The Devil and Miss Jones

Cantankerous tycoon John P. Merrick goes undercover as a shoe clerk at "Neely's", one of his New York department stores, to identify agitators trying to form a union, after seeing a newspaper picture of his employees hanging him in effigy.

In the store he takes on a new persona, Thomas Higgins. After almost failing the minimum intelligence test he is sent to join the shoe department. There he befriends fellow clerk Mary Jones and her recently fired boyfriend Joe O'Brien, a labor union organizer. As time goes on, his experiences cause him to grow more sympathetic to his workers. He also starts to fall in love with sweet-natured clerk Elizabeth Ellis.

During a beach day at Coney Island with his coworkers, John begins to see a different side of Joe after he helps him avoid an arrest at a local police station by reciting the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. Afterwards John joins Joe, Elizabeth, and Mary on the beach, where he and Elizabeth nap until dark. Believing the two to be fully asleep, Joe and Mary discuss the union attempts and the future of their relationship. Unbeknownst to them, John listens in and after Joe leaves he pretends to awake, taking the opportunity to grab a list Joe dropped of employees willing to strike.

The remaining trio then travel home via subway, where John drops a card showing that his undercover persona was working for Merrick. This, along with other factors, causes Mary to come to the conclusion that John is a spy, and she tells Joe. Desperate to regain the list, Joe and Mary try unsuccessfully and they, along with John, end up in the store manager's office. Disgusted with the treatment of the employees, John berates the store manager, who is unaware of John's true identity. Emboldened by John, Mary declares that they have a list of 400 employees who will strike. The manager tricks the group into giving him the list. When they realize the manager's deceit, John and Mary take back the list and destroy it by eating it, after which Mary uses the intercom system to successfully encourage the entire store to strike.

In the following days, all of the employees picket Merrick's home. John decides to finally reveal his identity and has Mary, Elizabeth, and Joe meet him and his staff to discuss terms. They are initially unaware of his identity, but upon discovery, Joe faints, Mary screams, and Elizabeth stares up at John in disbelief as John asks her if she would be willing to go back on a statement she made about not wanting to marry a rich man. The film then cuts to a wedding party on a cruise liner, showing that there has been a joint wedding: John has married Elizabeth and Mary has married Joe. The party is made up of all of the store employees and it is shown that John has paid for all of them to take a Hawaiian vacation.

{{cast list|

• Jean Arthur as Mary Jones, store clerk
• Charles Coburn as John P. Merrick, richest man in the world aka Thomas Higgins
• Robert Cummings as Joe O'Brien
• Edmund Gwenn as Hooper, section manager
• Spring Byington as Elizabeth Ellis, clerk
• S. Z. Sakall as George (Merrick's butler)
• William Demarest as First detective
• Walter Kingsford as Mr. Allison, store manager
• Montagu Love as Harrison
• Richard Carle as Oliver
• Charles Waldron as Needles
• Edwin Maxwell as Withers
• Edward McNamara as Police desk sergeant
• Robert Emmett Keane as Tom Higgins
• Florence Bates as store shopper
• Pat Flaherty as Mark – Policeman with pickpocket
• Irving Cummings
• Minta Durfee as Customer (uncredited){{cite web|url= https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/54736%7C113681/minta-durfee#filmography|title=Minta Durfee Filmography| publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=March 13, 2020|archive-date=October 19, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151019001348/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/54736%7C113681/Minta-Durfee/filmography.html|url-status=live}}
• William Elmer as Attendant at Jim's bath house
• Frank Mills as Attendant at third bath house
• Victor Potel as Attendant at first bath house
• Walter Tetley as Stock boy

}}

Frank Ross and Norman Krasna decided to produce a movie together starring Jean Arthur (Ross's wife) based on a story by Krasna. The three formed a partnership and borrowed $600,000 from a bank to finance the film.{{cite news|author=Frank Daugherty|work=The Christian Science Monitor |date=March 7, 1941|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/515683755|title=Easy to make a picture, if combination is right|id={{ProQuest|515683755}} }}

The script was written in ten weeks, and then Sam Wood came on board as director. Krasna described the experience of making the film as one of the best in his career.{{cite news|first=Norman|last=Krasna|date=May 18, 1941|title=Some Authors Die Happy|work=The New York Times|page=X4}}

RKO agreed to distribute the film. It was Arthur's first film at RKO since The Ex-Mrs. Bradford.{{cite news|last=Churchill|first=Douglas W.|work=The New York Times|date=May 16, 1940|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/105347374|title=SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD|id={{ProQuest|105347374}} }} Robert Cummings was signed to play the male lead; he was shooting a film at MGM concurrently.

