''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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

produced and directed by

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

. The screenplay by

Arthur Kober Arthur Kober (August 25, 1900 – June 12, 1975) was an American humorist, author, press agent, and screenwriter. He was married to the dramatist Lillian Hellman. Biography Early life Kober was born into a Jewish family in Brody, Galicia, in ...

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. Allies of World War II, Allied servicemen ...

(

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 (film), Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films ''In the Meantime, Da ...

) 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 b ...

) 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 (1942 film), Cat People'', and its sequel, ''The Curse of the ...

). 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. Career Prager was born in New York City. He spent three years at Johns Hopkins University before working in summer stock and on ...

). 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 ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. 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. Career Before moving to Hollywood, he acted in ''Hamlet'' on stage in N ...

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 from 1913 to 1952. A beauty in her youth, she usually played in society parts. In later yea ...

as Mrs. Helen Corkery *

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

as Lt. Eley (uncredited) * Ruth Clifford 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 i ...

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 major studio film, 1929's '' Hearts in Dixie''. ...

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., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

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. Best known as a co-founder of 20th Century Fox, he played a ...

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. The afternoon '' Los Angeles Herald-Express'' and the morning ''Los Angeles Examiner'', both of which had been publishing in the city since t ...

'' 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 five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Fo ...

, was certain the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films A film, also known as a movie ...

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 Cinema of the United States, United States from 1934 to 1968. It ...

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 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

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 (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

when he refused to sit next to

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

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)Larkin, pp. 41-42 was an American lyricist from the 1930s through the 1960s. Early life Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, ...

Footnotes

Sources

* Basinger, Jeanine. 2012. ''I Do and I Don’t: A History of Marriage in the Movies.''

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

, New York.

External links