''Letter of Introduction'' is a 1938 American

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by John M. Stahl. In 1966, the film entered the

public domain in the United States Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by intellectual property rights (such as copyright) at all, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired. All works first published or released in the United States b ...

because the claimants did not renew its

copyright registration The purpose of copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of infringement or plagiarism, the copyright owner can produce a cop ...

in the 28th year after publication.

Plot

An aging actor, John Mannering, is surprised when his estranged daughter, Kay Martin, shows up. She is an actress trying to succeed on Broadway. He is persuaded to perform on Broadway for the first time in twelve years in a play with her. He is anxious about his performance, so turns to alcohol to overcome his self-doubt. He tries to re-establish his relationship with his daughter while trying to hide from the press that she is his daughter.

Cast

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley K ...

as John Mannering *

Andrea Leeds Andrea Leeds (born Antoinette Lees, August 18, 1913 – May 21, 1984) was an American film actress. A popular supporting player of the late 1930s, Leeds was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in ''S ...

as Katherine "Kay" Martin *

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor, and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild fro ...

as Barry Paige * Edgar Bergen as himself *

Rita Johnson Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...

as Honey * Ann Sheridan as Lydia Hoyt * Ernest Cossart as Andrews, the Butler * Frank Jenks as Joe, theatre prompter * Eve Arden as Cora Phelps *

Charlie McCarthy Charlie McCarthy is Edgar Bergen's famed ventriloquist dummy partner. Charlie was part of Bergen's act as early as high school, and by 1930, was attired in his famous top hat, tuxedo, and monocle. The character was so well-known that his popularit ...

as Himself - dummy * Mortimer Snerd as Himself - dummy * Ray Walker as Reporter

References

External links

* * * 1938 films 1938 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films 1930s English-language films Films directed by John M. Stahl American black-and-white films Films about actors Universal Pictures films 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-drama-film-stub