Filming started December 16, 1940.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/128249251/|title=Clark Gable Goes Hunting|date=December 9, 1940|work=Los Angeles Times|page=14|via=Newspapers.com}} It finished February 1941.{{cite web|via=Internet Archive|url=https://archive.org/details/govuscourtsca9briefs2422/page/n958?q=cummings+universal+%22run+him+ragged%22|title=United States Court of Appeals For the Ninth Circuit – Cummings vs Universal 1944|page=565}}

Filming had to stop for nine days so that Robert Cummings could shoot extra scenes at MGM in Free and Easy in late January.{{cite news|last=Schallert|first=Edwin|date=February 3, 1941|title=Annabella to resume; R.K.O. salaries upped|work=Los Angeles Times|page=14|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/128249293/|via=Newspapers.com}}

The film needed three days of retakes, which included adding a role for Montagu Love.{{cite news|first=Douglas W.|last=Churchill|work=The New York Times|date=March 8, 1941|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/106130419|title=Conflict over Lillian Gish appearing in film seen – 'Night in Rio' and 'Mad Emperor' open today|id={{ProQuest|106130419}} }}

The Devil and Miss Jones had an early screening in New Orleans on April 2, 1941,{{cite news|work=The Shreveport Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-shreveport-journal/128249413/|date=April 3, 1941|page=16|title='The Devil and Miss Jones' Given Acclaim at New Orleans Preview|last=Grosjean|first=Frank|via=Newspapers.com}} followed by a premiere in Miami on April 4, 1941.

Filmink called it "an utterly brilliant social comedy... a rare pro-union movie from Hollywood."{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/movie-star-cold-streaks-robert-cummings/|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=Movie Star Cold Streaks: Robert Cummings|date=October 29, 2024|access-date=October 29, 2024}}

The film grossed $1,421,000 in the United States, making a profit of $117,000.{{sfn|Jewell|1994|p=56}}

• Nominated for Best Supporting Actor – Charles Coburn
• Nominated for Best Original Screenplay – Norman Krasna

On November 14, 1941, Philip Morris Playhouse presented a version of The Devil and Miss Jones on CBS radio. The adaptation starred Lana Turner.{{cite news|title=Lana Turner Friday Star on 'Playhouse'|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2865961/harrisburg_telegraph/|work=Harrisburg Telegraph|date=November 8, 1941|page=22|via =Newspapers.com|access-date = July 22, 2015}} The story was also adapted as a radio play on two broadcasts of Lux Radio Theatre, first on January 19, 1942, with Turner and Lionel Barrymore, then on March 12, 1945, with Linda Darnell and Frank Morgan. It was also adapted twice on The Screen Guild Theater, first on June 7, 1943, with Laraine Day, Charles Coburn and George Murphy, again on August 12, 1946, with Van Johnson and Donna Reed. It was also adapted on the October 23, 1946, broadcast of Academy Award Theater, starring Charles Coburn{{cite news|title=Charles Coburn Is 'Academy' Star|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3328997/harrisburg_telegraph/|work=Harrisburg Telegraph|date=October 19, 1946|page=17|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = September 29, 2015}} and Virginia Mayo.

In 1950 Ross announced he wanted to make the film as a musical for his then wife Joan Caulfield. However, it was never made.{{cite news|title=Drama: 'Devil and Miss Jones' Set as Musical; Wayne Would Direct 'Alamo;|last=Schallert|first=Edwin|work=Los Angeles Times|page=11|date=January 28, 1950}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Jewell|first=Richard|title=Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television|year=1994|issn=0143-9685|volume=14|issue=1|pages=51–58|chapter=RKO Film Grosses, 1929–51}}

• {{IMDb title | id=0033533 | title=The Devil and Miss Jones}}
• {{Rotten Tomatoes|2=The Devil and Miss Jones}}
• {{TCMDb title|id=72933|title=The Devil and Miss Jones}}
• {{AFI film|id=26668|title=The Devil and Miss Jones}}

Streaming audio

• [http://www.doctormacro.com/Radio%20Shows/Lux%20Radio%20Theater/LUX%20-%201942-01-19%20(Devil%20and%20Miss%20Jones,%20The).mp3 The Devil and Miss Jones] on Lux Radio Theatre: January 19, 1942
• [https://archive.org/download/ScreenGuildTheater/Sgt_43-06-07_ep147_The_Devil_and_Miss_Jones.mp3 The Devil and Miss Jones] on The Screen Guild Theater: June 7, 1943
• [http://www.doctormacro.com/Radio%20Shows/Lux%20Radio%20Theater/LUX%20-%201945-03-12%20(Devil%20and%20Miss%20Jones,%20The).mp3The Devil and Miss Jones] on Lux Radio Theatre: March 12, 1945
• [http://radioarcana.net/stations/xexs/1946/08/12/the-devil-and-miss-jones-309/ The Devil and Miss Jones] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224637/http://radioarcana.net/stations/xexs/1946/08/12/the-devil-and-miss-jones-309/ |date=March 3, 2016 }} on The Screen Guild Theater: August 12, 1946
• [https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Academy_Award_Theater_Singles/Academy_Award_46-10-23_ep31_The_Devil_and_Miss_Jones.mp3 The Devil and Miss Jones] on Academy Award Theater: October 23, 1946

{{Sam Wood}}

{{Norman Krasna}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devil and Miss Jones, The}}

Category:1940s English-language films

Category:1940s American films

Category:1941 films

Category:1941 romantic comedy films

Category:1940s screwball comedy films

Category:American black-and-white films

Category:American romantic comedy films

Category:American screwball comedy films

Category:Fictional married couples

Category:Films directed by Sam Wood

Category:Films about the labor movement

Category:Films scored by Roy Webb

Category:Films set in department stores

Category:Films set in Coney Island

Category:Films set in New York City

Category:RKO Pictures films

Category:Workplace comedy films

Category:English-language romantic comedy films