Big City | |
---|---|
Directed by | Norman Taurog |
Screenplay by | Anne Morrison Chapin Whitfield Cook Aben Kandel (additional dialogue) Nanette Kutner (adaptation) |
Story by | Miklos Laszlo |
Produced by | Joe Pasternak |
Starring | Margaret O'Brien Robert Preston Danny Thomas George Murphy Betty Garrett Edward Arnold |
Cinematography | Robert Surtees |
Edited by | Gene Ruggiero |
Music by | Lothar Perl Albert Sendrey George Stoll |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,725,000 [1] |
Box office | $1,399,000 [1] |
Big City is a 1948 American drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Margaret O'Brien, Robert Preston and Danny Thomas.
An abandoned infant is discovered in New York City by a cantor, David Feldman, and a minister, Rev. Phillip Andrews, who consult police officer Pat O'Donnell about what to do. Taking in the baby girl and naming her Midge, the three unmarried men seek legal custody in the courtroom of Judge Martin O. Abercrombie, who is agreeable on one condition—the first man to marry will become sole legal guardian of the girl.
At school after she's a few years older, Midge is teased by others for her unusual family situation. Even her teacher, Florence Barrett, does not approve of a child being raised without a mother. To alleviate her concerns, the men invite Florence to an evening at their home, where even Midge becomes happier about the way she is being brought up.
David falls in love with Florence and hopes to propose marriage. Pat, who has been seeing the extroverted singer "Shoo Shoo" Grady, elopes with her. The two clergymen are unsure that Shoo Shoo would be a proper parent for their child. It is left up to the judge, who gives careful consideration to everyone's concerns, then solves the problem by withdrawing his condition about marriage, permitting all three men to share fatherly responsibilities to Midge equally.
According to MGM records the movie was not a hit, earning $910,000 in the US and Canada and $489,000 elsewhere, making a loss to the studio of $850,000. [1]
Margaret Livingston, sometimes credited as Marguerite Livingstone or Margaret Livingstone, was an American film actress and businesswoman during the silent film era. She is remembered today as "the Woman from the City" in F. W. Murnau's 1927 film Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.
Wilfred Van Norman Lucas was a Canadian American stage actor who found success in film as an actor, director, and screenwriter.
James Craig was an American actor. He is best known for appearances in films like Kitty Foyle (1940) and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), and his stint as a leading man at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s where he appeared in films like The Human Comedy (1943).
Mary Elizabeth Hughes was an American film, television, and stage actress best known for her roles in B movies.
John Laird Abercrombie was an American jazz guitarist. His work explored jazz fusion, free jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Abercrombie studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He was known for his understated style and his work with organ trios.
Lyle Florenz Talbot was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on a wide variety of television series from the early 1950s to the late 1980s. Among his notable roles on television was his portrayal of Ozzie Nelson's friend and neighbor Joe Randolph, a character he played for ten years on the ABC sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
Reginald Harry Barlow was an American stage and screen character actor, author, and film director. He was a busy performer in Hollywood films of the 1930s.
John Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed forty-four silent films from 1912 to 1917.
Stanley Martin Andrews was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program Little Orphan Annie and later as "The Old Ranger", the first host of the syndicated western anthology television series, Death Valley Days.
Sailor's Lady, also known as Sweetheart of Turret One, is a 1940 film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Nancy Kelly and Jon Hall. The supporting cast includes Joan Davis, Dana Andrews, and Buster Crabbe. Football player Amby Schindler had an uncredited appearance in this motion picture after portraying one of The Winkies in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
The Johnstown Flood is a 1926 American silent epic film directed by Irving Cummings, that addresses the Great Flood of 1889 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The film stars George O'Brien, Florence Gilbert, and Janet Gaynor.
Edwin Stanley, was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1916 and 1946. He was born in Chicago, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California. On Broadway, Stanley appeared in This Man's Town (1930), The Marriage Bed (1929), and The Donovan Affair (1926). Stanley was also a playwright.
Charles E. Arnt was an American film actor from 1933 to 1962. Arnt appeared as a character actor in more than 200 films.
DeWitt Clarke Jennings was an American film and stage actor. He appeared in 17 Broadway plays between 1906 and 1920, and in more than 150 films between 1915 and 1937.
Patricia Ellis was an American film actress from 1932 to 1939, who then had a brief singing career until 1941.
Willard Robertson was an American actor and writer. He appeared in more than 140 films from 1924 to 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas and died in Hollywood, California.
Tod Andrews was an American stage, screen, and television actor.
Child of Divorce is a 1946 American drama film directed by Richard O. Fleischer. It was the first film that he directed. RKO had adapted the play to film before as the 1934 film Wednesday's Child.
Oscar O'Shea was a Canadian-American character actor with over 100 film appearances from 1937 to 1953.
Fighting Father Dunne is a 1948 American biographical film about the life of Father Peter Dunne, and the creation of his News Boys Home in St. Louis, Missouri. Directed by Ted Tetzlaff, the screenplay was written by Martin Rackin and Frank Davis, based on an original story by William Rankin. The film stars Pat O'Brien as Fr. Dunne, along with Darryl Hickman, Charles Kemper, Una O'Connor, Arthur Shields, Harry Shannon, Joe Sawyer, Myrna Dell, and Ruth Donnelly.