''The Girl from Manhattan'' is a 1948 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

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 ...

directed by Alfred E. Green, starring

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing ...

, George Montgomery, and Charles Laughton.DOROTHY LAMOUR STARS IN FILM MINUS SARONG G K. Los Angeles Times 23 Feb 1949: A7. The guest house setting allows a multiplicity of characters to interact with the main characters.

Plot

New York actress and fashion model Carol arrives to stay with her uncle Homer Purdy in a boarding house in the mid-west America town of Pittsfield. Meanwhile, ex-football player, the handsome Tom Walker, appears in the same state to chat with the bishop regarding his becoming a minister in the town. It is concluded that the church needs new heroes and his background as a football star should be a benefit not a hindrance. The bishop has arranged for him to stay at Purdy's boarding house. On arrival he meets Carol and they recognise each other. Tom is cryptic about his plans. Tom meets the church council who present a local benefactor Mr Birch who is going to buy the 150-year-old church and build a new church closer to the town centre: the chosen site is Purdy's boarding House. Uncle Homer is revealed to be giving most of his rooms free until the various residents get rich, and is involved in many of their madcap schemes. He makes little money and the old house is crumbling. Carol and Homer rearrange one of the rooms to serve as Tom's study until the new church is built. They do not know the chosen site is their house. The bishop calls in Tom to discuss his reputation if being seen with a fashion model. Oscar, one of the more eccentric guests, is allowed to build a miniature railway in Purdy's basement. Mr Birch appears at the boarding house to assess its demolition. Everyone knows the plan except Carol. Uncle Homer has squandered the $3,000 Carol sent him on investing in his guests crazy ventures. The train engine blows up and Homer is injured. Tom and carol join forces to save the boarding house. Several guests also start to raise money. Ultimately Rev Tom sends his own $3,000 to pay off Homer's debts and Mr Birch's "generous" offer for the old church is proven to be a scam. Although they will need to keep using the old church, the bishop approves.

Cast

as Carol Maynard * George Montgomery as Rev. Tom Walker * Charles Laughton as The Bishop *

Ernest Truex Ernest Truex (September 19, 1889 – June 26, 1973) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Career Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Truex learned acting at an early age after his father, a doctor, treated actor Edwin Melvin, who ...

as Homer Purdy *

Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...

as Aaron Goss *

Constance Collier Constance Collier (born Laura Constance Hardie; 22 January 1878 – 25 April 1955) was an English stage and film actress and acting coach. She wrote hit plays and films with Ivor Novello and she was the first person to be treated with insul ...

as Mrs. Brooke *

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy ser ...

as Mr. Bernouti *

Sara Allgood Sarah Ellen Allgood (30 October 1880 – 13 September 1950), known as Sara Allgood, was an Irish-American actress. She first studied drama with the Irish nationalist Daughters of Ireland and was at the opening of the Irish National Theatre Soc ...

as Mrs. Beeler, the bishop's cook * Frank Orth as Oscar Newsome *

Howard Freeman Howard Freeman (December 9, 1899 – December 11, 1967) was an American actor of the early 20th century, and film and television actor of the 1940s through the 1960s. Biography Freeman was born in Helena, Montana, and began working as ...

as Sam Griffin *Raymond Largay as Wilbur J. Birch * George Chandler as Monty the taxi driver * Selmer Jackson as Dr. Moseby *

Adeline De Walt Reynolds Adeline De Walt Reynolds (September 19, 1862 – August 13, 1961) was an American character actress who made her film debut at the age of 78 playing the grandmother of James Stewart in '' Come Live with Me'' (1941). She continued to act in films ...

as Old Woman *

Maurice Cass Maurice Cass (October 12, 1884 – June 8, 1954) was a character actor on stage and in films and television shows. Born in Vilna, Russian Empire (modern day Vilnius, Lithuania) he moved to America at six years of age. When he was 17, he toure ...

as Mr. Merkle *

Eddy Waller Edward Carlingford Waller (June 14, 1889 – August 20, 1977) was an American stage, film and television actor. Early years Born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, he was a son of the Rev. Thomas M. Waller, a Presbyterian minister, and Anna Ta ...

as Jim Allison

References

External links

* * * * 1948 films 1948 comedy films 1940s romantic comedy-drama films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy-drama films Films directed by Alfred E. Green Films scored by Heinz Roemheld United Artists films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{romantic-comedy-film-stub