Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Douglas Sirk

Writers:

Joseph Hoffman (written for the screen by)
Eleanor H. Porter (based on a story by)

Release Date:

8 May 1953 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Wealthy Samuel Fulton is getting older and has no family of his own. He decides to leave his estate to the family of his first love...

Plot Keywords:

Money | Broke | Soda Jerk | Marriage Proposal | Love

Cast

Piper Laurie	...	Millicent Blaisdell
Rock Hudson	...	Dan Stebbins
Charles Coburn	...	Samuel Fulton / John Smith
Gigi Perreau	...	Roberta Blaisdell
Lynn Bari	...	Harriet Blaisdell
Larry Gates	...	Charles Blaisdell
William Reynolds	...	Howard Blaisdell
Skip Homeier	...	Carl Pennock
Paul Harvey	...	Judge Wilkins
Frank Ferguson	...	Edward Norton
Forrest Lewis	...	Martin Quinn
Gloria Holden	...	Mrs. Pennock
Fred Nurney	...	Fredericks
Sally Creighton	...	Arline Benson
Helen Wallace	...	Shirley White

Also Known As:

Oh Money, Money (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Though Piper Laurie is pictured with Rock Hudson on the cover of the recent DVD she is not identified by name and not billed on the packaging. The name of the child-actress Gigi Perreau who played her sister is featured instead.

Quotes:

Samuel Fulton: You've a lovely family, Millicent. It could have been my family if you hadn't been so darn obstinate!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)

Soundtrack:

It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'

Nice film with a young Rock and James Dean

Charles Coburn gives the family of the woman who rejected him $100,000 in "Has Anybody Seen My Gal," a delightful 1952 comedy set in the 1920s. It's directed by Douglas Sirk and also stars Piper Laurie, Gigi Perreau, Lynn Bari, William Reynolds and Skip Homeier. It seems that when Samuel Fulton was a young man, the young woman who turned him down spurned him on to great things. Now, with no heirs, he wants to leave her family his money. Despite his belief that he's dying, he heads to their hometown and moves in on them as a "Mr. Smith" in order to observe them when they are presented with a check for $100,000.

Rock Hudson has a supporting role in this film - he plays a soda jerk and the love interest of Piper Laurie. Dancing the Charleston, he is darn cute. And if you think the kid at the soda fountain giving old man Fulton a hard time is James Dean, you're right, it is. People often say that James Dean only made three films. Wrong. He only STARRED in three films. Gigi Perreau is adorable without being cloying. Piper Laurie, in a Debbie Reynolds type of role, does a good job, though later on, she would shine more in drama. But at this point, she and Rock were just paying their dues along with William Reynolds, who became a TV actor.

This is Coburn's film all the way - he's a riot as an old codger who gets a dose of health and love from the family and gives some back in return. "Has Anybody Seen My Gal" demonstrates the fine directing gifts of Douglas Sirk whose name would become synonymous with big budget soap operas. But in 1952, it was fun all the way with Coburn and Universal's stable of young players.