George Washington Slept Here

Last updated
George Washington Slept Here
George-Washington-Slept-Here-1942.jpg
Directed by William Keighley
Screenplay by Everett Freeman
Based on1940 Play:
by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman
Produced by Jerry Wald
Starring
Cinematography Ernest Haller
Edited by Ralph Dawson
Music by Adolph Deutsch
Production
companies
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • November 28, 1942 (1942-11-28)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.3 million (US rentals) [1]
Percy Kilbride Percy Kilbride in George Washington Slept Here trailer.jpg

George Washington Slept Here is a 1942 comedy film starring Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan, Charles Coburn, Percy Kilbride, and Hattie McDaniel. [2] [3] [4] [5] It was based on the 1940 play of the same name by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, adapted by Everett Freeman, and was directed by William Keighley.

Contents

Warner Archives released the film on DVD in November 2013. George Washington Slept Here was cited in the John Wayne film Operation Pacific (1951) when two American submarines traded films at sea.

Plot

Manhattanite Connie Fuller (Ann Sheridan) secretly acquires a dilapidated house in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania, without her husband Bill's (Jack Benny) knowledge. The couple were forced out of their New York City apartment after their dog damaged the carpets. The house Connie buys is believed to have served as George Washington's temporary home during the Revolutionary War. Connie takes Bill on a tour of the countryside including the house, hoping that Bill will fall in love with it.

Connie's plan is to surprise her husband with the news that they own the house but is frustrated when he announces that he hates it. Bill only sees the poor condition of the house and its poor location for commuting into the city. Having nowhere else to live, they move into the house. Connie's sister Madge (Joyce Reynolds) moves with them. They hire Mr. Kimber (Percy Kilbride) to help with the renovations. They uncover evidence that it was not Washington who had slept there, but Benedict Arnold. Connie's spoiled nephew Raymond (Douglas Croft) also moves into the home during the summer. Connie's wealthy uncle Stanley (Charles Coburn) plans to visit also.

One rainy day, married actors Rena Leslie (Lee Patrick) and Clayton Evans (John Emery) seek shelter from the downpour. Madge falls in love with Clayton and plans to run away with him, abandoning Rena. Bill suspects Connie of infidelity with local antiques dealer Jeff Douglas (Harvey Stephens) and confronts her. Connie explains that Jeff helped her determine that they own a well and an access road - facilities that their unfriendly neighbor Prescott (Charles Dingle) claims as his.

Prescott uses the poor state of the Fullers' house to engineer a foreclosure against them, intending to buy their forfeited property at auction afterward. The Fullers desperately seek funds to finish the renovations and stop the foreclosure. They ask Stanley to finance them, but he reveals that he has been secretly bankrupt since the Depression in 1929. Instead, he helps them with their lawful claim to the well and service road. Everything changes for the better when the Fullers' dog digs up a boot on the property, containing a letter written by George Washington. The valuable historical find is worth enough money for the couple to complete the renovations and stop Prescott's attempts to buy them out.

The arrival of the expected 17-year locusts leads to the accidental discovery of the well that the couple need.

Cast

Production

Jack Benny was starring in his first Warner Bros. feature, and when the stage play George Washington Slept Here was proposed, Benny went to a performance. In the original stage production, it was the husband, not the wife, who bought the property, and had been the "straight man". The focus was changed for the film, reversing the roles to play into Benny's established persona of being a miser as well as the comic foil. Originally, Olivia de Havilland was to be cast as the female lead. [6]

To recreate the country home that was central to the film's plot, the house in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) which was actually shot in 1941 for a later theatrical release, was used. To ensure it looked the part of a dilapidated home, Warner Bros. crews knocked out bannisters, rafters and floors on the set. [7]

Reception

In his review for The New York Times, Bosley Crowther wrote "just knock-about fun. Mr. Benny goes through his paces with his customary strain on shoe-leather, whines and pulls his hair (figuratively) with the air of a martyred saint. Miss Sheridan plays straight to his foibles, but does so quite fetchingly, and Percy Kilbride is highly amusing as a dead-panned, laconic hired hand. Charles Coburn plays the four-flushing uncle with gleeful treachery and Hattie McDaniel, Douglas Croft and Charles Dingle are amusing in other roles." [8]

Awards and honors

George Washington Slept Here was nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction for Max Parker, Mark-Lee Kirk and Casey Roberts. [9]

Adaptations to other media

George Washington Slept Here was adapted as a half-hour radio play for the November 8, 1943 broadcast of The Screen Guild Theater , starring Carole Landis and Jack Carson. [10] It also was presented on the November 23, 1947 broadcast of the Ford Theatre with Karl Swenson and Claudia Morgan in lead roles. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The More the Merrier</i> 1943 film by George Stevens

The More the Merrier is a 1943 American romantic comedy film produced and directed by George Stevens, and starring Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, and Charles Coburn. The film's script—from Two's a Crowd, an original screenplay by Garson Kanin (uncredited)—was written by Robert Russell, Frank Ross, Richard Flournoy, and Lewis R. Foster. Set in Washington, D.C., the film presents a comic look at the housing shortage during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Sheridan</span> American actress and singer (1915–1967)

Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films San Quentin (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) with James Cagney and Bogart, They Drive by Night (1940) with George Raft and Bogart, City for Conquest (1940) with Cagney and Elia Kazan, The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) with Bette Davis, Kings Row (1942) with Ronald Reagan, Nora Prentiss (1947), and I Was a Male War Bride (1949) with Cary Grant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percy Kilbride</span> American character actor

Percy William Kilbride was an American character actor. He made a career of playing country "hicks," most memorably as Pa Kettle in the Ma and Pa Kettle series of feature films.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars is the American Film Institute's list ranking the top 25 male and 25 female greatest screen legends of American film history and is the second list of the AFI 100 Years... series.

