''The Gilded Lily'' is a 1935 American romantic comedy film directed by

Wesley Ruggles Wesley Ruggles (June 11, 1889 – January 8, 1972) was an American film director. Life and work He was born in Los Angeles, California, younger brother of actor Charlie Ruggles. He began his career in 1915 as an actor, appearing in a do ...

and starring

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures ...

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

, and

C. Aubrey Smith Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...

. The production's

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

, written by

Claude Binyon Claude Binyon (October 17, 1905 Chicago, Illinois – February 14, 1978 Glendale, California) was a screenwriter and director. His genres were comedy, musicals, and romances. As a Chicago-based journalist for the ''Examiner'' newspaper, he be ...

, is about a stenographer who becomes a famous café entertainer courted by an English aristocrat and an American newspaper reporter. Released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

in the United States on January 25, 1935, the film is one of the English language films chosen by the

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

for its top-10 list of 1935. ''The Gilded Lily'' is also the first of seven films in which Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray costar.

Plot

Stenographer Marilyn David (

) and newspaper reporter Peter Dawes (

) meet every Thursday on a bench outside the New York Public Library to eat popcorn and watch the world go by. One day, Peter confesses his love to her, but she tells him she only considers him a friend—that someday she will find love when she meets the right man. Afterwards on the subway, Marilyn meets a wealthy English aristocrat, Lord Charles Gray Granton (

), who is visiting New York incognito as a commoner. After she helps him escape a confrontation with a subway guard, he walks her home and the two flirt with each other. He does not tell her that his father is the Duke of Loamshire, nor does he mention that he is engaged to an Englishwoman. In the coming days they go on dates to

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

and have dinner together, and soon they fall in love. At their next Thursday meeting, Marilyn reveals to Peter that she has fallen in love with someone. Disappointed, he tells her that things can never be the same between them, but assures her that she can always depend on his friendship. When Charles' father, Lloyd Granton (

), learns that his son intends to propose to an American girl, he insists that they first return to England to break off his current engagement properly. Charles visits Marilyn before he leaves and—still not revealing his identity—tells her that he found a job and will be out of town on business for a few weeks. The next day, Peter learns from his editor that the Duke of Loamshire and his son have been in New York for six weeks without the press being aware of it, and are preparing to sail back for England. While working on his usual shipping news column at the docks, Peter spots Duke Granton and his son Charles boarding a ship. After a brief interview, the duke gives Peter $100 to keep their names out of the newspapers. Annoyed at the duke's arrogance, Peter publishes his column the following day, complete with a photo of the Grantons. When Marilyn sees that her "Charles" is in fact Lord Granton returning to England to marry his English fiancé—at least according to Peter's story—she rushes to her friend heartbroken and reveals that Charles is the man she's been dating. Believing that Charles was simply using her, Peter writes a fictitious article about Marilyn, whom he calls the "No" Girl, turning down Lord Granton's marriage proposal and deciding to hold out for true love instead. The story causes an immediate scandal and generates sympathy for Marilyn who becomes an overnight celebrity. Meanwhile on the ship, the Grantons are informed of the scandal and that Charles' fiancé has broken her engagement. Convinced that Marilyn is attempting to blackmail him, Charles sends her a telegram asking how much money she wants in return for her silence. That night while comforting Marilyn over drinks at the Gingham Café, Peter decides to capitalize on the publicity and her newfound celebrity. He works out a deal with the owner who gives Marilyn a job as a singer and dancer at the café—even though she cannot sing or dance. After a few singing and dancing lessons and a massive promotional campaign, Marilyn opens to a packed house. Despite her lack of talent, her self-effacing manner wins laughs from the audience who are completely won over by her innocence and charm. Through Peter's clever management and publicity stunts, the "No" Girl becomes a household name and a nightclub star, with her image appearing on billboards, posters, and front page newspaper articles across the country. Despite her fame and popularity, Marilyn is unable to forget her feelings for Charles. Needing to know how he really feels about her, Marilyn travels to London to perform her nightclub act. During one performance, she sees Charles in the audience; after sharing a romantic dance together, they agree to renew their relationship. A brokenhearted Peter graciously bows out of her life and returns to America so she can be happy. Later he sends her a box of popcorn as a reminder of their friendship. Meanwhile, life with Charles is not as perfect as Marilyn had envisioned. Having spent months reading about The No Girl in the papers, he's more interested in her celebrity than in their love—unlike Peter, Charles never got to fully know the real Marilyn, who is now hopelessly obscured by the fake one. Charles invites her to go away with him to the country for a week—implying she might become his mistress, or at least the press would assume as much, which is precisely what he wants. She invites some American reporters to her flat, announces that she's "going home to sit on a bench and eat popcorn", and Charles is now stuck with a second public jilting, real this time, which he accepts ruefully. Back in New York on a snowy Thursday night, Marilyn rushes through crowds of her admirers and makes her way to the library bench. Peter, having forgotten his wallet in his haste, gets roughed up by both his cab driver and a popcorn vender—but still arrives with his popcorn, and they pick up right where they left off, happily observing the world around them—only this time punctuated with a kiss.

