Kitty Foyle (1940)

 

Kitty Foyle - 1940

Coming up next is 1940's "Kitty Foyle", the story of a young woman's life as she looks back over past events as she is about to make a decision that will change her future.

The film's cast includes Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, James Craig, Eduardo Ciannelli, Ernest Cossart, Gladys Cooper, Odette Myrtil, Walter Kingsford, Nella Walker, Kay Linaker, and Florence Bates.

Kitty Foyle is a young woman with a problem on her hands.  She's got two suitors, and both are very interested in long term commitments.

The first is Dr. Mark Eisen, and he's asked Kitty a very serious question.  When he asks her to marry him, he wants to be sure she's understood what he's asking her.  "You asked me to marry you, didn't you?" she responds.  "That's exactly it," he says.  She smiles with "I got it.  That's why I said yes."

When he leaves her at her apartment to make arrangements, Kitty is met by Wyn Strafford III, a man from a prominent Philadelphia family and someone with whom Kitty has been in love with for a long time.  Wyn tells Kitty he's leaving for South America, and while he can't commit to marriage, he wants her to join him.

After Wyn leaves, Kitty excited begins packing.  But as she packs, she begins to think her decision over.  Should she go with Wyn or should she marry Mark?

We flashback to the first time Kitty met Wyn.  He was an acquaintance of her father's, and the chemistry is evident right from the start.

Wyn hires Kitty to work as a secretary at his Philadelphia magazine.  The more time they spend together, the more they fall in love.

Kitty's father cautions her to be careful about Wyn.  He tells her to be careful of believing in fairytales.  But Kitty brushes him off, "After all, the prince and Cinderella lived happily ever afterwards."  Her father scoffs and says, "Yes, and that’s where these writing fellows are smart, too.  They always end the story before it really begins."

Kitty's father is proved right, however.  Soon, Wyn's magazine has to fold.  Sadly, Wyn doesn't have the strength to defy his family and marry someone beneath his social tier.

With her father now dead, Kitty heads for New York, where she becomes a salesgirl at a cosmetics store.  She's pretty good at selling high end items, too.  When a customer makes a comment about the price, Kitty convinces her it's the right choice, because "How else could we keep the wrong person from wearing it?"

Kitty mistakenly presses the burglar alarm one day.  So, to save her job she pretends to faint in all the commotion.

The doctor who comes to her "rescue" is Mark (the man who asked her to marry him at the beginning of the film).  He blackmails her into dating him when he sees through her ruse and threatens to tell her employer.

She agrees to the date.  No sooner has Mark gone, then Kitty's employer comes to her aid and splashes a vaseful of water on her.  Kitty's learned her lesson about lying.

On the night of her date with Mark, Kitty is sorely disappointed.  Instead of going out, he insists on staying in and playing cards and drinking coffee.  "I thought we had a date tonight," she mentions to Mark.  He looks at her quizzically, "Well, what do you think's been going on here for the past three hours?"  She looks right back at him with disgust, "Well, for one thing, I've slowly grown to hate you."

The date turns out to be some sort of test that Mark has devised, and Kitty has passed.  To her great surprise, she agrees to go to the movies with him later in the week.

And the two start spending a lot of time together.  Kitty grows to like Mark immensely.

Just as things are going so well with Mark, who should pop back in Kitty's life but Wyn, who has tracked her down.

All of Kitty's old feelings for Wyn coming flooding back to her.  He tells her that he's ready to stand up to his family and marry her.  She agrees to become Mrs. Wyn Strafford, a member of one of the "Main Line" Philadelphia family, something she's always aspired to.  They marry secretly, and then go to Philadelphia.

But when she goes to meet the Strafford family, Kitty finds a chilly reception.  They tell her they plan on sending her to "finishing school" to polish up her rough edges.  When she tells them that she and Wyn plan to live in New York, the family informs her that Wyn will be disinherited because of a clause in the family will that says he must remain in Philadelphia and work in the family business.

Realizing that Wyn doesn't have the strength to face poverty, Kitty decides to leave him, but not before giving the family a piece of her mind.  When Wyn's Uncle Kennett says, "But, Miss Foyle, thou art not being quite reasonable about this", Kitty responds with "Says thou".

Back in New York after her divorce, Kitty renews her acquaintance with Mark.  He knows all about her marriage, and he's willing to give them a second chance.

But before her relationship with Mark can take off, Kitty finds out that she's expecting Wyn's baby.  She also finds out that any hopes of a reconciliation with Wyn are not to be, as Wyn's engagement has just been announced.

Kitty looks forward to becoming a mother.  Sadly, the baby is born dead and she has to cope with that loss without Wyn by her side.

A few years later, Kitty has reluctantly returned to Philadelphia to head up a branch of the cosmetic store she works for.  One of the clients is Mrs. Wyn Strafford, who comes in with her little boy.  When she's alone with the boy, Kitty gives him something to secretly give to Wyn.

We return to the present, where Kitty leaves her apartment to head off to her new life.  She leaves a note with the doorman for the man she has not chosen, and heads off in a cab to meet the man she has chosen and their new life together.

Cast rundown:

   Ginger Rogers................................Kitty Foyle

   Dennis Morgan...............................Wyn Strafford VI

   James Craig...................................Dr. Mark Eisen

   Eduardo Ciannelli............................Giono

   Ernest Cossart................................Tom Foyle

   Gladys Cooper.................................Mrs. Strafford

   Odette Myrtil..................................Delphine Detaille

   Walter Kingsford.............................Mr. Kennett

   Nella Walker...................................Aunt Jessica

   Kay Linaker.....................................Veronica Strafford

   Florence Bates................................Customer

And that's it for Kitty Foyle.  Ginger Rogers went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress with her portrayal as the title character.  She also popularized the "Kitty Foyle dress" which was debuted in this film and instantly copied by thousands of women all over the United States.

