The Magnificent Dope (1942)

Director:

Walter Lang

Writers:

Joseph Schrank (story)
George Seaton (writer)

Release Date:

22 February 1943 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Meet the All-American Jerk...Ladies' Man De Luxe!

Plot:

Dwight Dawson, who runs an unsuccessful success school, stages a contest to find the biggest failure in the USA...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Newspaper

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Thadeus Winship 'Tad' Page
Lynn Bari	...	Claire Harris
Don Ameche	...	Dwight Dawson
Edward Everett Horton	...	Horace Hunter
George Barbier	...	James Roger Barker
Frank Orth	...	Messenger
Roseanne Murray	...	Dawson's Secretary
Marietta Canty	...	Jennie, Claire's Maid
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Albert Gowdy
Hal K. Dawson	...	Charlie
Josephine Whittell	...	Mrs. Hunter
Arthur Loft	...	Mr. Morton, Fire Engine Salesman
Paul Stanton	...	Peters
Claire Du Brey	...	Peter's Secretary
William B. Davidson	...	Mr. J. D. Reindel

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #8239)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Don Ameche's character says, "None but the brave," and attributes the quote to Benjamin Franklin. Actually it's from the first stanza of John Dryden's Alexander's Feast, "None but the brave, deserve the fair."

Quotes:

Dwight Dawson: Wives seldom believe in insurance, but widows always do.

Soundtrack:

The Blue Danube

Henry Fonda Smitten With Lynn Bari. Just A Little Implausible

Yet he is, in this movie, a charming and sly country vs city tale. Fonda is the title character. He is chosen as a prime loser who can take Don Ameche's positive thinking course: If he can come through it, the cynical Ameche and his sidekicks reason, anyone can. And others will try.

Edward Everett Horton is one of these sidekicks, as is Bari, his mink-wearing secretary.

Fonda is from rural Vermont and teaches everyone in New York a thing or two himself. He wins over a famous financier, who promptly retires to enjoy life. He shows all and sundry how to relax. And he pines for Bari.

It's a cute idea, which twists and turns several times before its ending. The premise resembles a far less cynical and cruel "Curtain Call" -- which is an infinitely better, less conflicted, movie.