So This Is New York *** (1948, Harry Morgan, Rudy Vallee, Hugh Herbert, Bill Goodwin, Virginia Grey, Dona Drake, Leo Gorcey, Jerome Cowan) – Classic Movie Review 12,981

So This Is New York (1948, Harry Morgan, Rudy Vallee, Hugh Herbert).

Richard Fleischer’s amiably amusing 1948 satirical comedy film So This Is New York stars Harry Morgan, Rudy Vallee, Hugh Herbert, Bill Goodwin, Virginia Grey, Dona Drake, Leo Gorcey.

Director Richard Fleischer’s amiable 1948 satirical comedy film So This Is New York stars Harry Morgan, Rudy Vallee, Hugh Herbert, Bill Goodwin, Virginia Grey, Dona Drake, Leo Gorcey, and Jerome Cowan, with Dave Willock, Frank Orth, Arnold Stang and William Bakewell. It is written by Carl Foreman and Herbert Baker, based on the 1920 novel The Big Town by Ring Lardner.

A classic plot, in which a country-bumpkin family heads for the metropolis to marry off their daughter, is delivered with perfect timing by a more than capable cast, especially Harry Morgan, Rudy Vallee, Hugh Herbert, and Leo Gorcey.

So This Is New York is a more hit than miss slapstick comedy based on Ring Lardner’s story The Big Town. The gags come fast and furious in the tasty, cynically sophisticated screenplay by the talented screenwriters.

It is an early example of the work of Fleischer, one of Hollywood’s most resilient directors. It is his second feature and he went on to direct Follow Me Quietly (1948), Armored Car Robbery (1950), and The Narrow Margin (1954). He worked for RKO but Kramer and Foreman borrowed him when they saw his debut feature, Child of Divorce.

It is the only film where Henry Morgan stars. The script showcases Morgan’s radio show cynical persona.

It uses a then novel technique: freezing the action while the narrator (Henry Morgan) talks over what’s on screen.

It was made on a small budget of around $600,000 from small-time non-Hollywood investors, including a dry goods salesman and a lettuce grower. Looks like they got their money back with interest.

It is the first film produced by Stanley Kramer. Writer Carl Foreman (July 23, 1914 – June 26, 1984) became associated with Kramer, making So This Is New York (1948), Champion (1949), Home of the Brave (1949), The Men (1950) and High Noon together.

Foreman wrote the award-winning films The Bridge on the River Kwai and High Noon. He was one of the screenwriters blacklisted in Hollywood in the 1950s because of suspected communist sympathy or membership of the Communist Party. Because of the blacklist, High Noon was the last film Foreman was allowed to work on by a Hollywood studio for six years. He emigrated to Britain in 1952.

The cast are Henry Morgan as Ernie Finch, Rudy Vallee as Herbert Daley, Bill Goodwin as Jimmy Ralston, Hugh Herbert as Lucius Trumbull, Leo Gorcey as Sid Mercer, Virginia Grey as Ella Goff Finch, Dona Drake as Kate Goff, Jerome Cowan as Francis Griffin, Dave Willock as Willis Gilbey, Frank Orth as A J Gluskoter, Arnold Stang as Western Union Clerk, and William Bakewell as Hotel Clerk.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 12,981

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