''In the Meantime, Darling'' is a 1944 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 ...

produced and directed by

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

. The screenplay by Arthur Kober and Michael Uris focuses on a wealthy

war bride War brides are women who married military personnel from other countries in times of war or during military occupations, a practice that occurred in great frequency during World War I and World War II. Among the largest and best documented examp ...

(

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in '' Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films ''In the Meantime, Darling'' (1944 ...

) who is forced to adjust to living in spartan conditions in military housing during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Plot

Due to limited wartime housing, Army lieutenant Danny Ferguson (

Frank Latimore Franklin Latimore (born Franklin Latimore Kline, September 28, 1925 – November 29, 1998) was an American actor. Life and career Latimore was born in Darien, Connecticut. He came from a well-to-do family, and was able to trace his lineage ba ...

) and fiancée Maggie Preston (

) must postpone their wedding until a room in the Craig Hotel, where married officers stationed at nearby Camp Fielding live with their wives, becomes available. When their accommodations are ready, Maggie arrives with her wealthy parents Henry and Vera (

Eugene Pallette Eugene William Pallette (July 8, 1889 – September 3, 1954) was an American actor who worked in both the silent and sound eras, performing in more than 240 productions between 1913 and 1946. After an early career as a slender leading man, ...

and Mary Nash), who are unhappy about the living conditions their daughter will be forced to endure. Initially Maggie is too happy to care, but once the newlywed is left alone during the day while her husband is on the base, she begins to become disenchanted with her surroundings and the lack of service her privileged background has groomed her to expect. Unaware of what is expected of her in her new capacity of army wife, Maggie quickly becomes an outcast among the other women. Not helping her situation is an obvious lack of any domestic skills that would allow her to assist in the daily routine at the hotel. Increasingly upset with her situation, she lashes out at hotel manager Mrs. Jerry Armstrong (

Jane Randolph Jane Randolph (née Roemer; October 30, 1914 – May 4, 2009), was an American film actress. She is best known for her portrayals of Alice Moore in the 1942 horror film '' Cat People'', and its sequel, ''The Curse of the Cat People'' (1944). S ...

). Her mood softens when she learns Jerry's husband was killed in battle overseas and she has remained at the hotel to honor his memory. Maggie's attitude changes and she befriends some of the other wives, particularly Shirley (

Gale Robbins Gale Robbins (born Betty Gale Robbins or Betty Gale Murphy, May 7, 1921 – February 18, 1980) was an American actress and singer. Early years Born in Chicago, Illinois, although one source claims she was born in Mitchell, Indiana and her fami ...

), who is married to Danny's best friend Lt. Red Pianatowski (

Stanley Prager Stanley Prager (January 8, 1917 – January 18, 1972) was an American actor and a television and theatre director. Life and career Born in New York City, Prager began his career as the stage manager for the Broadway production ''The Skin of O ...

). When Danny finds himself the target of snide remarks made by his fellow officers, he discovers Maggie asked her father to use his influence to keep his son-in-law based in the States instead of being shipped overseas. Infuriated by her interference, he angrily storms out of their room, and Maggie prepares to return to her parents in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. When Danny returns with Philip, they discover a book about infant care Maggie had purchased to help her assist the expectant mothers, and he assumes she is pregnant. Rushing to the train station, he begs her to return. That night, at a dance honoring a visiting general, Red tells Shirley that Maggie is expecting a baby. As Maggie tries to tell her husband the truth, he receives word his company is being sent overseas. Danny is disappointed to learn he is not going to be a father after all, but Maggie reassures him she will be anxious to start a family as soon as he returns. After Danny and Red ship out, Maggie and Shirley decide to find jobs in the defense industry and do what they can to support their husbands and the rest of the troops.

