I Take This Woman (1931 film)

Last updated

I Take This Woman
I Take This Woman lobby card.jpg
Lobby card
Directed by Marion Gering
Screenplay byVincent Lawrence
Based onLost Ecstasy
by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Starring
Cinematography Victor Milner
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • June 27, 1931 (1931-06-27)(USA)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

I Take This Woman is a 1931 American pre-Code romance film directed by Marion Gering and starring Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard. [1]

Contents

Based on the novel Lost Ecstasy (1927) by Mary Roberts Rinehart, the film is about a wealthy New York socialite who falls in love and marries a cowboy while staying at her father's ranch out West. After her father disinherits her, and after a year of living as a cowboy's wife, she leaves her husband and returns to her family in the East. The film was released by Paramount Pictures. [1]

The film has no connection to the 1940 film I Take This Woman starring Spencer Tracy and Hedy Lamarr, which is based on the Charles MacArthur story "A New York Cinderella". [1]

Plot

After causing yet another scandal, Kay Dowling (Carole Lombard), the spoiled daughter of wealthy New Yorkers, is given a stark choice by her fed-up father (Charles Trowbridge): go to his ranch in Ursula, Wyoming, (to avoid being named a co-respondent in a divorce case) or be disinherited. Kay's fiancé, Herbert Forrest (Lester Vail), proposes getting married immediately, but she chooses the ranch.

Later, while spending her days on the ranch with her good-humored aunt Bessie, Kay falls reluctantly in love with one of her father's cowhands, Tom McNair (Gary Cooper), and impulsively marries him. When her father learns of the union, he disowns her. Kay and Tom are forced to live in a one-room shack while Tom tries to expand his cattle herd.

One year later, Kay is unhappy with life on the ranch, and longs for the comforts of her family's palatial mansion. One day, she receives a telegram from home, and tells Tom that her father is sick and that she must be with him. Back in New York, Kay writes a letter to Tom, asking for a divorce. Soon after, Tom arrives at the estate and explains that he left the ranch to become a professional bronco rider in a rodeo. Kay assumes that he never received the letter, and Tom never mentions it. One night during a party, Tom overhears the guests making fun of him and he confronts Kay, telling her that he *did* receive her letter, and made the trip to determine whether or not she still loved him. Satisfied with what he has learned, he tells her she can have her divorce. Later, as she realizes that life with Herbert would amount to a life of playing golf, Kay visits Tom at the rodeo. During his performance, he is thrown from a bronco and hurt. Kay rushes to Tom's side, and the two reconcile and decide to return to the ranch.

Cast

Production

I Take This Woman marked the film debut of Russian-born director Marion Gering, who had previously directed stage plays. [2]

Produced under the working titles Lost Ecstasy, Rodeo Romance, Half Angel, and In Defense of Love, the film was ultimately titled I Take This Woman by Paramount studio heads in order to "emphasize the romance rather than the western setting, and reflect more of the boy's role than the girl's". [3]

Cooper and Lombard reportedly had an affair during the filming. [4]

Release

The film was released on June 27, 1931. [3]

Preservation status

This film apparently became an "orphan film" when the rights reverted to author Mary Roberts Rinehart. The original 35mm camera negative and all supporting material was shipped back to her, but she had no interest in (or appropriate storage for) the material. She disposed of the 35mm camera negative and retained only a 16mm print. A single surviving 35mm nitrate studio print became the basis for a restoration, funded by the Louis B. Mayer Foundation. The restored print was screened in March 2017 at the Festival of Preservation at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carole Lombard</span> American actress (1908–1942)

Carole Lombard was an American actress. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 23rd on its list of the greatest female stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kay Kendall</span> English actress and comedienne (1927–1959)

Justine Kay Kendall McCarthy was an English actress and comedienne. She began her film career in the musical film London Town (1946), a financial failure. Kendall worked regularly until her appearance in the comedy film Genevieve (1953) brought her widespread recognition. Prolific in British films, Kendall also achieved some popularity with American audiences, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her role in the musical-comedy film Les Girls (1957).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Roberts Rinehart</span> American mystery writer (1876–1958)

Mary Roberts Rinehart was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie. Rinehart published her first mystery novel The Circular Staircase in 1908, which introduced the "had I but known" narrative style. Rinehart is also considered the source of "the butler did it" plot device in her novel The Door (1930), although the exact phrase does not appear in her work. She also worked to tell the stories and experiences of front line soldiers during World War I, one of the first women to travel to the Belgian front lines.

<i>In Name Only</i> 1939 film by John Cromwell

In Name Only is a 1939 romantic film starring Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, and Kay Francis, directed by John Cromwell. It was based on the 1935 novel Memory of Love by Bessie Breuer. The fictional town where it is set, Bridgefield, Connecticut, is based on the town of Ridgefield, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Vinson</span> American actress (1907–1999)

Helen Vinson was an American film actress who appeared in 40 films between 1932 and 1945.

<i>Rumba</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by Marion Gering

Rumba is a 1935 American musical drama film starring George Raft as a Cuban dancer and Carole Lombard as a Manhattan socialite. The movie was directed by Marion Gering and is considered an unsuccessful follow-up to Raft and Lombard's smash hit Bolero the previous year.

