still holds up well after over 60 years.

As well as that other Philadelphia Story.