Norman Krasna Movies

One of the oddest comedies of the 1950s, Behave Yourself! stars Farley Granger and Shelley Winters as a pair of none-too-bright newlyweds. Granger and Winters adopt a stray pooch named Archie, who unbeknownst to them has been trained as a go-between for a couple of underworld gangs. To the ever-mounting amazement of our hero and heroine, corpses begin to pile up all around them as one gang endeavors to rub out the other during a million-dollar smuggling operation. While it's quite possible to treat murder as a farcical situation-remember Arsenic and Old Lace?--the killings in this film are sometimes too graphic to induce laughter (there's nothing terribly mirth-provoking about gang flunkey Hans Conried lying dead in a bathtub with a bullet hole between his eyes). Another detriment is the casting of Granger and Winters, both of whom are woefully unsuited to their roles. In fact, such veteran villains as Lon Chaney Jr., Sheldon Leonard, Francis L. Sullivan and Elisha Cook Jr. come off funnier than the stars! The film's best sequence occurs during the closing cast credits, so try to stick around after the "THE END" title. Behave Yourself was the first coproduction between Wald-Krasna Productions and RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This musicalized remake of the 1939 comedy Bachelor Mother stars Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher (then Mr. and Mrs.) in the roles originated by Ginger Rogers and David Niven. Reynolds plays a department store salesgirl whose life is turned topsy-turvy when she finds an abandoned baby. Despite her protestations, everyone assumes that she's the mother of the child, including Fisher, the son of store owner Adolphe Menjou. Meanwhile, Menjou convinced that his son is the baby's father, is determined that his boy will "do right" by the innocent Reynolds. Much of the comic zest of the original film is diluted by the lackluster performance of Eddie Fisher, though Debbie Reynolds and the rest of the cast are in fine form. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from Norman Krasna's Broadway hit A Small Miracle, Four Hours to Kill is a multi-plotted effort that can best be described as "Grand Hotel goes to the theater." Richard Barthelmess stars as Tony, a condemned murderer, who is handcuffed to Detective Taft (Charles Wilson) while en route to the death house. Tony breaks loose and heads for the theater, where the man who squealed on him is attending a play. As the killer prepares to rub out the stoolie, the action cuts away to the romance between a hatcheck boy (Joe Morrison) and his girlfriend (Helen Mack), which is complicated by the clerk's allegedly pregnant former love (Dorothy Tree). Another subplot involves unfaithful wife Gertrude Michael and her lover Ray Milland. All the various plotlines are knitted together in the climax, wherein Tony closes in on his intended victim. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After nearly a decade of nominal "leading lady" roles, Carole Lombard landed her first genuine starring vehicle with Hands Across the Table. Reasoning that the way to a man's heart is through his cuticles, Regi Allen (Carole Lombard) takes a job as a manicurist at a fancy barbershop, unabashedly admitting that she hopes to use this position to snag a rich husband. Sure enough, Regi's charms prove irresistable to Allen Macklyn (Ralph Bellamy) a wealthy and charming invalid, who knows that the girl is a golddigger but doesn't care. The other man in Regi's life is Theodore "Ted" Drew III (Fred MacMurray), who though born into a wealthy family is stone broke, and on the verge of marrying a rich debutante (Astrid Allwyn) to replenish his lost fortune. Hoping to briefly escape this fate and his other financial problems, Theodore hides out in Regi's apartment. It is, of course, a platonic relationship: Having been burned in the past, Regi doesn't want to get romantically entangled with a pauper, while Ted is already promised to someone else. But, as is often the case in 1930s comedies, things don't quite turn out the way that either Regi or Ted expect. Full of delightful, unexpected touches, Hands Across the Table proved to be a major boost for Carole Lombard's career, and didn't exactly do any harm to up-and-coming Fred MacMurray either. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Maurice Chevalier plays Philip Dulaine, a supposedly dying millionaire, while Sandra Dee co-stars as Cynthia, the elderly man's granddaughter. To allow Dulaine to die happy, Cynthia promises to find a husband. Actually, Dulaine is only pretending to be at death's door to get Cynthia married off. Subsequent complications involve Cynthia's personal choice for a husband, Warren Palmer (Andy Williams), and Dulaine's selection, Paul Benton (Robert Goulet). Deanna Durbin fans will quickly detect that I'd Rather Be Rich is a remake of Durbin's It Started With Eve (1941), with a gender switch (in the original, Robert Cummings is the grandson, and Durbin is the instant fiancee) and with Maurice Chevalier filling the sizeable shoes of Charles Laughton as the foxy grandpa. