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Bedtime Story

  • 19411941
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
602
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Fredric March and Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)
  • Comedy
  • Romance
A playwright attempts to stop his wife from retiring so she can star in his next play.A playwright attempts to stop his wife from retiring so she can star in his next play.A playwright attempts to stop his wife from retiring so she can star in his next play.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
602
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Alexander Hall
  • Writers
    • Richard Flournoy(screen play)
    • Horace Jackson(story)
    • Grant Garett(story)
  • Stars
    • Fredric March
    • Loretta Young
    • Robert Benchley
Top credits
  • Director
    • Alexander Hall
  • Writers
    • Richard Flournoy(screen play)
    • Horace Jackson(story)
    • Grant Garett(story)
  • Stars
    • Fredric March
    • Loretta Young
    • Robert Benchley
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 21User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos14

    "Bedtime Story" Loretta Young 1941 Columbia
    Fredric March and Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)
    Robert Benchley, Fredric March, and Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)
    Fredric March and Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)
    Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)
    Fredric March and Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)
    Fredric March and Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)
    Fredric March and Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)
    Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)
    Fredric March and Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)
    Fredric March and Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)
    Fredric March and Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Fredric March
    Fredric March
    • Luke Drakeas Luke Drake
    Loretta Young
    Loretta Young
    • Jane Drakeas Jane Drake
    Robert Benchley
    Robert Benchley
    • Eddie Turneras Eddie Turner
    Allyn Joslyn
    Allyn Joslyn
    • William Dudleyas William Dudley
    Eve Arden
    Eve Arden
    • Virginia Coleas Virginia Cole
    Helen Westley
    Helen Westley
    • Emma Harperas Emma Harper
    Joyce Compton
    Joyce Compton
    • Beulahas Beulah
    Tim Ryan
    Tim Ryan
    • Macas Mac
    Olaf Hytten
    Olaf Hytten
    • Alfredas Alfred
    Dorothy Adams
    Dorothy Adams
    • Betsyas Betsy
    Clarence Kolb
    Clarence Kolb
    • Collinsas Collins
    Andrew Tombes
    Andrew Tombes
    • Pierceas Pierce
    Ernie Adams
    Ernie Adams
    • Plumberas Plumber
    • (uncredited)
    Jessie Arnold
    Jessie Arnold
    • Church Committee Memberas Church Committee Member
    • (uncredited)
    Georgia Backus
    Georgia Backus
    • Cashieras Cashier
    • (uncredited)
    Don Barclay
    Don Barclay
    • Conventioneeras Conventioneer
    • (uncredited)
    Sammy Blum
    Sammy Blum
    • Porteras Porter
    • (uncredited)
    Stanley Brown
    Stanley Brown
    • Tommy - the Call Boyas Tommy - the Call Boy
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alexander Hall
    • Writers
      • Richard Flournoy(screen play)
      • Horace Jackson(story)
      • Grant Garett(story)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      After a night at a roadside gas station and motel, Mr. Drake (Fredric March) asks Mrs. Drake (Loretta Young) to pay for her room. She says that she's out of cash, so she'll have to use her credit card. The use of the term "credit card" in this 1941 movie is curious. The first use of the term "credit card" is attributed to Edward Bellamy in his 1887 utopian novel, 'Looking Backward', but the first actual credit card (not to be confused with a single-vendor "charge card" issued by department stores, airlines, and the like) didn't come along until the Diners Club card was introduced in 1950. However, gas stations were beginning to accept each others' charge cards in the 1930s. Obviously, the terms were being used interchangeably even before the likes of Diners Club, Carte Blanche, American Express, and various bank-issued credit cards appeared on the scene.
    • Quotes

      [last lines, at the end of the play's premiere]

      Luke Drake: It's a smash hit, Eddie -- it'll run five years!

      Jane Drake: Ladies and gentlemen! This will have the shortest run of any of Mr. Drake's plays...

      [gasps from audience]

      Luke Drake: No, no, no. Five years!

      Jane Drake: It will be closed in the early spring by an act of God. And I'm sure Mr. Drake hopes it will be... a boy.

      [Luke faints]

    • Connections
      Referenced in Alias Boston Blackie (1942)

    User reviews21

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    Light-Hearted Fun Tempered A Bit With A Main Character You Can't Really Like
    For the most part, "Bedtime Story" is a piece of light-hearted fluff, pleasant enough, often amusing and sometimes downright funny. The last 15 minutes or so, in fact, are downright hilarious. It features a couple of very good leads in Fredric March and Loretta Young, and a good supporting cast alongside them. It's an enjoyable watch, with only one exception that hung over me all the way through and prevents me from saying that I found this to be a truly good movie: for a light-hearted comedy, March's character of Paul Drake came across as too manipulative and self-serving most of the way through to be really likable, and somewhere along the way - especially in a comedy - you have to be able to develop some warmth for the main characters; some sense that you like them and care about them. Young's Jane Drake you feel that for, because of course she's the one who has to put up with Paul's manipulative, self-serving ways, but Paul never came across to me as sympathetic.

    The Drake's are a theatre couple - Paul a playwright and Jane his leading actress. They've been very successful, but as the movie opens we discover in a closing curtain call speech from Jane that they've decided to retire and leave the theatre behind while they're still young enough to enjoy life. They've bought a farm in Connecticut and the show is over. But Paul has had second thoughts, and the rest of the movie basically details the various ways in which Paul tries to manipulate Jane into changing her mind. Some of the story is funny, yes, but I just did not find Paul likable. A good performance from March (and from Young) but I had no sense of connectedness with the character. Mind you, the last 15 minutes of this are truly quite hilarious. Jane has remarried, and Paul has come up with all sorts of ways to disrupt their wedding night in the forlorn hope that he'll be able to win Jane back. It's a good culmination to the movie, and in the end Paul doesn't get what he wants, although he does get good news - which is perhaps the best ending possible for the character.

    This is enjoyable enough. Not great, but worth watching. (6/10)
    helpful•2
    3
    • sddavis63
    • Sep 13, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 25, 1941 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Som man bäddar...
    • Filming locations
      • Belasco Theatre - 1050 South Hill Street, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • B.P. Schulberg Productions
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 25 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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