''Love Thy Neighbor'' is a film produced by Paramount in 1940 which starred

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

and

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...

, directed by Mark Sandrich. It features

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific'' (194 ...

with her famous fur coat

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "exo ...

performance of "

My Heart Belongs to Daddy "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" is a song written by Cole Porter, for the 1938 musical '' Leave It to Me!'' which premiered on November 9, 1938. It was originally performed by Mary Martin, who played Dolly Winslow, the young " protégée" of a rich ...

" which is set in a stage

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

Plot summary

On New Year's Eve 1940, two famous radio stars with competing comedy shows, Jack Benny and Fred Allen (played by themselves), get into a real fix based on the ongoing feud between them, a recurring feature of the two men's radio shows for years. When Jack crashes his car into Fred's car, followed by several additional crashes between the two cars, they both end up in jail for reckless driving. Because of the severity of the crashes and the recklessness of the two men, Fred's niece Mary (played by Mary Martin) believes Fred has gone insane. To attempt to end the feud between Fred and Jack, Mary goes to Jack's office to attempt to talk with him. While she is there, an actress named Virginia Astor fails to turn up for her audition for Jack's upcoming stage show, and Mary takes advantage of the opportunity by pretending she is Virginia and attends the audition. She is good enough to get the lead role in Jack's show and has to go to Miami for the opening. Fred is also in Miami to rest up before his premiere for the season, and a series of unfortunate events follow as the feud between the two men escalades. A boat chase ends in a collision with both men being knocked unconscious. Mary tries to end their feud by saying that Jack saved Fred's life after the accident, but it doesn't take long before the two are at each other's throats again. As this point, Jack still believes that Mary is Virginia Astor. When Jack finds out who Mary really is, he fires her from his show. In an effort to regain her role in the show and her relationship with Jack, Mary then acquires a controlling share of stock in the show from Josephine, girlfriend of Jack's former and future employee Rochester. (Josephine has acquired the stock from Rochester.) However, Fred is Mary's legal guardian and controls Mary's financial interests until she is married, so he now has the controlling interest in his rival's show. Because Jack and Mary are in love, they decide to marry and regain control of the show from Fred. Fred attempts to thwart their plan by putting the real Virginia Astor in Jack's shower before the wedding, making Mary believe Jack is having an affair with the actress. Jack finds proof of Fred's hoax and explains everything to Mary. Sometime later, Mary is seen out in a park pushing a baby carriage containing two babies who look exactly like, and are bickering like, Fred and Jack. In the park Mary meets Josephine, who herself is pushing a baby carriage containing a baby who looks exactly like Rochester.

Cast

as Jack Benny *

as Fred Allen *

as Mary Allen * Verree Teasdale as Barbara Allen * Eddie Anderson as Rochester * Virginia Dale as Virginia Astor *

Theresa Harris Theresa Harris (December 31, 1906 – October 8, 1985) was an American television and film actress, singer and dancer. Early life Harris was born on New Year's Eve 1906 (some sources indicate 1909) in Houston, Texas, to Isaiah and Mable Harris ...

as Josephine *

Richard Denning Richard Denning (March 27, 1914 – October 11, 1998) was an American actor who starred in science fiction films of the 1950s, including '' Unknown Island'' (1948), '' Creature from the Black Lagoon'' ( 1954), '' Target Earth'' (1954), '' Day ...

as Joe *

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) with James Cagney and ...

as Policeman * Barnett Parker as George *

Russell Hicks Edward Russell Hicks (June 4, 1895 – June 1, 1957) was an American film character actor. Hicks was born in 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Army in France. He later became a lieutenant Colonel in the Cali ...

as Mr. Harrington *Mary Kelley as Chambermaid

References

Bibliography

* Thomas Schatz. ''Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s''. University of California Press, 1999. {{Mark Sandrich 1940 films 1940s English-language films 1940 comedy films American black-and-white films American comedy films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Mark Sandrich Films scored by Victor Young 1940s American films