''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 Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other gen ...

and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. with supporting performances from

Alice Brady Alice Brady (born Mary Rose Brady; November 2, 1892 – October 28, 1939) was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked until six months before her death from cancer in ...

Guy Kibbee Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882 – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early years Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas. His father was editor of the '' El Paso Herald-Post'' newspaper, and Kibbee learned how to set type at age ...

Jean Dixon Jean Dixon (born Jean Jacques; July 14, 1893 – February 12, 1981) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Dixon was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. She attended St. Margaret's School in Waterbury, and was also educated i ...

Eric Blore Eric Blore Sr. (23 December 1887 – 2 March 1959) was an English actor and writer. His early stage career, mostly in the West End of London, centred on revue and musical comedy, but also included straight plays. He wrote sketches for and appe ...

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 Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), "On th ...

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

as Maggie Garret * Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Dan Brewster *

as Minerva Garret *

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 *

as Harrison *

as Potter *

Warren Hymer Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor. Early life He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to ...

as Mike *

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...

as Cafe Owner *

Phyllis Kennedy Phyllis Kennedy (June 16, 1914 – December 29, 1998) was an American film actress. Early life She was born on June 16, 1914 in Detroit, Michigan. Following her high school graduation in 1932, she got employment as a clothes model in a loc ...

as Marie *

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Interna ...

as Orchestra Leader * James Burke as Mac *

John Qualen John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles. Early years Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son ...

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 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 Atl ...

* * {{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