The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

William Keighley

Writers:

Kenneth Earl (story) and
M.M. Musselman (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

12 July 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

She Came Collect and his heart paid the freight . . . in the year's romantic explosion !

Plot:

A financially-strapped charter pilot hires himself to an oil tycoon to kidnap his madcap daughter and prevent her from marrying a vapid band leader.

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Bandleader | Heiress | Desert | Nevada

Cast

James Cagney	...	Steve Collins
Bette Davis	...	Joan Winfield
Stuart Erwin	...	Tommy Keenan
Eugene Pallette	...	Lucius K. Winfield
Jack Carson	...	Allen Brice
George Tobias	...	Peewee Defoe
Harry Davenport	...	Pop Tolliver
William Frawley	...	Sheriff McGee
Edward Brophy	...	Hinkle
Harry Holman	...	Judge Sobler
Chick Chandler	...	Riley (reporter #1)
Douglas Kennedy	...	Mac (second reporter and photographer) (as Keith Douglas)
Herbert Anderson	...	Reporter #3
William Newell	...	Andy Anderson (McGee's pilot)
William Hopper	...	Keenan's and Brice's pilot (as DeWolf Hopper)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sol Gorss	...	Reporters' pilot (scenes deleted)
Jean Ames	...	Mabel (Embassy Club hatcheck girl) (uncredited)
Peter Ashley	...	Reporter in Amarillo (uncredited)
Mary Brodel	...	KFWB operator #2 (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Radio Station Man in Booth (uncredited)
Bob Brossard	...	Junior Flight Officer (uncredited)
George Campeau	...	Reporter in Amarillo (uncredited)
Lucia Carroll	...	Steve's airplane date (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler	...	Policeman (driver of car #64) (uncredited)
Richard Clayton	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Garrett Craig	...	Flight Officer (uncredited)
George Davis	...	Embassy Club waiter (uncredited)
Peggy Diggins	...	KFWB operator #1 (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Interrogating detective (uncredited)
William Forrest	...	Asst. Dist. Atty. Edwards (uncredited)
John Gallaudet	...	Winfield's first pilot (uncredited)
Paul Gustine	...	Embassy Club Patron (uncredited)
Creighton Hale	...	Reporter #5 (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Embassy Club Patron (uncredited)
Sam Hayes	...	Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Charles Anthony Hughes	...	Policeman in car #64 (uncredited)
Olaf Hytten	...	Winfield's valet (uncredited)
Reid Kilpatrick	...	Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Max Linder	...	Embassy Club Doorman (uncredited)
Paul Mantz	...	Winfield's second pilot (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	Embassy Club headwaiter (uncredited)
Frank Mayo	...	Reporter / photographer #4 (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Reporter / photographer #6 (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Policeman at interrogation (uncredited)
The Rogers Dancers	...	Dance Trio at Embassy Club (uncredited)
Cliff Saum	...	Airport mechanic (uncredited)
Garland Smith	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	Charlie (ambulance driver) (uncredited)
Lester Towne	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Richard Travis	...	Airline dispatcher (uncredited)
Claude Wisberg	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Victor Zimmerman	...	Aeronautics Division official (uncredited)

Directed by
William Keighley

Writing credits
Kenneth Earl		(story) and
M.M. Musselman		(story)
Julius J. Epstein		(screenplay) and
Philip G. Epstein		(screenplay)

Produced by
William Cagney	....	associate producer
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Ernest Haller		(as Ernie Haller)

Film Editing by
Thomas Richards

Art Direction by
Ted Smith

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Heath	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert B. Lee	....	sound

Special Effects by
Byron Haskin	....	special effects
Rex Wimpy	....	special effects

Stunts
Floyd Nolta	....	stunt pilot
Harry Froboess	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Mantz	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Audrey Scott	....	stunt double: Bette Davis (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hugo Friedhofer	....	music arranger: orchestral arrangements
Ray Heindorf	....	music arranger: orchestral arrangements

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1941) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)
• United Artists Television (1969) (USA) (TV)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #7003)

Filming Locations:

Death Valley National Park, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The term "C.O.D." of the title stands for 'Collect on Delivery'.

Quotes:

Steve Collins: That dame. Undoubtedly the outstanding screwball of her generation.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The Bird Came C.O.D. (1942)

Soundtrack:

Oh My Darling Clementine

could be a TV Land movie of the week

I didn't find "The Bride Came C.O.D." as funny as it was probably intended to be, but I won't deny that it provides its fair share of laughs. Bette Davis plays an oil heiress about to marry dorky band-leader Jack Carson. They've hired pilot James Cagney to fly them off so that they can elope, but her father hires Cagney to fly them to Amarillo so that he can stop the wedding. But when Cagney flies away with only her, things get going.

As I understand it, this movie came out towards the end of the screwball comedy era; maybe it had pretty much run its course with WWII just around the corner. Some of the humor here is very much old-school, namely how Bette Davis freaks out at every little noise (and keeps falling on the cactus). The elderly prospector suggests to me that as we were just coming out of the Depression, Hollywood wanted to show people making their way in all situations. All in all, I've seen far funnier movies, but this one certainly is a good enough time to make it worth seeing.

Oh, and the TV Land movie of the week? Among the co-stars are George Tobias (Abner Kravitz on "Bewitched"), William Frawley (Fred Mertz on "I Love Lucy") and Herbert Anderson (the "Dennis the Menace" dad).