So You Want To Hold Your Husband (1950)

 

So You Want To Hold Your Husband - 1950

Coming up next is 1950's "So You Want To Hold Your Husband", an entry in the Joe McDoakes series that sees his frustrated wife Alice trying to get some attention from her husband.

The film's cast includes George O'Hanlon, Phyllis Coates, and Art Gilmore.

Alice McDoakes is a little concerned.  When she and Joe first got married, he showered her with attention.

Now, ten years later, he seems to show more attention to the dog than to his wife.

Sitting at home one day after being told that Joe won't be coming home for dinner because he's got to work late, Alice tries to think of something to help her marriage.  Listening to the radio, she gets an idea.

She goes to see a marriage counselor.  He suggests all sorts of ways to get Joe to be interested his wife.  However, Alice has her doubts about the man.  After she comes in, the counselor calls his wife and tells her that he won't be home for dinner because he's working late!

The suggestions from the counselor include making Joe's favorite meal, bringing him his pipe and slippers in the evening, taking an interest in his business, buying a double bed instead of sleeping in twin beds, and laughing at his jokes.  All of these suggestions seem to fail miserably, making Alice understandably upset.

The marriage counselor has one last suggestion up his sleeve.  Alice should pretend to run away with another man and leave a note on the dining room table.  This she does.

Joe finds out that Alice is pretending and stages a suicide to get her back.  She is furious when she finds out that he is joking.

In the final scene, the narrator asks Alice how she and Joe are doing and if she ever got him back for playing that horrible suicide prank on her.  "Three times," she says with a smile as the camera pans to Joe, who is holding triplets.

Cast rundown:

   George O'Hanlon............................Joe McDoakes

   Phyllis Coates.................................Alice McDoakes

   Art Gilmore....................................Narrator

And that's it for So You Want To Hold Your Husband.  It's not the best installment in the "So You Want To" series, but it is humorous.

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So You Want To Be In Pictures (1947)

 

So You Want To Be In Pictures - 1947

Coming up next is 1947's "So You Want To Be In Pictures", an installment in the "So You Want To..." franchise.  This time Joe McDoakes is headed to Hollywood to be an actor, and it's a lot tougher than he anticipated.

The film's cast includes George O'Hanlon, Art Gilmore, Jack Carson, Robert Hutton, Joan Leslie, Fredric March, Janis Paige, Ronald Reagan, Alexis Smith, Martha Vickers, George Chandler, and Bess Flowers.

So you want to be in pictures.  You want to work for a big movie studio like Warner Brothers?

You want to come home at the end of a day's filming to a fashionable Bel Air mansion?

You want to attend those big Hollywood premiers and sign autographs like Joan Leslie?

You want to eat at fashionable restaurants and have your name called over the loudspeaker for everyone to hear?

Well, first you have to learn your craft.  Joe McDoakes is currently doing just that.  He's taking some acting lessons by recording.  These lessons teach him to use voices and mannerisms just like Charles Boyer and Ronald Colman.

Unfortunately for Joe, when he gets a call from the studio for a job, the only thing he can do are Charles Boyer and Ronald Colman accents, which are not what the director is looking for.

While Joe is searching for the perfect part, we are introduced to a few of the studio stars who have made it big, including Ronald Reagan, Janis Paige, Alexis Smith, Wayne Morris, Robert Hutton, and Martha Vickers.

Finally, a part is found for Joe.  It's not much, but it's definitely something!

He gets to be actor George O'Hanlon's stand-in.  It's not a great day at the office when you get a pie in the face.  But, hey, never turn down work, right?

Cast rundown:

   George O'Hanlon...............................Joe McDoakes/Himself

   Jack Carson......................................Man Giving Directions

   Robert Hutton...................................Himself

   Joan Leslie........................................Herself

   Fredric March....................................Himself

   Janis Paige........................................Herself

   Ronald Reagan..................................Himself

   Alexis Smith......................................Herself

   Martha Vickers...................................Herself

   George Chandler................................Sammy

   Bess Flowers.....................................Woman At Brown Derby

   Art Gilmore.......................................Narrator

And that's it for So You Want To Be In Pictures.  I love the narrator's familiarity with all the actors in the film.  "There's Ronnie Reagan!" and "There's Robert Hutton and Martha Vickers.  Hiya, kids!"  It's great fun.  It's hilarious to watch George O'Hanlon put on a Charles Boyer accent.

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