Bedtime Story

Whatever you may think about this movie as it goes along, most will agree that the ending is absolutely hilarious -- Fredric March working his one-man phone bank from the lobby directing havoc to his wife's room. I personally don't see any good reason to compare this one with others that may be similar or with actors who have routinely made this type of film. This is a standalone film these actors made and I think they did it well. Fredric March is always a good actor, and he was convincing with what he had to do here. His earnest straight face in itself was more than amusing as he performed his chicanery throughout. Loretta Young is always beautiful, extremely well costumed and generally ladylike and can be enjoyed for those reasons. Additionally, unless prejudiced, one would have to admit that, despite her very strong beauty, she is a more than competent actress. She's the first to receive both an Oscar and an Emmy, with many, many other acting awards along the way of her extensive career. During that span, she has played a wide variety of characters and types. She especially enjoyed her long-running television program because she could vary her roles. This is a good movie.

I caught this on Turner Classic Movies, at a time when most of the truly different and interesting films are shown: in the middle of the night. This movie is about as good a light comedy as you'll ever see. The writing is exceptional, keeping the pace flowing and featuring often sparkling dialog. The acting is superb. Loretta Young again shows her broad dimensions as an actress, here being sophisticated, worldly, and wise. Not the farmer's daughter. Frederic March is perfect as the actor-playwright who is constantly devising plans to persuade his wife to end her retirement and star in his new play. And the character actors are just right, especially Eve Arden. Even Robert Benchley fits in well here. The director deserved an Academy Award for his flawless control of the story. In short, this is a delightful film that adults won't want to miss. In a just world, this would out in DVD.

I was looking at the Citadel Film series book The Films of Fredric March while watching Bedtime Story and the author there makes the point that this seemed to be something that might have been originally designed for Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. That might be the case, but I doubt even those two could have done as good a job as Fredric March and Loretta Young did in this film.

March and Young both knew how to play comedy and well, despite both of them primarily known for drama. With something like Nothing Sacred among March's best films who would doubt that? As for Loretta, she's every bit as sparkling as Irene Dunne at her best.

To make the analogy complete, there's even a Ralph Bellamy part in this film, ably done by Allyn Joslyn. In fact in many ways Joslyn's the best thing in the film.

The lead characters seem to me to be based on that noted theatrical couple, playwright Charles MacArthur and actress Helen Hayes. The film begins with Loretta Young taking a curtain call and giving a farewell to the theater. She and her hubby want to settle down and enjoy life. But Loretta should have suspected something when March wasn't around to take the bow with her.

Good reason because that isn't March's idea at all. In fact he's written a new play for his wife, but she wants nothing to do with it. She's made her mind up and that breaks them apart. And good old Allyn Joslyn, stuffy banker in the Ralph Bellamy tradition, is ready on the rebound. He catches her all right, but the game isn't over, not from March's point of view.

Bedtime Story starts out a little slow, but really makes up for it in the end. That final scene as the newly married Joslyn and Young are trying to get down to business is absolutely hysterical. The situations are funny enough, but Joslyn's reactions are what really put it over. It's something borrowed from A Night At The Opera.

In fact I spotted elements from The Awful Truth, His Girl Friday, and Twentieth Century as well as the Marx Brothers classic. And producer B.P. Schulberg and director Alexander Hall make it all work.

Rounding out the cast in familiar type cast parts are Helen Westley, Robert Benchley, Eve Arden, Joyce Compton and Grady Sutton. You just mention those names and any devoted film buff can tell you exactly what they played.

I'm surprised Bedtime Story isn't rated higher by fans of both leads. It's a real gem of a screwball comedy, don't miss it.

For the most part, "Bedtime Story" is a piece of light-hearted fluff, pleasant enough, often amusing and sometimes downright funny. The last 15 minutes or so, in fact, are downright hilarious. It features a couple of very good leads in Fredric March and Loretta Young, and a good supporting cast alongside them. It's an enjoyable watch, with only one exception that hung over me all the way through and prevents me from saying that I found this to be a truly good movie: for a light-hearted comedy, March's character of Paul Drake came across as too manipulative and self-serving most of the way through to be really likable, and somewhere along the way - especially in a comedy - you have to be able to develop some warmth for the main characters; some sense that you like them and care about them. Young's Jane Drake you feel that for, because of course she's the one who has to put up with Paul's manipulative, self-serving ways, but Paul never came across to me as sympathetic.

The Drake's are a theatre couple - Paul a playwright and Jane his leading actress. They've been very successful, but as the movie opens we discover in a closing curtain call speech from Jane that they've decided to retire and leave the theatre behind while they're still young enough to enjoy life. They've bought a farm in Connecticut and the show is over. But Paul has had second thoughts, and the rest of the movie basically details the various ways in which Paul tries to manipulate Jane into changing her mind. Some of the story is funny, yes, but I just did not find Paul likable. A good performance from March (and from Young) but I had no sense of connectedness with the character. Mind you, the last 15 minutes of this are truly quite hilarious. Jane has remarried, and Paul has come up with all sorts of ways to disrupt their wedding night in the forlorn hope that he'll be able to win Jane back. It's a good culmination to the movie, and in the end Paul doesn't get what he wants, although he does get good news - which is perhaps the best ending possible for the character.

This is enjoyable enough. Not great, but worth watching. (6/10)

"Bedtime Story" is a quasi-screwball comedy from 1941 that stars Frederic March, Loretta Young, Robert Benchley, Alan Josslyn, and Eve Arden. It's a little miscast but manages to be entertaining.

March and Young play theatrical couple Luke and Jane Drake. He's a playwright and she's a great actress. Jane is planning to retire to a farm she and Luke have bought, and the two plan to spend time doing something besides work. Well, that's what Jane is planning. When she finds out Luke has written another play, she goes ballistic and leaves him. The separation doesn't last long.

Jane comes back, but she discovers that Luke has sold the farm and is putting the money into a new play. She leaves again. For the rest of the film, Luke attempts to win her back by any means necessary. He hires a comedienne (Eve Arden) to pretend to be doing the lead in the play and then in front of Jane, she quits, and Luke "cancels" the show. Things like that. Meanwhile, Jane's engagement to a banker (Josslyn) has been announced.

Cute comedy that becomes a complete free-for-all at the end and is slightly miscast. I say slightly because these two stars are just fine. Young is impossibly beautiful, with gorgeous clothes, and she acquits herself well, as does March as her manipulative playwright husband. With Powell and Loy, however, this could have been fabulous. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, Joel McCrea and Jean Arthur. Light comedy was not March's forte, and although Young did light comedy, she wasn't as sharp at it as the other actresses mentioned.

This is interesting casting, a little against type, which I'm all for, but it doesn't really come off. Excellent work by Helen Westley as a tell it like it is actress and Eve Arden.