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Heaven Can Wait (1943)

Heaven Can Wait - 1943

Next we have 1943's "Heaven Can Wait", the story of the life of Henry Van Cleve.  Following his death, Henry presents himself at the gates of Hell after what he feels is a dissolute life.  The devil listens to the story of his life before passing judgement.  Will he be deserving of Heaven or Hell?

The supporting cast includes Charles Coburn, Marjorie Main, Laird Cregar, Spring Byington, Allyn Joslyn, Eugene Pallette, Louis Calhern, Helene Reynolds, Tod Andrews, Florence Bates, and Anita Sharp-Bolster.

After he dies, Henry Van Cleve makes his way to the lobby of Hell.  Henry believes that after the life he's led he has no other alternative than to face the fate he knows is waiting for him.

He meets His Excellency (the devil himself).  His Excellency can't seem to recall the particulars of Henry's life and asks him to tell a little about himself.

Henry talks about his death and what brought him to where he is at the present time.  "If you meet our requirements we'll be only too glad to accommodate you.  Would you be good enough to mention, for instance, some outstanding crime you've committed?" His Excellency asks.  "Crime?  Crime?" Henry asks.  "I'm afraid I can't think of any.  But I can safely say my whole life was one continuous misdemeanor."

Henry tells of the time he met Martha.  She was engaged to his cousin and it was their engagement that was being celebrated at the home of Henry's parents.  Unbeknownst to Henry's cousin Albert, Henry and Martha had met before.  Henry had been leading a fast-paced, carefree life that was the cause of much heartache to his family.  All that changed when he met Martha.

He had followed her into a bookstore.  He pretended to work there in order to talk with her.  Eventually, Henry tells her he doesn't work there.  "I'm not a book salesman," he tells her.  I took one look at you and followed you into the store.  If you had walked into a restaurant, I would’ve become a waiter.  If you had walked into a burning building, I would’ve become a fireman.  If you had walked into an elevator, I would’ve stopped it between two floors, and we’d have spent the rest of our lives there."

He tells her she doesn't need the book she's wanting, "How To Make Your Husband Happy" by Dr. Blossom Franklin.  "Now where could a woman like that have found out how to make her husband happy?" Henry asks.

The two part company, never even telling each other's names.  They meet again at the party at Henry's house, which happens to be on Henry's birthday.

When Henry asked Martha why she wanted to marry his cousin, Martha replied, "Don’t misunderstand me.  I love Kansas.  It’s just that I don’t feel like living there.  Besides that, I didn’t want to be an old maid.  Not in Kansas!"  They fall in love and elope that very night.

Fast forward ten years and Martha has run home to Kansas after discovering that Henry was unfaithful.

Martha's father, meat packing baron E.F. Strable, was famous for his Mable the Cow advertising campaign.  "To the world my name is Mabel, which you’ll find on every label.  I am packed by E.F. Strable for the pleasure of your table."  Henry's grandfather, Hugo, upon hearing this slogan replied, "No cow in its right mind could’ve said anything like that.  Sounds more like Mr. Strable!"

A hilarious scene occurs inside between Mr. and Mrs. Strable, who never speak to each other unless it's through their servant Jasper.  Mr. Strable wants the funny papers and Mrs. Strable isn't about to give them up.  She tells Jasper all about what's in them to the consternation of Mr. Strable.  It's a very well done scene.

Henry succeeds in making Martha forgive him, much to the delight of his overjoyed grandfather, who made the journey to Kansas with Henry.  They have to sneak out of the Strable house at night, just as they had ten years earlier when they eloped.  "Jasper, all my life I've wanted to run away with a woman," says Grandfather Hugo, "and Jasper, it's happening!"  As they are riding away, Hugo turns towards the house and Martha's father and shouts, "And so, farewell, dear E.F. Strable.  We'll take Martha, you keep Mabel!"

Fast forward another fifteen years and Henry and Martha are celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.  They've been through much together, including trying to get their son out of some of the same scrapes Henry was in when he was younger.  Henry didn't know that Martha was ill and that this was to be their last anniversary.  Henry lives out the rest of his life alone, dying at the age of 70, after living a rich, full life.

Henry finishes his story up his life story.  His Excellency smiles at him and says, "I hope you will not consider me inhospitable if I say, sorry, Mr. Van Cleve, but we don't cater to your class of people here.  Please make your reservation somewhere else."  Henry is confused, not understanding how he could be let into Heaven.  His Excellency tells him of all the people up there he's known whom he has made happy.  The girls of his youth.  His grandfather.  Martha.  "She will plead for you," His Excellency says with a smile.

He leads the disbelieving Henry to an elevator.  The elevator boy looks at His Excellency and asks, "Down?"

"Up," comes the bemused reply.

Cast rundown:

   Gene Tierney..................................Martha Van Cleve

   Don Ameche...................................Henry Van Cleve

   Charles Coburn...............................Hugo Van Cleve

   Marjorie Main..................................Mrs. Strable

   Laird Cregar....................................His Excellency

   Spring Byington..............................Bertha Van Cleve

   Allyn Joslyn...................................Albert Van Cleve

   Eugene Pallette...............................E.F. Strable

   Louis Calhern..................................Randolph Van Cleve

   Helene Reynolds..............................Peggy Nash

   Tod Andrews...................................Jack Van Cleve

   Florence Bates.................................Mrs. Edna Craig

   Anita Sharp-Bolster...........................Mrs. Cooper-Cooper

And that's all for Heaven Can Wait.  Don Ameche said this was his favorite of all the films he worked on (though not his favorite role).  It's a fun, yet touching movie, beautifully filmed by Ernst Lubitsch.

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