Cast

as Maggie Preston *

as Lt. Daniel Ferguson *

as Lt. Red Pianatowski *

as Shirley Pianatowski *

as Henry B. Preston * Mary Nash as Vera Preston *

Cara Williams Cara Williams (born Bernice Kamiat; June 29, 1925 – December 9, 2021) was an American film and television actress. She was best known for her role as Billy's Mother in ''The Defiant Ones'' (1958), for which she was nominated for the Academy A ...

as Ruby Mae Sayre *

Doris Merrick Doris Roberta Merrick (nee Simpson, June 6, 1919 – November 30, 2019) was an American film actress and model. Biography Merrick was born in June 1919, to Joseph Simpson and Nellie Weber, and had five brothers and four sisters. She attended ...

as Mrs. MacAndrews *

Reed Hadley Reed Hadley (born Reed Herring, June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American film, television and radio actor. Early life Hadley was born in Petrolia, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one ...

as Maj. Phillips * Heather Angel as Mrs. Nelson *

Elisabeth 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. Helen Corkery *

Blake Edwards Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio s ...

as Lt. Eley (uncredited) *

Ruth Clifford Ruth Clifford (February 17, 1900 – November 30, 1998) was an American actress of leading roles in silent films, whose career lasted from that era into the television era. Early years Clifford was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the daughter ...

as Miss Phillips (uncredited) *

Glenn Langan Glenn Langan (July 8, 1917 – January 26, 1991) was an American character actor on stage and films. Early years Born in Denver, Colorado, Langan was the son of Thomas Langan and Kate Quinn Langan. He attended schools there. His early training ...

as Lt. Larkin (uncredited) *

Clarence Muse Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929's ''Hearts in Dixie''. He acted for ...

as Henry (uncredited)

Production

The initial draft of the screenplay, entitled ''Paris, Tennessee'', was completed in July 1943, and

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

executive

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

assigned the project to

Archie Mayo Archibald L. Mayo (January 29, 1891 – December 4, 1968) was a film director, screenwriter and actor. Early years The son of a tailor, Mayo was born in New York City. After attending the city's public schools, he studied at Columbia Unive ...

. The script underwent numerous revisions and was retitled ''Army Wife'' before going into production as ''I Married a Soldier'' in December. By then Zanuck agreed to allow Preminger to direct as well as produce the film. It marked the screen debut of

and

and the first time

would receive top billing. The cast also included future director

in a small, uncredited supporting role.''The World and Its Double'', p. 33 The screenplay continued to undergo extensive changes as filming progressed, and on February 4, 1944, the ''

Los Angeles Examiner The ''Los Angeles Examiner'' was a newspaper founded in 1903 by William Randolph Hearst in Los Angeles, California. The afternoon ''Los Angeles Herald-Express'' and the morning ''Los Angeles Examiner'', both of which had been publishing in the ...

'' reported the project was in trouble.

Joseph Breen Joseph Ignatius Breen (October 14, 1888 – December 5, 1965) was an American film censor with the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America who applied the Hays Code to film production.Staff report (December 8, 1965). Joseph I. ...

, who headed the

Production Code Administration The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios#Present, five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Pic ...

, was certain the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...

would object to a scene showing the newlywed couple in bed and recommended Preminger restage it, although the shot remained in both the US and UK releases. It was the first film to show a married couple in bed since the

Motion Picture Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

was established in 1934, a fact that greatly pleased Preminger. During filming, the director realized

, cast as Maggie's father, was "an admirer of

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

ndwas convinced that Germany would win the war." Preminger also discovered the actor was a

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

when he refused to sit next to

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

cast member

and used a racial slur to refer to him. Infuriated, the director immediately fired Pallette and, although he remains in scenes he already had filmed, the remainder of his role not yet shot was eliminated from the script.''The World and Its Double'', p. 34 After principal photography was completed, the screenplay underwent more revisions in order to enhance the screen presence of Jeanne Crain. After these additional scenes were filmed in late March 1944, the film's title was changed yet again to ''In the Meantime, Darling''. The song "How Many Times Do I Have to Tell You," performed by Gale Robbins during the dance sequence, was written by

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, J ...

and

Harold Adamson Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980) was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, was born and raised in ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:In The Meantime, Darling 1944 films 20th Century Fox films American drama films American black-and-white films Films directed by Otto Preminger Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge Films set on the home front during World War II Films set in the 1940s 1944 drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links