''Joy of Living'' is a 1938 American

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Tay Garnett William Taylor "Tay" Garnett (June 13, 1894 – October 3, 1977) was an American film director and writer. Biography Early life Born in Los Angeles, Garnett attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a naval aviator in Wo ...

and starring Irene Dunne and

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr., (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best known for starring in such films as ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), ''Gunga Din'' (1939) a ...

with supporting performances from Alice Brady, Guy Kibbee, Jean Dixon, Eric Blore and

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

. It features the hit song "

You Couldn't Be Cuter "You Couldn't Be Cuter" is a 1938 song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Dorothy Fields. It was written for the film ''Joy of Living'' (1938) where it was introduced by Irene Dunne. Popular recordings in 1938 were by Tommy Dorsey ...

," written by

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

and Dorothy Fields.

Plot

Margaret "Maggie" Garret is the star of a new musical show, ''Glamour'', having come up the hard way, following the family tradition of stage performance. She now earns a large salary but is devastated to learn that she is deeply in debt. She has worked extremely hard to make the show a success, but spends huge sums on a palatial home, and supporting her parents Dennis and Minerva, her sister Salina (also her understudy) and Salina's work-shy husband, Bert Pine. After the show one night, she forces her way through her adoring fans and is accosted by Dan Webster, who latches on to her and won't be put off. Taking him as a "masher", she drives to the police station, but Dan charmingly talks his way out of the charge. When it happens again, Dan is forced to appear in court and demands that Maggie appear as a witness. The judge finds the charge proved and sentences Dan to six months in prison. Maggie, who is slowly taking a liking to Dan's debonair manner, begs the Judge to commute the sentence to a suspended one. He agrees, but appoints Maggie the "probation officer", to whom Dan must report twice-weekly. Dan, now revealed as an easy-going pleasure-seeker from a rich banking family, claims to own an island in the South Pacific, bought with family money. He continues to pursue the hard-working Maggie, attempting to convince her to take time off and have fun - as he does. Eventually, they fall in love and marry. Dan wants to immediately board his boat and sail to his island, which he calls "Paradise", but Maggie has a show to do. She must make a choice. Maggie returns to the family home and confronts her sponging family. She tells her parents, who have spent a fortune on acquiring antiques, to go into the antiques business. She tells her sister that this is her big chance - tonight she will take the stage and (perhaps) make her name. Maggie and Dan sail off to Paradise.

Cast

* Irene Dunne as Maggie Garret *

as Dan Brewster * Alice Brady as Minerva Garret * Guy Kibbee as Dennis Garret *

as Salina Pine, Maggie's sister * Frank Milan as Bert Pine, Salina's husband * Dorothy Steiner (twin sister of Estelle Steiner) as twin sister Dotsy Pine * Estelle Steiner (twin sister of Dorothy Steiner) as twin sister Betsy Pine * Jean Dixon as Harrison * Eric Blore as Potter * Warren Hymer as Mike * Billy Gilbert as Cafe Owner * Phyllis Kennedy as Marie * Franklin Pangborn as Orchestra Leader * James Burke as Mac * John Qualen as Oswego *

George Chandler George Chandler (June 30, 1898 – June 10, 1985) was an American actor who starred in over 140 feature films, usually in smaller supporting roles, and he is perhaps best known for playing the character of Uncle Petrie Martin on the televi ...

as Taxi Cab Driver

Reception

RKO recorded a loss of $314,000 on the film.

References

*Green, Stanley (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation page 81

External links

''Joy of Living''
at Irene Dunne Site
''Joy of Living''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''Joy of Living''
at TCMDB * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joy Of Living 1938 films 1938 musical comedy films American musical comedy films Films directed by Tay Garnett American black-and-white films RKO Pictures films 1930s American films