<i>Carry On Nurse</i> 1959 British comedy film by Gerald Thomas

Carry On Nurse is a 1959 British comedy film, the second in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). Of the regular team, it featured Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey, with Hattie Jacques and Leslie Phillips. The film was written by Norman Hudis based on the play Ring for Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack Beale. It was the top-grossing film of 1959 in the United Kingdom and, with an audience of 10.4 million, had the highest cinema viewing of any of the "Carry On" films. Perhaps surprisingly, it was also highly successful in the United States, where it was reported that it played at some cinemas for three years. The film was followed by Carry On Teacher 1959.

<i>Carry On Cowboy</i> 1965 British comedy film by Gerald Thomas

Carry On Cowboy is a 1965 British comedy Western film, the eleventh in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). It was the first film to feature series regulars Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw. Series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Charles Hawtrey and Joan Sims all feature, and Angela Douglas makes the first of her four appearances in the series. Kenneth Williams, usually highly critical of all the Carry on films he appeared in, called the film "a success on every level" in his diary, taking pride in its humour and pathos. The film was followed by Carry On Screaming! (1966).

The 14th National Board of Review Awards were announced on 24 December 1942.

<i>Carry On Dick</i> 1974 British comedy film by Gerald Thomas

Carry On Dick is a 1974 British comedy film, the 26th release in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). The story is based on the Dick Turpin legend and features Turpin (James) as an antihero, attempting to evade capture by the authorities.

<i>Carry On Matron</i> 1972 British comedy film by Gerald Thomas

Carry On Matron is a 1972 British comedy film, the 23rd release in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). It was released in May 1972. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor and Kenneth Connor. This was the last Carry on... film for Terry Scott after appearing in seven films. Carry On Matron was the second and last Carry On... for Kenneth Cope.

<i>London Belongs to Me</i> 1948 British film

London Belongs to Me is a British film released in 1948, directed by Sidney Gilliat, and starring Richard Attenborough and Alastair Sim. It was based on the novel London Belongs to Me by Norman Collins, which was also the basis for a seven-part series made by Thames Television shown in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Dingle</span> American actor (1887–1956)

Charles Dingle was an American stage and film actor.

<i>Guest in the House</i> 1944 film by John Brahm

Guest in the House is a 1944 American film noir directed by John Brahm starring Anne Baxter and Ralph Bellamy.

<i>Mrs. OMalley and Mr. Malone</i> 1950 film by Norman Taurog

Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone is a 1950 comedy/murder mystery film set on board a train. It stars Marjorie Main and James Whitmore. It is based on the short story "Once Upon a Train " by Stuart Palmer and Craig Rice.

<i>Rovin Tumbleweeds</i> 1939 American film

Rovin' Tumbleweeds is a 1939 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette and Mary Carlisle. Written by Betty Burbridge, Dorrell McGowan, and Stuart E. McGowan, the film is about a cowboy congressman who exposes a crooked politician who is delaying passage of a flood control bill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Hardy (actor)</span> American actor (1883–1935)

Samuel B. Hardy was an American stage and film actor who appeared in feature films during the silent and early sound eras.

<i>Harrigans Kid</i> 1943 film by Charles Reisner

Harrigan's Kid is a 1943 American drama film directed by Charles Reisner and written by Martin Berkeley, Henry Blankfort and Alan Friedman. The film stars Bobby Readick, Frank Craven, William Gargan, J. Carrol Naish and Jay Ward. The film was released on March 17, 1943, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Three Married Men is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell, written by Alan Campbell and Dorothy Parker, and starring Lynne Overman, William Frawley, Roscoe Karns, Mary Brian, George Barbier and Marjorie Gateson. It was released on September 24, 1936, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Free for All</i> (film) 1949 film by Charles Barton

Free for All is a 1949 American comedy film directed by Charles Barton and starring Robert Cummings, Ann Blyth and Percy Kilbride.

<i>Murder in Times Square</i> 1943 film directed by Lew Landers

Murder in Times Square is a 1943 American mystery film directed by Lew Landers and starring Edmund Lowe, Marguerite Chapman and John Litel.

References

Notes

  1. "101 pix gross in millions." Variety, January 6, 1943, p. 58.
  2. Jack Benny: The Radio and Television Work, 1991, p. 14.
  3. Variety film review; September 23, 1942, p. 8.
  4. Harrison's Reports film review; September 19, 1942, p 152.
  5. "Cast: 'George Washington Slept Here'." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: July 17, 2016.
  6. Miller, Frank. "Articles: 'George Washington Slept Here'. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: July 14, 2024.
  7. "Notes: 'George Washington Slept Here'. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: July 14, 2024.
  8. Crowther, Bosley. "Movie review: 'George Washington Slept Here,' Starring Jack Benny and Ann Sheridan, at the Strand." The New York Times, October 31, 1942.
  9. "Details: 'George Washington Slept Here'." The New York Times. Retrieved: July 17, 2016.
  10. "'Great Artists Series' Presents Nelson Eddy". Youngstown Vindicator (Ohio). 1943-11-08. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  11. Benet, Ruth. "George Washington Slept Here film director cast William Keighley, Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan shown TCM." Archived 2016-08-21 at the Wayback Machine News Like This, June 14, 2014. Retrieved: July 17, 2016.

Bibliography