The Shopworn Angel

"The Shopworn Angel" is a 1938 American drama film directed by H.C. Potter. The screenplay by Waldo Salt is the third feature film adaptation of a Dana Burnet short story entitled "Pettigrew's Girl" that originally was published in the "Saturday Evening Post" in 1918. (The first was a silent film released in 1919, the second a 1928 partial sound remake starring Nancy Carroll, Gary Cooper, and Paul Lukas.) The MGM release featured the second screen pairing of Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart following their successful teaming in the Universal Pictures production "Next Time We Love" two years earlier.

Plot synopsis

Daisy Heath, a sophisticated Broadway musical theatre star, meets a naive young soldier from Texas, Bill Pettigrew, during his basic training stint in New York City before shipping off to Europe during World War I. Anxious to impress his GI buddies, the country bumpkin convinces her to masquerade as his girlfriend. The successful charade prompts Bill to propose marriage and Daisy, while devoted to her manager and longtime beau Sam Bailey, opts to accept so the private can sail for France optimistically looking forward to the future. When the soldier is killed in battle on the front lines, Daisy and Sam, who understood the reason for her decision, are reunited in their love for each other.

Production history

The film underwent major personnel changes during its development stages. The directing assignment first went to Richard Thorpe, then Julien Duvivier, before Potter was given the task. Originally cast as Daisy Heath was Jean Harlow, who died before filming began. She initially was replaced by Joan Crawford, who then yielded the role to Rosalind Russell, before newly-signed MGM contract player Sullavan finally came on board. Melvyn Douglas originally was signed to play Sam Bailey, but the role ultimately went to Walter Pidgeon [ [http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=70947&rss=mrqe "The Shopworn Angel" at Turner Classic Movies] ] .

First-time screenwriter Salt had to adhere to the strict regulations of the Hays Code, which required him to dilute many of the sexually explicit elements of the preceding versions of the story. This included transforming Daisy from a cynical, hard-edged chorus girl into a respectable leading lady and Sam from Daisy's gangster lover into her benign manager and chaste boyfriend.

Although not deemed an official remake of "The Shopworn Angel", the 1959 film "That Kind of Woman" shared a very similar plot.

Principal cast

*Margaret Sullavan ..... Daisy Heath
*James Stewart ..... Bill Pettigrew
*Walter Pidgeon ..... Sam Bailey
*Hattie McDaniel ..... Martha

Principal production credits

*Producer ..... Joseph L. Mankiewicz
*Original Music ..... Edward Ward
*Cinematography ..... Joseph Ruttenberg
*Art Direction ..... Cedric Gibbons
*Costume Design ..... Adrian

oundtrack

The film's soundtrack included such popular tunes as "You're in the Army Now," "Over There," "The Stars and Stripes Forever," "K-K-K-Katy," "The Darktown Strutters' Ball," "(There Are) Smiles", and "Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile!" Margaret Sullavan's vocals were dubbed by Mary Martin.

Critical reception

"Time" described the film as "a tear jerker in the grand manner — simple, senile and heroically sentimental" [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,849104-2,00.html "Time" review] ] .

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030744/ "The Shopworn Angel" at the Internet Movie Database]