''Papa's Delicate Condition'' is a 1963 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

starring

Jackie Gleason Herbert John Gleason (born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.; February 26, 1916June 24, 1987), known as Jackie Gleason, was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growin ...

and

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (5 October 1923 – 4 January 2024) was a British actress. In a career exceeding seven decades on stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. She received various accolades throughout her ca ...

. It was an adaptation of the Corinne Griffith memoir of the same name, about her father and growing up in

Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin cities, twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2 ...

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television, and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Award for Best Original Song, Academy Awards for ...

(music) and

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premie ...

(lyrics) won an

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

for "

Call Me Irresponsible "Call Me Irresponsible" is a 1962 song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics written by Sammy Cahn which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1963. According to the Mel Tormé book ''The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland o ...

". Another Cahn/Van Heusen song, "Walking Happy", was used in a scene with Gleason and his on-screen daughter, Linda Bruhl, walking down a street while he sings about the people that they meet along the way. However, the scene was cut before the film's release. The song was later used in a Broadway musical of the same name.

Plot

Jack Griffith, known as "Papa" to all, is a family man in a Texas town, but an irresponsibly eccentric one especially when he has had one too many drinks. To impress his six-year-old daughter, Corinne, he spends the family's savings to buy his own circus, simply so the little girl can have her own pony. His elder daughter, Augusta, becomes distraught as her father makes some questionable business deals under the influence of alcohol. This causes strife within the Griffith household and makes her beau's father (the local bank president) forbid his son to associate with the Griffith family. After his squandering leaves the Griffiths in debt, wife Ambolyn packs up Augusta and Corinne and moves to

, where her father, Anthony Ghio, is the mayor. Griffith attempts to use his circus to help Ghio's bid for reelection, but accidentally causes Ambolyn to end up with a broken hand. Despondent, he leaves for Louisiana and is little seen or heard from by the family. Talked into an attempt at reconciliation, Papa is reluctant, believing the Griffiths want nothing more to do with him, but he is welcomed back with open arms.

Cast

as Jack Griffith, Corinne's father *

as Ambolyn Griffith, Corinne's mother * Linda Bruhl as Corinne Griffith *

Charlie Ruggles Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the e ...

as Mayor Ghio, Corinne's grandfather * Laurel Goodwin as Augusta *

Ned Glass Nusyn "Ned" Glass (April 1, 1906 – June 15, 1984) was a Polish-born American character actor who appeared in more than eighty films and on television more than one hundred times, frequently playing nervous, cowardly, or deceitful characters. ...

as Mr. Sparrow *

Murray Hamilton Murray Hamilton (March 24, 1923 – September 1, 1986) was an American stage, screen and television character actor who appeared in such acclaimed films as '' The Spirit of St. Louis'', ''Anatomy of a Murder'', '' The Hustler'', ''The Gradu ...

as Mr. Harvey * Elisha Cook, Jr. as Mr. Keith * Charles Lane as Mr. Cosgrove * Claude Johnson as Norman *

Don Beddoe Donald Theophilus Beddoe (July 1, 1903 – January 19, 1991) was an American character actor. Early years Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beddoe was the son of Dan Beddoe, a Welsh classical singer, and his wife Mary. He graduated from the ...

as Mayor Ghio's assistant *

Juanita Moore Juanita Moore (October 19, 1914 – January 1, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She was the fifth black actor to be nominated for an Academy Awards, Academy Award in any category, and the third in the Academy Award for ...

as Ellie *

Trevor Bardette Trevor Bardette (born Terva Gaston Hubbard; November 19, 1902 – November 28, 1977) was an American film and television actor. Among many other roles in his long and prolific career, Bardette appeared in several episodes of ''Adventures of Su ...

as Stanley Henderson II

Production

The novel was published in 1952.

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

bought the film rights and assigned

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

and

Phoebe Ephron Phoebe Ephron (née Wolkind; January 26, 1914 – October 13, 1971) was an American playwright and screenwriter, who often worked with Henry Ephron, her husband, whom she wed in 1934. Ephron was born in New York City to Louis and Kate (né ...

to adapt it. In 1955, it was announced

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

would star, and the film would be done as a musical. However, filming was postponed so Astaire could make ''

Silk Stockings ''Silk Stockings'' is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The musical is loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel story ''Ninotchka'' and the 1939 film adaptation it ...

''. Filming ended up being delayed until 1962, with Jack Rose now the writer and

the star. Two songs written for the proposed Astaire film by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen were used, along with a new song, "Bill Bailey." "This picture is just vanilla", said Gleason, "but I needed something like it after ''

Requiem for a Heavyweight "Requiem for a Heavyweight" is a teleplay written by Rod Serling and produced for the live television show ''Playhouse 90'' on 11 October 1956. Six years later, it was adapted into the 1962 feature film of the same name starring Anthony Quinn, ...

'', ''

The Hustler ''The Hustler'' is a 1961 American sports drama film, directed by Robert Rossen. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson, who challenges legendary pool player " Minnesota Fats". The film, which was based on the 195 ...

'' and '' Gigot''." The part of the young girl was played by Linda Bruhl, whose experience had mostly been in TV commercials.

References

External links

* {{George Marshall 1963 films 1963 comedy films American comedy films Films based on American novels Films directed by George Marshall Films set in Texas Films set in the 1900s Films that won the Best Original Song Academy Award Paramount Pictures films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films Films scored by Joseph J. Lilley

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links