''Come Live with Me'' is a 1941 American
romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
produced and directed by
Clarence Brown
Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director.
Early life
Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...
and starring
James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
and
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actress ...
.
Based on a story by
Virginia Van Upp
Virginia Van Upp (January 13, 1902 – March 25, 1970) was an American film producer and screenwriter.
Early life
Virginia Van Upp was born in Chicago, the daughter of Harry and Helen Van Upp. Mrs Van Upp had been an editor and title writer for ...
, the film is about a beautiful Viennese refugee seeking United States citizenship who arranges a marriage of convenience with a struggling writer.
The film's title derives from the opening line of
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...
's poem "
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
"The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" (1599), by Christopher Marlowe, is a pastoral poem from the English Renaissance (1485–1603). Marlowe composed the poem in iambic tetrameter (four feet of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed ...
" ("Come live with me and be my love").
Plot
Johnny Jones (Lamarr), a native of
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
who escaped after its
annexation by Nazi Germany, is having an affair with the married Barton Kendrick (Ian Hunter), a publisher. One night an officer from the
Department of Immigration
The Department of Immigration was an Australian government department that existed between July 1945 and June 1974.
Scope
Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found in the Adminis ...
finds her and tells her that she will be deported because her temporary passport expired three months ago. The investigator tells her that if she can be married within a week, she can stay.
Bill Smith (Stewart), a down-on-his-luck writer, runs into Jones in a diner during a rainstorm. She explains to him that she
needs to marry an American citizen within a week and since he is broke, she could pay him and they would both get what they need. She pays him $17.80 a week in exchange for marrying her. Two months later, Smith is writing a book about the odd circumstances of his marriage and becomes curious about Jones, considering he only sees her once a week when she gives him a check.
Meanwhile, Jones is continuing her affair with Kendrick, but refuses to tell him how she has remained in the country. He tells Jones that he is leaving his wife and wants to marry Jones within two months. She tells Bill she wants a divorce right away, which he reluctantly agrees to. Smith finishes his book and sends it to Kendrick's publishing company, where Kendrick's wife Diane (Verree Teasdale) explains the book to Kendrick and he realizes that Smith is Jones' husband. Kendrick's chooses to publish the book and gives Smith $500 up front. After seeing Kendrick's reaction to the book, his wife realizes that he has been having an affair and that the book is real. Mrs. Kendrick decides to divorce him, but wants to make sure that Jones is actually in love with her husband first.
Meanwhile, Smith buys a new car and coerces Jones to go on a trip with him before he will sign the divorce papers. She ends up falling in love with Bill while on vacation, after meeting his family. Kendrick comes to Smith's grandmother's house in the middle of the night and Jones is forced to make the decision about who she wants, and she picks Bill.
Cast
*
James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
as Bill Smith
*
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actress ...
as Johnny Smith
*
Ian Hunter as Barton Kendrick
*
Verree Teasdale
Verree Teasdale (March 15, 1903 – February 17, 1987) was an American actress born in Spokane, Washington.
Early years
A second cousin of Edith Wharton, Teasdale attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn and trained as a stage actr ...
as Diana Kendrick
*
Donald Meek
Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903.
Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't T ...
as Joe Darsie
*
Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...
as Barney Grogan
*
Edward Ashley as Arnold Stafford
*
Ann Codee
Ann Codee (born Anna Marie Vannuefflin, 5 March 1890 – 18 May 1961) was a Belgian actress with numerous hit films on her résumé, such as '' Can-Can'', ''Kiss Me Kate'', and ''Interrupted Melody''. Born in Antwerp, Belgium, her name was s ...
as Yvonne
*
King Baggot
William King Baggot (November 7, 1879 – July 11, 1948) was an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent film era. The first individually publicized leading man in America, B ...
as Doorman
*
Adeline De Walt Reynolds
Adeline De Walt Reynolds (September 19, 1862 – August 13, 1961) was an American character actress who made her film debut at the age of 78 playing the grandmother of James Stewart in '' Come Live with Me'' (1941). She continued to act in films ...
as Bill's Grandma
*
Frank Orth
Frank Orth (February 21, 1880 – March 17, 1962) was an American actor born in Philadelphia. He is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Inspector Faraday in the 1951-1953 television series '' Boston Blackie''.
Career
By 1897, Ort ...
as Jerry
*
Frank Faylen
Frank Faylen (born Charles Francis Ruf, December 8, 1905 – August 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Largely a bit player and character actor, he occasionally played more fleshed-out supporting roles during his forty-two ...
as Waiter
*
Horace McMahon
Horace McMahon (May 17, 1906 – August 17, 1971) was an American actor. He was one of Hollywood's favorite heavies.
McMahon began his acting career on Broadway, then appeared in many films and television series. In 1962, he received a Pri ...
as Taxi Driver
*
Greta Meyer
Greta Meyer (7 August 18838 October 1965) was a German actress in motion pictures beginning in the silent film era.
Biography
Meyer belonged to a German family that was comparable to the Barrymore family in America. At age 3 she debuted on sta ...
as Frieda
*
Fritz Feld
Fritz Feld (October 15, 1900 – November 18, 1993) was a German-American film character actor who appeared in over 140 films in 72 years, both silent and sound. His trademark was to slap his mouth with the palm of his hand to create a "pop" s ...
as Mac the Headwaiter (uncredited)
*
Tom Fadden
Tom Fadden (January 6, 1895 – April 14, 1980) was an American actor. He performed on the legitimate stage, vaudeville, in films and on television during his long career.
Early life
Fadden was born in Bayard, Iowa, on January 6, 1895; his fathe ...
as Charlie Gephardt-Grandma's Hired Hand (uncredited)
Production
Soundtrack
* "Die Schönbrunner" Op. 200 (
Joseph Lanner
Joseph Franz Karl Lanner (12 April 1801 – 14 April 1843) was an Austrian dance music composer and dance orchestra conductor. He is best remembered as one of the earliest Viennese composers to reform the waltz from a simple peasant dance to s ...
)
* "Come Live with Me" (
John Liptrot Hatton
John Liptrot Hatton (12 October 1809 – 10 September 1886) was an English musical composer, conductor, pianist, accompanist and singer.
Early career
Hatton was born in Liverpool to a musical family, for both his father John and grandfather wer ...
,
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...
)
* "William Tell Overture" (
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
)
* "Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny Oh!" (A. Olman, Ed Rose)
* "There is a Tavern in the Town" (F.J. Adams)
* "Long, Long Ago (1883)" (
Thomas Haynes Bayly
Thomas Haynes Bayly (13 October 1797 – 22 April 1839) was an English poet, songwriter, dramatist and writer.
Life
Bayly was born in Bath on 13 October 1797, the only child of Nathaniel Bayly, an influential citizen of Bath: he was related ...
)
References
External links
*
*
''Come Live with Me''at the
TCM Movie Database
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Come Live With Me
1941 films
1941 romantic comedy films
American black-and-white films
American romantic comedy films
Films about immigration to the United States
Films about writers
Films directed by Clarence Brown
Films scored by Herbert Stothart
Films set in New York City
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
1940s English-language films
1940s American films