I Married an Angel
(1942)
83 or 85 mins | Musical comedy | 1942
Director:
W. S. Van DykeWriter:
Anita LoosProducer:
Hunt StrombergCinematographer:
Ray JuneEditor:
Conrad A. NervigProduction Designer:
Cedric GibbonsProduction Company:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart adapted Vaszary Janos' play for the screen in 1932, and according to a HR news item, M-G-M beat Paramount in a bidding war for the rights. According to information in the file on the film in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, however, the screenplay was emphatically rejected by the Hays Office, which considered the story of a man who marries an angel "blasphemous and sacrilegious." Rodgers and Hart then adapted I Married an Angel as a stage musical, and after the show's successful Broadway opening in 1938, M-G-M again acquired the rights and assigned Bob Wright and Chet Forrest to rework Hart's lyrics. The musical number "Little Workaday World" was cut from the released film.
Sep and Oct 1941 news items in HR announced that George Cukor would direct the film, and that Marie Wilson had been cast in a leading role. HR news items include Max Lucke, Roland Varno, Frances Carson, Bess Flowers and character actress Doris Day (not the more famous actress-singer of the same name) in the cast, but their appearance in the final film has not been confirmed. Director Roy Del Ruth was replaced by W. S. Van Dyke on 4 Nov 1941, several weeks into production. Janis Carter was borrowed from Twentieth Century-Fox for the production. According to a HR news item, portions of the film were shot on location in Sherwood Forest, CA. The film was re-edited after trade screenings in Mar 1942. I Married an Angel was producer Hunt Stromberg's last film at M-G-M; he launched his career as an ...
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart adapted Vaszary Janos' play for the screen in 1932, and according to a HR news item, M-G-M beat Paramount in a bidding war for the rights. According to information in the file on the film in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, however, the screenplay was emphatically rejected by the Hays Office, which considered the story of a man who marries an angel "blasphemous and sacrilegious." Rodgers and Hart then adapted I Married an Angel as a stage musical, and after the show's successful Broadway opening in 1938, M-G-M again acquired the rights and assigned Bob Wright and Chet Forrest to rework Hart's lyrics. The musical number "Little Workaday World" was cut from the released film.
Sep and Oct 1941 news items in HR announced that George Cukor would direct the film, and that Marie Wilson had been cast in a leading role. HR news items include Max Lucke, Roland Varno, Frances Carson, Bess Flowers and character actress Doris Day (not the more famous actress-singer of the same name) in the cast, but their appearance in the final film has not been confirmed. Director Roy Del Ruth was replaced by W. S. Van Dyke on 4 Nov 1941, several weeks into production. Janis Carter was borrowed from Twentieth Century-Fox for the production. According to a HR news item, portions of the film were shot on location in Sherwood Forest, CA. The film was re-edited after trade screenings in Mar 1942. I Married an Angel was producer Hunt Stromberg's last film at M-G-M; he launched his career as an independent producer with the 1943 film Lady of Burlesque (see entry). This also was the last film that Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy made together.
At Budapest's venerable Palaffi Bank, Count Willie Palaffi is warned by his advisor, Herman "Whiskers" Rothbart, that the institution's largest depositors are tired of Willie's playboy lifestyle and inattention to business, and may start a run on the bank. Marika Szabo, Willie's secretary and one of his many girl friends, tells Herman that Willie is throwing a big costume party for his birthday the following week, and Herman insists that Anna Zador, a winsome young typist in the bank, be invited. At Willie's lavish party, the glamorous guests laugh when Anna arrives in a cheaply constructed angel costume. After a brief dance with Anna, whom he had never noticed during her six years with the bank, Willie sneaks upstairs to his study. Herman scolds Willie for being unmarried and advises him to find a virtuous woman. When Herman leaves, Willie dozes on the couch and has a dream: A real angel, Briggitta, appears in the room and tells Willie she has come from heaven to marry him. Literally walking on air, Willie and Briggitta go to Paris and are married. At Willie's Paris home, Briggitta announces her intention to return to heaven for the night, but Willie's kiss changes her mind. In the morning, Briggitta awakens to discover that she has lost her wings. Willie takes her shopping, and Briggitta offends the couturiers by refusing to wear anything with feathers or fur, but when Willie explains that she is really an angel, they hasten to assemble a suitable wardrobe. They then attend a harp concert, where they are interrupted by Willie's colleague Peter, who says that the bank's stockholders were alarmed ...
At Budapest's venerable Palaffi Bank, Count Willie Palaffi is warned by his advisor, Herman "Whiskers" Rothbart, that the institution's largest depositors are tired of Willie's playboy lifestyle and inattention to business, and may start a run on the bank. Marika Szabo, Willie's secretary and one of his many girl friends, tells Herman that Willie is throwing a big costume party for his birthday the following week, and Herman insists that Anna Zador, a winsome young typist in the bank, be invited. At Willie's lavish party, the glamorous guests laugh when Anna arrives in a cheaply constructed angel costume. After a brief dance with Anna, whom he had never noticed during her six years with the bank, Willie sneaks upstairs to his study. Herman scolds Willie for being unmarried and advises him to find a virtuous woman. When Herman leaves, Willie dozes on the couch and has a dream: A real angel, Briggitta, appears in the room and tells Willie she has come from heaven to marry him. Literally walking on air, Willie and Briggitta go to Paris and are married. At Willie's Paris home, Briggitta announces her intention to return to heaven for the night, but Willie's kiss changes her mind. In the morning, Briggitta awakens to discover that she has lost her wings. Willie takes her shopping, and Briggitta offends the couturiers by refusing to wear anything with feathers or fur, but when Willie explains that she is really an angel, they hasten to assemble a suitable wardrobe. They then attend a harp concert, where they are interrupted by Willie's colleague Peter, who says that the bank's stockholders were alarmed by his elopement and have ordered an investigation of his new bride. Willie calls Herman and instructs him to arrange a banquet in Budapest to introduce Briggitta to the important depositors, such as the wealthy Baron Szigethy. At the banquet, Willie presents Briggitta, accompanied by a retinue of his former girl friends, who now live with them. Unfortunately, the ingenuous Briggitta inadvertently insults the guests with her honesty, and the evening erupts into chaos when she changes the seating arrangements at dinner to reflect her guests's secret alliances. When Briggitta innocently allows the baron to kiss her, Willie strikes him, and the baron vengefully calls a board meeting for the following morning. Later that night, Willie upbraids Briggitta for her honesty and walks out, saying he never wants to hear anything but lies. Hurt by Willie's rejection but willing to do anything to save his bank, Briggitta turns to Willie's old friend Peggy, who advises her in the art of deceit. Later, at a nightclub, Briggitta shows up on the baron's arm, dressed in black and lying to all the people she insulted before with world-weary sophistication. Willie is shocked by his wife's transformation, but the baron says he has made Briggitta his business partner and assures Willie that his bank is safe. Willie's dream becomes increasingly surreal as he sees Briggitta before him, singing in a number of exotic locations. Just then, Willie awakens as Herman, Peggy and Peter enter the room. Inspired by his dream, Willie announces that he has fallen in love, and he returns to the party and promptly proposes to Anna.
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