''Louisiana Purchase'' is a 1941 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

Irving Cummings Irving Caminsky (October 9, 1888 – April 18, 1959) was an American movie actor and director. Career Born in New York City, Cummings started his acting career at age 16 in ''Diplomacy''. His Broadway, performances included ''In the Long R ...

and starring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

Vera Zorina Vera Zorina (January 2, 1917 – April 9, 2003), born Eva Brigitta Hartwig, was a Norwegian ballerina, theatre and film actress, and choreographer. Today, she is chiefly remembered for her films choreographed by her then-husband George Bala ...

, and

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

. It is an adaptation of

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

's 1940

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical of the same name. A

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

production, the film was directed by

, with

Robert Emmett Dolan Robert Emmett Dolan (August 3, 1908 - September 26, 1972) was a Broadway conductor, composer, and arranger beginning in the 1920s. He moved on to radio in the 1930s and then went to Hollywood in the early 1940s as a musical director for Paramo ...

serving as musical director as he had done for the play. The film satirises the

US Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero Andre ...

and

political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, in ...

. The film was Bob Hope's first feature film in Technicolor. The title refers to the State of Louisiana offering to drop the deceased leader

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...

's controversial

Share Our Wealth Share Our Wealth was a movement that began in February 1934, during the Great Depression, by Huey Long, a governor and later United States Senator from Louisiana. Long first proposed the plan in a national radio address, which is now referred t ...

program, and fully support

President Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and his

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

. In return, FDR promised federal dollars for public works in Louisiana, a deal cynically referred to by many as the second

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

. Starring Paramount's house comedian Bob Hope in the role

William Gaxton William Gaxton (né Arthur Anthony Gaxiola, December 2, 1893 – February 2, 1963) was an American star of vaudeville, film, and theatre. Gaxton was president of The Lambs Club from 1936 to 1939, 1952 to 1953, and 1957 to 1961. He and Victor ...

played on stage, the film featured

and

Irène Bordoni Irène Bordoni (16 January 1885 – 19 March 1953) was a Franco-American actress and singer. Early years Bordoni was born in Paris, France, to Sauveur Bordoni, a tailor, and Marie Lemonnier. The 19th-century painter Francis Millet was a great ...

reprising their stage roles. Raoul Pene Du Bois did the production and costume design and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color along with Stephen Seymour. The

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

was by

Harry Hallenberger Harry Hallenberger (October 24, 1877 – March 4, 1954) was an American cinematographer who was nominated at the 14th Academy Awards for Best Cinematography-Color, along with Ray Rennahan. This was for the film ''Louisiana Purchase''. Filmogra ...

and

Ray Rennahan Ray Rennahan, A.S.C. (May 1, 1896 – May 19, 1980) was a motion picture cinematographer. Biography For his work in films, he became one of the only six cinematographers to have a "star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the other five being Ha ...

who also received a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture. History In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) ...

Plot

The film begins with a Hollywood legal adviser giving dictation to his secretary that the stage show property ''Louisiana Purchase'' is unfilmable, unless strong disclaimers are made that it is a total work of fiction. The next scene features a musical number declaring that information. Louisiana State Representative Jim Taylor is told by his fellow partners of the Louisiana Purchase Company who have engaged in misusing Federal government funds for their own avarice that a Republican Federal Senator Oliver P. Loganberry is arriving in the State during

Mardi Gras in New Orleans The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in all of Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (the start of lent in the Western C ...

. The Senator will conduct hearings to establish evidence of their corrupt conduct with Taylor's cronies deciding Taylor he will be the

fall guy Fall guy is a colloquial phrase that refers to a person to whom blame is deliberately and falsely attributed in order to deflect blame from another party. Origin The origin of the term "fall guy" is unknown and contentious. Many sources place ...

. Taylor has one chance to avoid imprisonment; lure the Republican Senator into a honey trap. Searching for a woman, Taylor's friend Madame Yvonne Bordelaise recommends the visiting European woman Marina Von Minden who is desperately seeking money to obtain a visa for her mother to leave Europe. Marina initially goes along with the scheme and poses for incriminating photo when the Senator is tricked into getting drunk. She has a change of heart and decides to explain the photographs by saying the Senator Loganberry has proposed to her. Taylor has fallen in love with Marina and avoids the Senator making his charges in the Legislature by doing a

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...

for three days, with Taylor explaining that he has the express permission of

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 ...

