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''It Happened to Jane'' is a 1959 American
romantic comedy 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 ...
film starring
Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...
,
Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...
, and
Ernie Kovacs Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years afte ...
, directed by
Richard Quine Richard Quine (November 12, 1920June 10, 1989) was an American director, actor, and singer. He began acting as a child in radio, vaudeville, and stage productions before being signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in his early twenties. When his acting ...
, and written by Norman Katkov and
Max Wilk Max Wilk (July 3, 1920 – February 19, 2011) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author of fiction and nonfiction books. In all, Wilk was the author of 19 books, four films, three produced plays as well as many TV shows and magazine ar ...
. The film was co-produced by Quine and Day's husband at the time,
Martin Melcher Martin Melcher (August 1, 1915 – April 20, 1968) was an American motion picture and music executive. He was married to popular singer and actress Doris Day, with whom he owned a series of business ventures named Arwin. Melcher produced severa ...
. The film was re-released in 1961, with the title ''Twinkle and Shine''.It Happened To Jane
''
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...
''. Accessed September 20, 2014


Plot

In May 1959, in the town of Cape Anne, Maine, a foul-up by the Eastern & Portland Railroad (E&P) results in the death of 300 lobsters shipped by Jane Osgood, an attractive, widowed businesswoman with two children. She gets her lawyer and friend, George Denham, to go after the E&P to pay damages after her customer, the Marshalltown Country Club, refuses all future orders. In the E&P office in New York City, railroad executive Harry Foster Malone learns about the Osgood lawsuit. Due to the budget cuts Malone had instituted, there had been no station agent at Marshalltown to receive Jane's lobsters. Malone sends employees Crawford Sloan and Selwyn Harris to Cape Anne to deal with the situation. The two attorneys offer Jane $700 in compensation, but Jane turns it down because the loss to her business reputation is more than that. Jane wins in court, but E&P appeals the case to the state Supreme Court in
Augusta, Maine Augusta is the capital of the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Kennebec County. The city's population was 18,899 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth-most populous city in Maine, and third-least populous state capital in the Un ...
. George files a
writ of execution A writ of execution (also known as an execution) is a court order granted to put in force a judgment of possession obtained by a plaintiff from a court. When issuing a writ of execution, a court typically will order a sheriff or other similar off ...
to force payment and take possession of the train, Old 97, in lieu of payment. Jane is interviewed by local newspaper reporter Matilda Runyon, who then calls the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' in New York. Top reporter Larry Hall is sent to Cape Anne for the story. Television stations also want to interview Jane. Malone retaliates by charging Jane rent for the
siding Siding may refer to: * Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house * Siding (rail) A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch l ...
on which the train is sitting. In a charming scene, Jane and George are shown singing an original song, "Be Prepared", to a pack of local cub scouts at a forested picnic. Jane travels to New York to appear on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
, and
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
, including the show ''
I've Got a Secret ''I've Got a Secret'' is an American panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show, ''What's My Line ...
''. Fearful of bad publicity, Malone finally gives in and cancels the rent, but gives Jane the train. Meanwhile, George becomes increasingly jealous when he learns that Larry in New York is attracted to Jane and has proposed marriage to her. Jane receives telegrams of support from the American public, and the Marshalltown club, which had earlier reneged, now promises to continue business with her. Back in Cape Anne, during a packed town meeting, Jane learns that Malone has ordered all his trains to bypass the town and has also given Jane 48 hours to remove Old 97 from the track. With service ended, local merchants will find it difficult to get their merchandise. Jane runs away and George, in an impassioned speech, scolds the townspeople for turning against her. Realizing that Old 97 is just the way to deliver the lobsters, Jane and George persuade everybody to fill up the train's tender with coal from their homes. George recruits his uncle Otis, a retired E&P engineer, to engineer the train. Old 97 sets off with Jane, her children, and George (who shovels coal to the engine), to deliver lobsters on board to customers in several distant towns. Malone does everything possible to delay them, even as several of his office staff resign, seeing him as a villain. Jane becomes upset at the roundabout route Malone is forcing them to take. Eventually, the coal runs out, stopping Old 97 and blocking traffic. Just then, Malone arrives by helicopter, after hearing that the train is stalled. Jane scolds him for his underhanded actions. He had won, but found victory bittersweet. Malone finally agrees to Jane's demands. Jane and George tell him to come along so he cannot cause any more trouble. He finally shows his good side by helping shovel coal. Larry and a photographer are in Marshall Town when the train arrives. George kisses Jane in front of Larry, and she agrees to marry George and remain in Cape Anne. After the wedding, as George is being sworn in as the new first selectman, a badly needed fire engine pulls into town, a present from Malone.


