''I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now'' is a 1940 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

directed by

Arthur Lubin Arthur Lubin (July 25, 1898 – May 11, 1995) was an American film director and producer who directed several ''Abbott & Costello'' films, '' Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), the '' Francis the Talking Mule'' series and created the talking-horse TV ...

and starring

Dennis O'Keefe Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer. Early years Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevill ...

Constance Moore Constance Moore (January 18, 1920 or January 18, 1921Additional on April 23, 2017. – September 16, 2005) was an American singer and actress. Her most noted work was in wartime musicals such as ''Show Business'' and ''Atlantic City'' and the ...

and

Helen Parrish Helen Virginia Parrish (March 12, 1923 – February 22, 1959) was an American stage and film actress. Career Parrish was born in Columbus, Georgia. She started in movies at the age of 4, getting her first part playing Babe Ruth's daughter in t ...

. It was produced and distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

Plot

Football player Tod Lowell is the son of a man running for governor, who needs the support of a political boss. Tod's dad asks a favor, that Tod spend a few weeks squiring Gertrude Morgan, the man's daughter. Trouble is, Tod's been romantically involved with Betty Gilbert, a

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

, while Gert's gotten engaged to Tod's football rival, Andy Mason. A few tricks are played on the parents to make them believe Tod and Gertrude are serious, but just as they are about to return to their former partners, the two realize they actually have fallen for one another.

Cast

as Betty Gilbert *

as Tod Lowell *

as Gertrude * Lewis Howard as Andy *

Laura Hope Crews Laura Hope Crews (December 12, 1879 – November 12, 1942) was an American actress who is best remembered today for her later work as a character actress in motion pictures of the 1930s. Her best-known film role was Aunt Pittypat in ''Gone ...

Mrs. Lowell *

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 Sen. Lowell *

Samuel S. Hinds Samuel Southey Hinds (April 4, 1875 – October 13, 1948) was an American actor and former lawyer. He was often cast as kindly authority figures and appeared in more than 200 films until his death. Early years Hinds was born in Brooklyn, New Y ...

as Morgan * Margaret Hamilton as Mrs. Thriffie *

Marjorie Gateson Marjorie Augusta Gateson (January 17, 1891 – April 17, 1977) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Gateson was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Augusta and Daniel Gateson. Her maternal grandfather and brother were clergymen; So ...

as Mrs. Morgan * Walter Soderling as Abner Thriffle *

Walter Baldwin Walter Smith Baldwin Jr. (January 2, 1889 − January 27, 1977) was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances. Baldwin was born in Lima, Ohio, into a theatr ...

as Elmer * Tim Ryan sa Judge Saunders * Hattie Noel as Bedelia *

Steve Pendleton Steve Pendleton (September 16, 1908 – October 3, 1984) was an American film and television actor. He also went by Gaylord Pendleton as a Broadway performer. He was in more than 220 different films and television episodes. Pendleton appeare ...

as Chuck *

Gene O'Donnell In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

as Eddie * James Craig as Ray * Rex Evans as Parkins the Butler * Alphonse Martell as Headwaiter

Production

The film was originally called ''The Bride Said No''. Arthur Lubin was assigned to direct in May 1940. Filming started later that month. Hal Block signed to write some last minute comedy dialogue.

Reception

''Diabolique'' magazine called it "a cheerful comedy... so briskly done and well acted that it doesn’t hit you until the movie’s almost over how selfish the lead couple are – Lubin’s empathy for all his characters possibly threw this off balance because all the audience sympathy goes to the partners of O’Keefe and Parrish."

References

External links

''I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now''
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, ...

''I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now''
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 A ...

I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now
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I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now
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at Variety 1940 films 1940 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films Films directed by Arthur Lubin American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films Universal Pictures films {{romantic-comedy-film-stub