Cast

as Marilyn David *

as Peter Dawes *

as Charles Gray Granton *

as Lloyd Granton, Duke of Loamshire *

Luis Alberni Luis Alberni (October 4, 1886 – December 23, 1962) was a Spanish-born American character actor of stage and films. Early years Alberni was born in Barcelona, Spain, on October 4, 1886. He acted in stock theater for four years in Marseille ...

as Nate * Edward Craven as Eddie, the photographer *

Donald Meek Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903. Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't ...

as Hankerson *

Claude King Claude King (February 5, 1923 – March 7, 2013) was an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, " Wolverton Mountain". Biography King was born in Keithville in southern Caddo Parish sou ...

as Captain of the boat * Charles Irwin as Oscar, the orchestra leader * Forrester Harvey as Proprietor of the English inn *

Edward Gargan Edward Gargan (July 17, 1902 – February 19, 1964) was an American film and television actor. Career He was born of Irish parents in Brooklyn, New York. He was the elder brother of actor William Gargan. As soon as he had left college, he wen ...

as Guard *

Charles C. Wilson Charles Cahill Wilson (July 29, 1894 – January 7, 1948) was an American screen and stage actor. He appeared in numerous films during the Golden Age of Hollywood from the late 1920s to late 1940s. Biography Born in New York City in 1894, the ...

as Managing editor *

Grace Bradley Grace Bradley (September 21, 1913 – September 21, 2010) was an American film actress who was active in Hollywood during the 1930s. Early life Bradley was born in Brooklyn and was an only child. As a child, she took piano lessons and, by the ...

as Daisy *

Pat Somerset Pat Somerset (28 February 1897 – 20 April 1974) was an English stage and film actor. Biography Born Patrick Holme-Sumner, after appearing in some British silent films early in his career, he moved to the United States. In 1922 he starred on ...

as Man in London club * Tom Dugan as The Bum *

Warren Hymer Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor. Early life He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to ...

as Taxi driver *

Eddie Borden Edgar Mason Borden (May 1, 1888 – June 30, 1955) was an American film actor who started his career in vaudeville as an acrobat and then successfully turned to comedy. Throughout the 1920s, he toured in the Keith, Orpheum and Pantages vaud ...

as Photographer

Production

Casting

''The Gilded Lily'' was the first of seven films in which Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray starred between 1935 and 1948.

Filming

''The Gilded Lily'' was filmed from October 8 to December 4, 1934 at Paramount Studios and at Iverson Movie Ranch in

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. The area was home to Native Americans, some of whom left caves containing rock art. Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanish b ...

Accolades

''The Gilded Lily'' was ranked the fifth best English language film by the

in 1935.

Quotes

* Peter: "But popcorn—ah, popcorn was made for watching the world go by. Look. I stick my hand in the bag without taking my eyes off the street. I throw some popcorn in my craw. I chew...and I'm still looking. That's what I call class." Marilyn: "Sure. Peanut eaters don't know how to live." * Marilyn: "Pete, you're a smart fellow. What do poor little working girls usually do next?" Peter: "Well, they usually drown themselves, one way or the other." Marilyn: "I'll take the other." * Marilyn: "I'm just a freak!"

References

;Notes ;Citations

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilded Lily, The 1935 films 1935 romantic comedy films 1930s screwball comedy films American romantic comedy films American screwball comedy films Films directed by Wesley Ruggles Paramount Pictures films American black-and-white films Films set in New York City Films set in London Films set in Hampshire 1930s English-language films 1930s American films