<i>No Man of Her Own</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

No Man of Her Own is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy-drama film starring Clark Gable and Carole Lombard as a married couple in their only film together, several years before their own legendary marriage in real life. The film was directed by Wesley Ruggles, and originated as an adaptation of No Bed of Her Own, a 1931 novel by Val Lewton, but ended up based more on a story by Benjamin Glazer and Edmund Goulding, although it retained the title from Lewton's novel. It is not related to the 1950 film of the same name.

<i>The Johnstown Flood</i> (1926 film) 1926 film by Irving Cummings

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.

The Cowboy and the Lady is a 1938 American Western romantic comedy film directed by H.C. Potter, and starring Gary Cooper and Merle Oberon. Written by S.N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, based on a story by Frank R. Adams and veteran film director Leo McCarey, the film is about a beautiful socialite masquerading as a maid who becomes involved with an unpretentious, plain-spoken cowboy who is unaware of her true identity. The Cowboy and the Lady won an Academy Award for Sound Recording, and was nominated for Original Score and Original Song.

I Take This Woman may refer to:

<i>Now and Forever</i> (1934 film) 1934 film by Henry Hathaway

Now and Forever is a 1934 American drama film directed by Henry Hathaway. The screenplay by Vincent Lawrence and Sylvia Thalberg was based on the story "Honor Bright" by Jack Kirkland and Melville Baker. The film stars Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, and Shirley Temple in a story about a small-time swindler going straight for his child's sake. Temple sang "The World Owes Me a Living". The film was critically well received. Temple adored Cooper, who nicknamed her 'Wigglebritches'. This is the only film in which Lombard and Temple appeared together.

<i>Double Harness</i> 1933 film

Double Harness (1933) is an American pre-Code film starring Ann Harding and William Powell. It was based on the play of the same name by Edward Poor Montgomery. A young woman maneuvers a lazy playboy into marrying her.

<i>Man of the World</i> (film) 1931 film

Man of the World is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic drama directed by Richard Wallace and starring William Powell, Carole Lombard, and Wynne Gibson.

<i>The Lucky Horseshoe</i> 1925 film

The Lucky Horseshoe is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Tom Mix, Billie Dove, and Malcolm Waite. Based on a story by Robert Lord, the film is about a ranch foreman who assumes responsibility for the ranch following the owner's death. He also cares for the owner's daughter who is taken to Europe by an aunt. Two year later the woman returns from Europe with her new wealthy fiancée and plans to hold their wedding at the ranch, which the foreman has turned into a successful tourist destination. The foreman's feelings for the woman have not been diminished by the years, and after learning some damaging information about the fiancée, the foreman must find a way to stop the wedding.

<i>Home in Wyomin</i> 1942 film by William Morgan

Home in Wyomin' is a 1942 American Western film directed by William Morgan and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Fay McKenzie. Based on a story by Stuart Palmer, the film is about a singing cowboy who helps out a former employer in trouble with his failing rodeo while romancing a woman reporter. In Home in Wyomin', Autry sang his hit songs "Be Honest with Me", "Back in the Saddle Again", and "Tweedle O'Twill", as well as Irving Berlin's "Any Bonds Today", becoming the first major star to sing the official song of the U.S. Defense Bond campaign during the war.

<i>Bells of Capistrano</i> 1942 film

Bells of Capistrano is a 1942 American Western film directed by William Morgan and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Virginia Grey. Written by Lawrence Kimble, it is a story of a singing cowboy who helps out a beautiful rodeo owner when her competitor gets too rough. The film features the popular songs "Forgive Me", "At Sundown", "In Old Capistrano", and "Don't Bite The Hand That's Feeding You". Bells of Capistrano was Autry's final film before entering the service for World War II.

<i>Riders of the Purple Sage</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

Riders of the Purple Sage is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Lynn Reynolds and starring Tom Mix, Mabel Ballin, and Warner Oland. Based on the 1912 novel Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey, the film is about a former Texas Ranger who pursues a corrupt lawyer who abducted his married sister and niece. His search leads him to a remote Arizona ranch and the love of a good woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion Gering</span> American stage producer and director

Marion Gering was a Russian-born American stage producer and director. He moved to the United States in 1923 as an artist. He became involved in the theatrical community in Chicago, founding the Chicago Play Producing Company.

<i>Dick Turpin</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

Dick Turpin is a 1925 American silent historical adventure film directed by John G. Blystone produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation and starring western hero Tom Mix. Mix departs from his usual western roles to play a British historical figure, the highwayman Dick Turpin (1705-1739). A young Carole Lombard was filmed in several scenes which mostly ended up on the cutting room floor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lester Vail</span> American actor

Lester Vail was an American actor of the stage, screen, and radio from the 1920s through the 1940s. In addition to acting in all three mediums, Vail also saw success as director on the Broadway stage, as well also being a producer of radio programs.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hal Erickson (2013). "I Take This Woman (1931)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Trouble in Paradise / I Take This Woman". UCLA Film and Television Archive. March 3, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "I Take This Woman (1931)". American Film Institute . 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  4. Meyers, Jeffrey (2001). Gary Cooper: American Hero. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 68. ISBN   9780815411406.