Cast

as Jim Taylor *

as Marina Von Minden *

as Sen. Oliver P. Loganberry *

as Madame Yvonne Bordelaise *Phyllis Ruth as Emmy Lou *

Dona Drake Dona Drake (born Eunice Westmoreland; November 15, 1914 – June 20, 1989) was an American singer, dancer and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. Drake was mixed race by ancestry. She often presented herself as Mexican and went by the names ...

as Beatrice *

Raymond Walburn Raymond Walburn (September 9, 1887 – July 26, 1969) was an American character actor of stage and screen who appeared in dozens of Hollywood movie comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Born i ...

as Colonel Davis *

Maxie Rosenbloom Max Everitt Rosenbloom (November 6, 1906 – March 6, 1976) was an American professional boxer, actor, and television personality. Nicknamed "Slapsie Maxie", he was inducted into '' The Ring's'' Boxing Hall of Fame in 1972, the International Je ...

as The Shadow aka Wilson *

Donald MacBride Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer (making several recordings in 1907) in vaudeville and went on to be an ...

as Captain Pierre Whitfield *

Andrew Tombes Andrew Tombes (29 June 1885 – 17 March 1976) was an American comedian and character actor. Biography The son of a grocer, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, Tombes was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. Early in his career, he worked as a v ...

as Dean Albert Manning * Robert Warwick as Speaker of the House * Charles La Torre as Gaston, Waiter *

Charles Laskey Charles Laskey (September 20, 1908 – December 13, 1998) was an American ballet dancer and occasional performer in musical theatre, best remembered for his association with George Balanchine. As a ballet dancer, Laskey performed with Balanchine's ...

as Danseur *

Emory Parnell Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career. Early years Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Parnell trained as a musician at Morningside ...

as Sam Horowitz, Lawyer *

Iris Meredith Iris Meredith (born Iris Shunn; June 3, 1915 – January 22, 1980) was a B-movie actress of the 1930s and 1940s film era. She starred mostly in heroine roles, in westerns. Early years Meredith was born in Sioux City, Iowa, but grew up in ...

as Lawyer's secretary *

Catherine Craig Catherine Craig (born Catherine Jewel Feltus; January 18, 1915 – January 14, 2004), sometimes credited as Kay Craig, was an American actress. Early years Catherine Jewel Feltus was born in Bloomington, Indiana, where she was a member of Phi ...

as Saleslady *

Jack Norton Jack Norton (born Mortimer John Naughton; September 2, 1882 – October 15, 1958) was an American stage and film character actor who appeared in more than 180 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a ...

as Jester *

Sam McDaniel Samuel Rufus McDaniel (January 28, 1886September 24, 1962)Tanner, Beccy (November 7, 1991)"McDaniel Opened Doors; 'Gone With the Wind' Was Actress' Most Famous Film" ''The Wichita Eagle''. Retrieved January 3, 2021. was an American actor who ap ...

as Sam *

Frances Gifford Mary Frances Gifford (December 7, 1920 – January 22, 1994) was an American actress who played leads and supporting roles in many 1930s and 1940s movies. Early years Gifford was born and raised in Long Beach, California, and at the age of 16, ...

as Salesgirl * Brooks Benedict as Senator *

Kay Aldridge Katharine ("Kay") Gratten Aldridge (July 9, 1917 – January 12, 1995) was an American actress and model, best known for playing feisty and imperiled heroines in black-and-white serials during the 1940s. Life and work Aldridge was born on July ...

as Louisiana Belle *

Karin Booth Karin Booth (born June Francis Hoffman, June 19, 1916 – July 27, 2003) was an American film and TV actress of the 1940s to 1960s. Life and career She was born June Francis Hoffman on June 19, 1916, in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Francis T. and ...

as Louisiana Belle *

Rebel Randall Rebel Randall (born Alaine Charlotte Dorothy Brandes, January 22, 1922 – July 22, 2010), was an American film actress and radio personality. She appeared in approximately 50 films between 1940 and 1956. Career She was a popular G.I. pin-up ...

as Louisiana Belle * Barbara Britton as Louisiana Belle * Brooke Evans as Louisiana Belle * Blanche Grady as Louisiana Belle * Lynda Grey as Louisiana Belle *

Margaret Hayes Margaret Hayes (born Florette Regina Ottenheimer; December 5, 1913 – January 26, 1977) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Early years Hayes was born in Baltimore, Maryland (some sources say Pottsville, Pennsylvania) into a ...

as Louisiana Belle * Louise LaPlanche as Louisiana Belle * Barbara Slater as Louisiana Belle *

Eleanor Stewart Eleanor Stewart (February 2, 1913 – July 4, 2007), was an American film actress of the 1930s and 1940s, appearing mostly in western films. Born in Chicago, Stewart attended Northwestern University. She worked as a model, and after win ...

as Louisiana Belle *

Jean Wallace Jean Wallace (born Jean Walasek or Wallasek; October 12, 1923 – February 14, 1990) was an American television and film actress. Early life Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois to John T. Walaszek and Mary A. Walaszek (''née'' Sharkey). ...

as Louisiana Belle

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Louisiana Purchase (Film) 1941 films Films based on musicals

Film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

Films directed by Irving Cummings 1940s musical comedy-drama films American musical comedy-drama films 1940s political comedy-drama films American political comedy-drama films Films about politicians Paramount Pictures films 1940s American films