The Voice of the Turtle | |
---|---|
Directed by | Irving Rapper |
Written by |
|
Based on | The Voice of the Turtle by John Van Druten |
Produced by | Charles Hoffman |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Sol Polito |
Edited by | Rudi Fehr |
Music by | Max Steiner |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $2,380,000 [1] |
Box office | $2,450,000 (US rentals) [2] or $3,116,000 [1] |
The Voice of the Turtle is a 1947 American romantic comedy film directed by Irving Rapper and starring Ronald Reagan, Eleanor Parker, Eve Arden and Wayne Morris. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. It was based on the long-running 1943 stage play The Voice of the Turtle by John Van Druten. [3] In the 1950s, the film was rereleased and aired on television under the title One for the Book. [4]
In December 1944 in New York City, naïve young actress Sally Middleton is jilted by her lover, a theatrical producer, for becoming too serious about their relationship. Although she vows to not allow herself to fall in love again, Sally agrees to a dinner date with Bill Page, an Army sergeant on a weekend pass who is rejected by Sally's friend, the sophisticated Olive Lashbrooke.
When Bill has trouble finding a hotel room, he spends the weekend at Sally's apartment. Although they sleep in separate rooms, the arrangement creates awkward situations for Sally, especially when she finds herself developing feelings for Bill.
Olive has second thoughts about Bill and makes romantic overtures. However, Bill has fallen for Sally and convinces her to overcome her fears and start a romance with him.
According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $2,617,000 domestically and $499,000 foreign. [1]
Many critics compared the film to the original play, which finished its Broadway run one week after the film's release. Time magazine complained that the film "is most coyly prurient where the play was most pleasantly candid" while The New York Times found the film version more satisfying because it was "morally wholesome and ideally romantic." [5]
Eleanor Jean Parker was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for three Academy Awards for her roles in the films Caged (1950), Detective Story (1951), and Interrupted Melody (1955), the first of which won her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. She was also known for her roles in the films Of Human Bondage (1946), Scaramouche (1952), The Naked Jungle (1954), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), A Hole in the Head (1959), The Sound of Music (1965), and The Oscar (1966).
Virginia Mayo was an American actress and dancer. She was in a series of popular comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Bros.' biggest box-office draw in the late 1940s. She also co-starred in the 1946 Oscar-winning movie The Best Years of Our Lives.
The Unfaithful is a 1947 American murder mystery film noir directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Ann Sheridan, Lew Ayres and Zachary Scott. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. Regarded by some as a film noir, the picture is based on the W. Somerset Maugham-penned 1927 play and William Wyler-directed 1940 film The Letter, which was reworked and turned into an original screenplay by writers David Goodis and James Gunn who shifted the setting from Malaya to the United States.
Cover Girl is a 1944 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Charles Vidor, and starring Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly. The film tells the story of a chorus girl given a chance at stardom when she is offered an opportunity to be a highly paid cover girl. It was one of the most popular musicals of the war years.
Charles Brown Middleton was an American stage and film actor. During a film career that began at age 46 and lasted almost 30 years, he appeared in nearly 200 films as well as numerous plays. Sometimes credited as Charles B. Middleton, he is perhaps best remembered for his role as the villainous emperor Ming the Merciless in the three Flash Gordon serials made between 1936 and 1940.
Wayne Morris was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many films, including Paths of Glory (1957), The Bushwackers (1952), and the title role of Kid Galahad (1937).
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse is a 1938 American crime film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor and Humphrey Bogart. It was distributed by Warner Bros. and written by John Wexley and John Huston, based on the 1936 play The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse, the first play written by short-story writer Barré Lyndon, which ran for three months on Broadway with Cedric Hardwicke after playing in London.
Willard Parker was an American film and television actor. He starred in the TV series Tales of the Texas Rangers (1955–1958).
That Hagen Girl is a 1947 American drama film directed by Peter Godfrey. The screenplay by Charles Hoffman was based on the novel by Edith Kneipple Roberts. The film focuses on small-town teenaged girl Mary Hagen, whom gossips believe is the illegitimate daughter of former resident and lawyer Tom Bates. Lois Maxwell received a Golden Globe award for her performance.
June Travis was an American film actress.
Brother Rat is a 1938 American comedy drama film about cadets at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, directed by William Keighley, and starring Ronald Reagan, Priscilla Lane, Eddie Albert, Jane Wyman, and Wayne Morris.
The Voice of the Turtle is a Broadway comedy by John William Van Druten dealing with the challenges of the single life in New York City during World War II. Controversial in its time, The Voice of the Turtle explores the sexual struggles of Sally Middleton, a young woman attempting to reconcile her childhood teachings on the importance of chastity with her newfound affection for Bill Page. The play derives its name from a verse in the Song of Solomon in the Bible, which reads "The voice of the turtle [as in turtle dove] is heard in our land." On December 8, 1943, the show opened at the Morosco Theatre and ran for 1,557 performances, making it the 51st longest-running show and the 9th longest-running play in Broadway history. In 1947, the stage play was adapted into a film of the same name starring Ronald Reagan, Eleanor Parker, Eve Arden, and Wayne Morris.
Never Say Goodbye is a 1946 American romantic comedy film directed by James V. Kern and starring Errol Flynn, Eleanor Parker, and Lucile Watson. Produced and distributed by Warner Brothers, it is about a divorced couple and the daughter who works to bring them back together. It was Errol Flynn's first purely comedic role since Footsteps in the Dark.
John Loves Mary is a 1949 comedy film directed by David Butler and written by Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron. The film stars Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal and Jack Carson. The film was released by Warner Bros. on February 19, 1949. It's based on a Broadway play of the same name written by Norman Krasna, which ran from February 4, 1947, to February 7, 1948, at the Booth Theatre and Music Box Theatre in New York City.
Men are Such Fools is a 1938 American romantic comedy directed by Busby Berkeley and written by Norman Reilly Raine and Horace Jackson. The film stars Wayne Morris, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Hugh Herbert, Johnnie Davis, and Penny Singleton. The film was released by Warner Bros. on July 16, 1938. The movie is adapted from the novel by the same name, Men Are Such Fools, by Faith Baldwin.
Escape Me Never is a 1947 American melodrama film directed by Peter Godfrey, and starring Errol Flynn, Ida Lupino, Eleanor Parker, and Gig Young.
Brother Rat and a Baby is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Ray Enright and written by John Cherry Monks, Jr. and Fred F. Finklehoffe. It is the sequel to the 1938 film Brother Rat. The film stars Priscilla Lane, Wayne Morris, Jane Bryan in her final role, Eddie Albert, Jane Wyman, and Ronald Reagan. The film was released by Warner Bros. on January 13, 1940.
The Doughgirls is a 1944 American comedy film directed by James V. Kern based on the 1942 hit Broadway play written by Joseph Fields. The film works around three newlywed couples, focusing on the Halstead couple, played by Jane Wyman and Jack Carson, and their misadventures trying to find some privacy and living space in the housing shortage of WWII era Washington, D.C. Eve Arden as a Russian sniper and Joe DeRita as a sleepy hotel guest, both looking for edge in the overcrowded hotel.
Comet over Broadway is a 1938 American drama film starring Kay Francis, Ian Hunter and Donald Crisp. It was produced and released by Warner Brothers. John Farrow stepped in as director when Busby Berkeley became ill, but Farrow was uncredited on the film.
Men of the Sky is a 1942 American Technicolor short propaganda film, directed by B. Reeves Eason. The documentary film reenacted the training of a group of United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) pilots.