Practically Yours
{{short description|1944 film by Mitchell Leisen}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Practically Yours
| image = PracticallyYours poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Mitchell Leisen
| producer = Mitchell Leisen
Harry Tugend
| writer = Norman Krasna
| based_on =
| starring = Claudette Colbert
Fred MacMurray
Cecil Kellaway
| music = Sam Coslow
Victor Young
| cinematography = Charles Lang
| editing = Doane Harrison
| studio = Paramount Pictures
| distributor = Paramount Pictures
| released = {{Film date|1944|12|20}}
| runtime = 90 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $1.2 millionBLITHE SPENDTHRIFT: Parisian Lady
By THOMAS M. PRYOR. New York Times 8 Apr 1945: 41.
}}
Practically Yours is a 1944 American romantic comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray and Cecil Kellaway. Written by Norman Krasna, it was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures.Milberg p.23
Plot
When a young pilot, Daniel Bellamy, is presumed dead after crash-bombing an enemy aircraft carrier, the footage of the crash and his presumably final reminiscence of walking in the park with 'Piggy' and kissing her on the nose is sent back home. A typographical error in transcribing his words becomes a tribute to heroism, while a girl who worked in his office, Peggy, is thought to be the object of his secret love. However, Dan returns home and in order to save embarrassment for both the girl and himself, he tries to maintain the pretense. Dan reveals that he was not speaking of a girl but of his dog. A series of comical mishaps ensue, leading to a resolution of the misunderstanding.
Cast
- Claudette Colbert as Peggy Martin
- Fred MacMurray as Daniel Bellamy
- Gil Lamb as Albert W. Beagell
- Cecil Kellaway as Marvin P. Meglin
- Robert Benchley as Judge Robert Simpson
- Tom Powers as Commander Harry Harpe
- Jane Frazee as Musical comedy star
- Rosemary DeCamp as Ellen Macy
- Isabel Randolph as Mrs. Meglin
- Mikhail Rasumny as LaCrosse
- Isabel Withers as Grace Mahoney
- George Carleton as Hardy
- Arthur Loft as Uncle Ben Bellamy
- Will Wright as Senator Cowling
- Donald MacBride as Sam
- Charles Quigley as George Macy
- Stanley Andrews as Shipyard Official
- Hugh Beaumont as Film-Cutter
- Hillary Brooke as Stenographer
- Kitty Kelly as Wife
- Louise LaPlanche as Attractive Girl
- Yvonne De Carlo as Office Clerk
Production
The film was based on an original story by Norman Krasna. He had written a film called Bachelor Party that was produced by Buddy DeSylva, who had since become head of production at Paramount. In September 1943, Paramount bought Practically Yours from Krasna.DRAMA AND FILM Los Angeles Times 7 Sep 1943: 14. He had written the story in his spare time while on duty for the armed services in Los Angeles.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hHcFrwffiXIC&q=%22practically+yours%22&pg=PP97|chapter=Columbia vs Krasna|title=Supreme Court Appellate Division-First Department|first= George Kidder|last= Davis|pages=72–73 }}
In December 1943, Paramount announced the stars as Fred MacMurray and Paulette Goddard with George Marshall as director and Harry Tugend as producer.SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD: New York Times 22 Dec 1943: 26. In January 1944, Goddard left for an army camp tour and her role was taken by Claudette Colbert.SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD New York Times 22 Jan 1944: 9. Mitchell Leisen replaced Marshall as director. Filming started in January 1944.
Reception
The Los Angeles Times said the film "maybe ... isn't quite big time, but it has the look."'Practically Yours' Diverting Comedy
Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times (30 Mar 1945: 8.
In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther called the film "a curiously thick-skinned little comedy" but with "the ugly contours of a most callous and inhuman jest." Crowther was uneasy with the film's premise given the state of the warring world at the time, writing: "[T]he crocodile-tearful provocation which Norman Krasna used for the yarn is decidedly tasteless and unworthy. This is no time to joke about grief."{{Cite news|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|date=1945-03-29|title='Practically Yours' Opens at the Paramount; 'The Affairs of Susan' and 'Between Two Women' Are Other Arrivals|page=18|work=The New York Times}}
Radio adaptation
Practically Yours was presented on Broadway Playhouse December 3, 1952. The 30-minute adaptation starred Gloria DeHaven.{{cite news|last1=Kirby|first1=Walter|title=Better Radio Programs for the Week|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2613711/the_decatur_daily_review/|agency=The Decatur Daily Review|date=November 30, 1952|page=48|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = June 14, 2015}} {{Open access}}
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- Dick, Bernard F. Claudette Colbert: She Walked in Beauty. University Press of Mississippi, 2008.
- Milberg, Doris. The Art of the Screwball Comedy: Madcap Entertainment from the 1930s to Today. McFarland, 2013.
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0037190|title=Practically Yours}}
- {{TCMDb title|id=87020|title=Practically Yours}}
{{Mitchell Leisen}}
{{Norman Krasna}}
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:Films scored by Victor Young
Category:Films directed by Mitchell Leisen
Category:Paramount Pictures films
Category:1944 romantic comedy films
Category:American romantic comedy films