''It Had to Be You'' is a 1947 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by

Don Hartman Samuel Donald Hartman (18 November 1900, New York - 23 March 1958, Palm Springs, California) was an American screenwriter and director and former production head of Paramount Pictures. He and Stephen Morehouse Avery were nominated for the Acade ...

and

Rudolph Maté Rudolph Maté (born Rudolf Mayer; 21 January 1898 – 27 October 1964) was a Polish-Hungarian-American cinematographer, film director and film producer who worked as cameraman and cinematographer in Hungary, Austria, Germany, France and the Unite ...

and starring

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

and

Cornel Wilde Cornel Wilde (born Kornél Lajos Weisz; October 13, 1912 – October 16, 1989) was a Hungarian-American actor and filmmaker. Wilde's acting career began in 1935, when he made his debut on Broadway. In 1936 he began making small, uncredited app ...

. A marriage-shy sculptor meets the boy of her childhood dreams, now a firefighter.

Plot summary

In this fantasy, screwball romantic comedy, Victoria Stafford (

), is a wealthy girl who has been engaged three times, and each time has backed out at the altar. On a train she meets the vision George McKesson (

) dressed as an Indian, just like she envisioned her dream man when she was a child. He claims that he is a figment of her imagination and will disappear as soon as she stops thinking about him. He follows her home and causes much confusion within her family. Determined to wed her fourth fiancé, Oliver H.P. Harrington (

Ron Randell Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

), Victoria is on the verge of saying "yes" when she meets the real version of her "dream lover," Johnny Blaine (

), a firefighter who is the physical incarnation of George McKesson. Victoria, frustrated with George's advances, insists he stay at home to play cards with her father (

Percy Waram Percy Thomas Carne Waram ( ; 28 October 1880 – 5 October 1961) was a British-born stage and film actor who spent much of his career in the United States. His career lasted 55 years on the American stage, and he had memorable roles in ''The Shang ...

), and while shopping she sees Johnny returning a negligee. Thinking he is "George," Victoria has him thrown out of the store for stalking her. While watching her father's home movies, Victoria remembers kissing Johnny when he was a boy dressed in an Indian costume, and at the insistence of George, tracks Johnny down at the fire station where he works. Victoria boldly approaches Johnny and is persistent in her pursuit of him and his affection. It turns out he too has backed out three times at the altar, claiming it never felt right. Victoria is excited to discover that they have a lot in common, including a knowledge of baseball, favourite foods, and a love of the movie's title song, but Johnny isn't easily swayed by Victoria's eagerness to become a couple, and insists on doing things his way. He is initially not impressed with her brash behaviour, but soon starts to see things her way. In the meantime, fiancé Oliver has a conversation with George, who alludes to the scandal of Victoria, having traveled with an Indian on a train. He gives Oliver the phone number of the conductor (

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 ...

) who witnessed the whole train adventure. Oliver, desperate to find out the truth, tracks down the train conductor, then calls off the wedding. After spending several days together, Victoria convinces Johnny that they have subconsciously been in love since they were kids and that they are made for each other. He decides to marry her but wants to speak to her father first. Because the family thinks he is George, they dismiss his claims to be Johnny Blaine the firefighter, and alluding to the "train incident" Mr. an Mrs. Stafford (

Spring Byington Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of ''December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared in ...

) discuss getting Victoria married off as soon as possible to avoid future scandal. Thinking that the whole family is nuts, and concerned about her train adventure with another man, Johnny leaves. Oliver's father, Mr. Harrington (

Thurston Hall Ernest Thurston Hall (May 10, 1882 – February 20, 1958) was an American film, stage and television actor.Aylesworth, Thomas G. and Bowman, John S. (1987). ''The World Almanac Who's Who of Film''. World Almanac. . Pp. 186-187. Career Stag ...

) insists that Oliver marry Victoria in order to gain access to her family's money; Otherwise they will be in financial ruin, to the tune of three million dollars. So the wedding of Oliver and Victoria is on again at the insistence of both families, and they are about to marry when the vision of George McKesson shows up at the wedding, dressed as an Indian. Knowing Victoria is marrying the wrong man, George places a call to report a fire at the wedding. This brings the real dream man, Johnny, to the Stafford home. The fire crew enter just as Victoria is deliberating whether or not to say "I do." Johnny carries a very willing Victoria over his shoulder and they leave the house. The movie ends with a tight shot of Johnny's moccasins hanging from his belt as the couple kiss on the speeding firetruck.

Cast

as Victoria Stafford *

as George McKesson/Johnny Blaine *

as Oliver H.P. Harrington *

as Mr. Stafford *

as Mrs. Stafford *

as Mr. Harrington * Charles Evans as Dr. Parkinson *

Carol Nugent Carol Lou Nugent (born July 7, 1937) is an American actress who began her career as a child. Nugent appeared in over 20 feature films and 11 television programs during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Her 1959 marriage to actor Nick Adams ended with ...

as Victoria at age 6 (uncredited) *

Judy Nugent Judy Ann Nugent (born August 22, 1940) is an American actress. Early life Nugent was born in Los Angeles, California, daughter of Lucille and Carl Nugent. Her father was a property master for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, her mother later became a talent ...

as Victoria at age 5 (uncredited) *

Billy Bevan Billy Bevan (born William Bevan Harris, 29 September 1887 – 26 November 1957) was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 American films between 1916 and 1950. Career Bevan was bo ...

as Evans, the Butler *

as Train Conductor Brown *

Anna Q. Nilsson Anna Quirentia Nilsson (March 30, 1888 – February 11, 1974) was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies. Early life Nilsson was born in Ystad, Sweden in 1888. Her middle name Quirentia is derived from her ...

as Saleslady

Notes

In April 1947 Columbia announced that Ginger Rogers would star in the movie then called ''I Found a Dream''. The studio broke with convention and had two men direct. Ginger Rogers, in her autobiography, ''Ginger: My Story'': "

t was T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

a very amusing script about a girl who backs out of four marriages. In the end she finds the answer to her dreams and the reason for her vacillation. The 'answer' was played by Cornel Wilde, who usually appeared in robust adventure roles. I must say, he marched into the picture as though he had done farce all his life. Spring Byington played my mother..., and I got to act for a few moments with

. It was an early role for Australian actor Ron Randell, who had recently been put under contract to Columbia. He was cast in April 1947 and filming started in May.GROSS BUYS RIGHTS TO FILM 'MRS. MIKE': New York Times 29 Apr 1947: 32.

Track listing

* It Had to Be You ** Music by

Isham Jones Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. Career Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jones ...

Wedding March Music is often played at wedding celebrations, including during the ceremony and at festivities before or after the event. The music can be performed live by instrumentalists or vocalists or may use pre-recorded songs, depending on the format o ...

** Music by

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

Bridal Chorus The "Bridal Chorus" () from the 1850 opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a col ...

** Music by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

References

External links

* * * *
Review of film
at Variety
It Had to Be You
at BFI
It Had to Be You
at Letterbox DVD {{DEFAULTSORT:It Had To Be You (1947 Film) 1947 films American black-and-white films 1947 romantic comedy films Columbia Pictures films American romantic comedy films Films about weddings Films directed by Don Hartman Films directed by Rudolph Maté Films scored by Heinz Roemheld 1940s American films 1940s English-language films