Casanova Brown

Director: Sam Wood Sam Wood

Overview

When he finds out his ex-wife has just had his child and plans to give her up for adoption, a timid English instructor dashes to the child's rescue and attempts to care for her in a hotel room. Before too long, however, his new fiancee and his ex confront him and he must decide what he will do. This light comedy starring Gary Cooper, Theresa Wright and Anita Louise garnered Oscar nominations for Sound and Art Direction and was previously filmed under the title Little Accident in 1930 and 1939.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/06/2018
UPC:	0851968007231
Original Release:	1944
Rating:	NR
Source:	Classicflix
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Gary Cooper	Casanova (Cass) Brown
Teresa Wright	Isabel Drury
Frank Morgan	Mr. Ferris
Anita Louise	Madge Ferris
Patricia Collinge	Mrs. Drury
Edmund Breon	Mr. Drury
Jill Esmond	Dr. Zernerke
Emory Parnell	Frank, the Bell Captain
Isobel Elsom	Mrs. Ferris
Mary Treen	Monica Case, the Maid
Halliwell Hobbes	Butler
Larry Olsen	Junior
Byron Foulger	Fletcher
Sarah Padden	Landlady
Eloise Hardt	Doris Ferris
Grady Sutton	Tod
Frederick Burton	Reverend Dean
Robert Dudley	Marriage Clerk
Isabelle La Mal	Clerk's Wife
Florence Lake	Nurse Phillips
Ann Evers	Nurse Petherbridge
Frances Morris	Nurse Gillespie
Nell Craig	Nurse
Lane Chandler	Orderly
Kay Deslys	Fat Woman Patient
Ottola Nesmith	Patient's Nurse
Lorna Dunn	X-ray Nurse
Kelly Flint	X-ray Nurse
Julia Faye	X-ray Nurse
Dorothy Tree	Nurse Clark
Isabel Withers	Nurse Who Helps Casanova
Irving Bacon	Hotel Manager
James Burke	O'Leary
Francis Sayles	Elevator Operator
Phil Tead	License Clerk
Snub Pollard	Father at Baby Window,Father at Baby Window
Grace Cunard	Woman at Baby Window
Verna Kornman	Woman at Baby Window
Ann Luther	Woman at Baby Window
Marion Gray	Woman at Baby Window
Sada Simmons	Woman at Baby Window
Cecil Stewart	Organist
Lelah Tyler	Switchboard Operator
Helen St. Rayner	Soloist
Stewart Garner	Usher
Mary Young	Mrs. Dean
John Brown	Fire Chief
Jack Gargan	Intern

Technical Credits

Nunnally Johnson	Producer
Sam Wood	Director

Editorial Reviews

Casanova Brown starts out like a house afire and shows every indication of being a marvelously fun romantic comedy. But about halfway through it hits a bump that throws it off course, with the result that Brown ends up only partially satisfying. That "bump" is the major plot point in which the title character absconds from the hospital with his daughter, because his ex-wife is threatening to give the child up for adoption. This derails the picture on a couple of counts: one, the mother (played by Teresa Wright) is only making this threat as a way of getting hubby Gary Cooper back (and not letting him marry his new love interest). Two, the picture then becomes about Cooper's "on the lam" attempt to take care of the baby without getting caught by the police. To modern audiences, at least, this second factor will be very uncomfortable, as Cooper's actions seems obsessive and could easily have put the baby into serious danger. The screenplay's tone changes at this point and the film never recovers, which is a shame, as it had been a bright, lively and thoroughly engaging picture up to that point. Cooper is in absolutely delightful form, and Wright is as lovely and appealing as ever. There's also the bonus of a hilarious turn from Frank Morgan as the father of Cooper's new fiancé, who has some acerbic opinions regarding the state of matrimony.