Cast


Production

Old 97 is based on the J-Class 2-8-2 steam locomotives that used to run on the
New Haven Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
. Old 97 was a common nickname for steam locomotives that had the number 97 on them (see, for example, the popular song “ The Wreck of the Old 97”). The movie was mostly filmed in
Chester, Connecticut Chester is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,749 at the 2020 census. The town center is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP). The name is a transfer from Chester, in Engla ...
. Some scenes were filmed in
Southington, Connecticut Southington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 43,501. Southington contains the villages of Marion, Milldale, and Plantsville. Geography Southington is situa ...
,
Plainville, Connecticut Plainville is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,525 at the 2020 census. History Plainville first was inhabited by Europeans around 1650. By the 1660s, the land was incorporated as land for nearby Farm ...
, and
Plainfield, Connecticut Plainfield is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 14,973 at the 2020 census. The town comprises four villages: Plainfield (south, ZIP code 06374), Moosup (northeast, 06354), Wauregan (northwest, 06387), an ...
. The final scene filmed at downtown Chester Connecticut was about 1 mile from the train station used in the movie. The locomotive in the final scene was a wooden prop built near where the final scene was filmed. People from all over Connecticut were invited to be extras in the movie. The producers had difficulty deciding on the film's title. It was initially called ''Miss Casey Jones'' and then ''That Jane from Maine''. The film was re-released in 1961 with another title ''Twinkle and Shine''.


Songs

* "It Happened To Jane", performed by Doris Day * "Be Prepared", performed by Day * "I've Been Working' On The Railroad"


Novelization

With a publication date of January, 1959—well in advance of the film's release, as was common custom of the era—a paperback novelization of the screenplay was published by
Gold Medal Books Gold Medal Books, launched by Fawcett Publications in 1950, was an American book publisher known for introducing paperback originals, a publishing innovation at the time. Fawcett was also an independent newsstand distributor, and in 1949 the c ...
, under the film's then-working title ''That Jane From Maine''. The author was renowned crime and western novelist
Marvin H. Albert Marvin H. Albert (January 22, 1924 – March 25, 1996) was an American writer of mystery, crime and adventure novels including ones featuring Pete (Pierre-Ange rench: Stone Angel Sawyer, a French-American private investigator living and wo ...
, who also made something of a cottage industry out of movie tie-ins. He seems to have been the most prolific screenplay novelizer of the late '50s through mid '60s, and, during that time, the preeminent specialist at light comedy; and his rendering of ''That Jane from Maine'' is typically instantly engaging and spirited. The front cover features a prominent color still of Jack Lemmon and Doris Day in the center, and in the lower right corner, a black and white cameo of Ernie Kovacs. B&W stills of Doris Day with Garry Moore and Dave Garroway, and a cameo of Bill Cullen, adorn the back cover. The cover price is 25¢. The copyright is assigned to the screenwriters. The book was never reprinted under the film's final title.


References


External links

* * * * * {{Richard Quine 1959 romantic comedy films 1959 films American romantic comedy films Columbia Pictures films 1950s English-language films Films scored by George Duning Films directed by Richard Quine Films set in New York City Films set in Maine Films shot in Connecticut 1950s American films Films about the Boy Scouts of America