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Norman Krasna from his play Kind Sir, Indiscreet stars Ingrid Bergman as a wealthy actress and Cary Grant as an international financial wizard. While Grant is visiting London, Bergman's sister Phyllis Calvert and brother-in-law Cecil Parker introduce Grant to Bergman. Because he feels he has no time for marriage, Grant pretends to be married to avoid romantic tangles. Bergman, however, finds the prospect of an affair with a married man to be quite exhilarating. When she discovers the truth, Bergman gets even with the now-smitten Grant by faking a romance with an ex-boy friend--ordering luckless chauffeur David Kossoff to pose as her beau. A comedy by grownups, about grownups and for grownups (at least by 1958 standards), Indiscreet proved to be far more successful as a film than as a stage play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In It's a Date, the teenage diva Deanna Durbin is cast as Pamela Drake, the daughter of celebrated stage actress Georgia Drake (Kay Francis). Hoping to find success as an actress herself, Pamela energetically lobbies for the role of the maid in an upcoming play based on the life of St. Bernadette -- a role that has already been given to Georgia. When those conducting the auditions hear Pamela's singing, however, they quickly change their mind and offer the part to her. The rivalry between Pamela and Georgia intensifies when both fall in love with handsome middle-ager John Arlen (Walter Pidgeon). Innumerable complications follow, leading to a happy ending for both mother and daughter, though not quite the ending that either one had in mind. Deanna Durbin's musical repertoire this time out includes "Musetta's Street Song" from La Bohème, "Loch Lomond," "Love Is All," and a curious climactic rendition of "Ave Maria." It's a Date was remade in 1950 as Nancy Goes to Rio, with Jane Powell and Ann Sothern. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Let's Make Love is a breezy comedy about an off Broadway musical production. Jean-Marc Clement (Yves Montand) is the richest man in the world and looking for someone who loves him instead of his money. He reads in Variety he is to be satirized in the new production and tries out for the part. The producers hire him, unaware of his real identity. He hires Bing Crosby, Milton Berle and Gene Kelly to coach him for the role. Amanda (Marilyn Monroe) is the poor aspiring actress who lands a part in the play. Her opening number is the classic "My Heart Belongs To Daddy". Unaware of his fabulous wealth, she falls for the playboy billionaire during the rehearsals for the show. Tony Randall plays Montand's fussy public relations agent and tries to keep his boss from embarassment. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a man masquerading as the notorious Baron Munchausen and his partner arrive from the African jungles and create quite a stir in New York. Eventually he ends up a women's college involved in a number of interesting musical production numbers. Look for an early appearance by the "The Three Stooges." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, a popular actress disguises herself as a Japanese geisha to land a part in a film directed by her husband. Shirley MacLaine stars as Lucy Dell, a comic actress married to equally successful director Paul Robaix (Yves Montand). Though Paul has found success creating comic vehicles for Lucy, he wants to expand his range by making a lavish adaptation of Madame Butterfly on location in Japan, using a local actress as the star. Lucy feels she can play the part just as well as any Japanese woman, and, with the help of the film's producer (Edward G. Robinson), she hatches a plot to prove it. She poses as Yoko Mori, an innocent young geisha on her way to joining a convent, and her husband is immediately determined to cast her. Of course, the masquerade proves more difficult than imagined, and things become especially complicated when Lucy's Hollywood playboy co-star (Robert Cummings) falls in love with her demure Yoko persona. Opting for mild, character-driven humor over farce, My Geisha provides a few knowing jibes at Hollywood and comfortable performances from MacLaine and Montand, but the film's treatment of Japanese culture will likely seem dated to modern audiences. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

The popular screen team of Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray stars in this wartime farce. MacMurray is an army pilot who develops engine trouble during a vital mission. Thinking he's about to die, MacMurray radios back his undying affection for his dog "Piggy." But the radio reception is fuzzy, and it is assumed that he has said "Peggy"--which happens to be the character name of Colbert, who intercepts the message. MacMurray survives the plane crash, whereupon he is whisked back home into the arms of Peggy, which is not to the liking of Peggy's gormless fiance (Gil Lamb). Practically Yours was guaranteed to make money, which it did. Its humor not meant to survive the ages, which it hasn't. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ginger Rogers and Francis Lederer share equal billing -- and near-equal screen time -- in this amiable RKO programmer. Lederer plays Karel Novak, an incredibly naïve Czech immigrant who is taken under the wing of streetwise New York chorus girl Sylvia Dennis (Rogers). With the help of lovable cop-on-the-beat Murphy (J. Farrel McDonald), Sylvia hides Karel from the immigration authorities and ultimately falls in love with him. In addition to Karel's illegal-alien status, the plot is complicated by a crooked lawyer (Arthur Hohl) and a group of well-meaning welfare workers who endeavor to place Sylvia's kid brother Frank (Jimmy Butler) in a foster home. Usually cast in insincere roles, Francis Lederer is at his most sympathetic and likable in Romance in Manhattan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide