''Saturday's Children'' is a 1940 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Vincent Sherman Vincent Sherman (born Abraham Orovitz, July 16, 1906 – June 18, 2006) was an American director and actor who worked in Hollywood. His movies include '' Mr. Skeffington'' (1944), '' Nora Prentiss'' (1947), and ''The Young Philadelphians'' (1959) ...

and starring

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle, March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

Anne Shirley Anne Shirley is a fictional character introduced in the 1908 novel '' Anne of Green Gables'' by L. M. Montgomery. Shirley is featured throughout the classic book series, which revolve around her life and family in 19th and 20th-century Prince Edw ...

, and

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...

. It is a third-time remake of the original

Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...

play with a previous version released in 1935 under the title '' Maybe It's Love''.

Plot

Twenty-two-year-old Bobby Halevy (

) falls in love with her fellow employee, Rims Rosson (

). Rosson is an idealistic dreamer and would-be inventor whose get-rich scheme is going off to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

to turn hemp into silk. Their romance flourishes until Bobby is talked into tricking Rims into marriage. Living poor and on the verge of breaking up, the couple realizes that there is more to life than having a lot of money.

Cast

as Rims Rosson *

as Bobby Halevy *

as Mr. Halevy * Lee Patrick as Florrie Sands *

George Tobias George Tobias (July 14, 1901 – February 27, 1980) was an American theater, film and television actor. He had character parts and supporting roles in several major films of Hollywood's Golden Age. He is also known for his role as Abner K ...

as Herbie Smith *

Roscoe Karns Roscoe, also spelled Rosco or Roscow, may refer to: People * Roscoe (name) Places United States * Roscoe, California (disambiguation) *Roscoe Township (disambiguation) * Roscoe, Georgia, an unincorporated community *Roscoe, Illinois, a village * ...

as Willie Sands *

Dennie Moore Dennie Moore (born Florence Moore; December 30, 1902 – February 22, 1978) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Moore was born in New York City on December 30, 1902, to immigrant parents of Scottish and Irish descent. She was ...

as Gertrude Mills *

Elizabeth Risdon Elisabeth Risdon (born Daisy Cartwright Risdon; 26 April 1887 – 20 December 1958) was an English film actress. She appeared in more than 140 films between 1913 and 1952. A beauty in her youth, she usually played in society parts. In later ...

as Mrs. Halevy *

Berton Churchill Berton Churchill (December 9, 1876 – October 10, 1940) was a Canadian stage and film actor. Early years Churchill was born in Toronto, Ontario. After his family moved to New York City, he graduated from high school there, studied law a ...

as Mr. Norman *

Lucile Fairbanks Lucile Fairbanks (1917–1999) was an American actress who appeared in 11 movies from 1939 to 1942, playing a lead role in ''A Fugitive from Justice'' (1940) and '' Passage from Hong Kong'' (1941). Personal She was the niece of Douglas Fairbank ...

as a nurse (uncredited) *

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 first carpenter (uncredited)

Production

Warners originally cast Priscilla Lane in the lead but Garfield was sure that the

Lane Sisters The Lane Sisters were a family of American singers and actresses. The sisters were Leota Lane (October 25, 1903 – July 25, 1963), Lola Lane (May 21, 1906 – June 22, 1981), Rosemary Lane (April 4, 1913 – November 25, 1974) and Priscilla ...

would somehow have to be written in as well. He used his influence to get the studio to borrow Shirley from

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

. Julius Epstein thought Garfield's performance was the closest he came to playing his real self. Usually discontented with the way he was typecast by the studio, Garfield was unusually proud of his restrained characterization.

Radio adaptation

''Saturday's Children'' was presented on '' Screen Guild Players'' June 2, 1947. The 30-minute adaptation starred Garfield and

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

References

External links

* * * * 1940 films 1940 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films American films based on plays 1940s English-language films Films directed by Vincent Sherman Films scored by Adolph Deutsch Warner Bros. films 1940s American films {{1940s-drama-film-stub