In Name Only
Encyclopedia
In Name Only is a 1939
romantic film starring Cary Grant
, Carole Lombard
and Kay Francis
. It was based on the 1935 novel Memory of Love by Bessie Breuer
.
, Nella Walker) convinced that Julie is out to destroy the marriage.
Julie breaks up with Alec since she cannot see any future with him. On Christmas Eve, a distraught Alec gets drunk, falls asleep in a hotel room in front of an open window, and catches pneumonia. At the hospital, Dr. Muller (Maurice Moscovitch) tells Julie and Alec's father that the patient is likely to recover if he has the will to live. Julie lies to Alec, telling him that Maida will let him go.
When Maida shows up and tries to see Alec, Julie blocks her. With no one else in the room, Maida freely admits she gave up the man she really loved for Alec's position and his father's wealth. However, Alec's parents enter behind her and overhear her cold-blooded admission. Maida's plotting exposed, the path to Alec and Julie's happiness is now clear.
According to Robert Osborne
, the film was intended to reteam Katharine Hepburn
and Cary Grant. However, the disastrous reception of Bringing Up Baby
led to Hepburn being considered "box office poison" and Lombard being cast instead.
1939 in film
The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
romantic film starring Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
and Kay Francis
Kay Francis
Kay Francis was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936, when she was the number one female star at the Warner Brothers studio, and the highest paid American film actress...
. It was based on the 1935 novel Memory of Love by Bessie Breuer
Bessie Breuer
Bessie Breuer was an American journalist, novelist, writer, and playwright.-Biography:Breuer was born with the name Bessie Freedman in Cleveland, Ohio to Samuel and Julia Freedman. She studied journalism at Missouri State University and then worked as a reporter for the St. Louis Times in her late...
.
Plot
Prosperous Alec Walker (Cary Grant) puts up with a loveless marriage to Maida (Kay Francis) until he meets widow Julie Eden (Carole Lombard). They fall in love and he asks his wife for a divorce. She refuses; as she goes on to tell him, she married him solely for his social position and wealth and won't give them up. She is such a skillful liar that she has Alec's parents (Charles CoburnCharles Coburn
Charles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,...
, Nella Walker) convinced that Julie is out to destroy the marriage.
Julie breaks up with Alec since she cannot see any future with him. On Christmas Eve, a distraught Alec gets drunk, falls asleep in a hotel room in front of an open window, and catches pneumonia. At the hospital, Dr. Muller (Maurice Moscovitch) tells Julie and Alec's father that the patient is likely to recover if he has the will to live. Julie lies to Alec, telling him that Maida will let him go.
When Maida shows up and tries to see Alec, Julie blocks her. With no one else in the room, Maida freely admits she gave up the man she really loved for Alec's position and his father's wealth. However, Alec's parents enter behind her and overhear her cold-blooded admission. Maida's plotting exposed, the path to Alec and Julie's happiness is now clear.
Cast
- Carole LombardCarole LombardCarole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
as Julie Eden - Cary GrantCary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
as Alec Walker - Kay FrancisKay FrancisKay Francis was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936, when she was the number one female star at the Warner Brothers studio, and the highest paid American film actress...
as Maida Walker - Charles CoburnCharles CoburnCharles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,...
as Richard Walker - Helen VinsonHelen VinsonHelen Vinson was an American film actress, who appeared in 40 films between 1932 and 1945.-Early life:...
as Suzanne Ducross, Maida's "best" friend, who makes a play for Alec herself - Katherine Alexander as Laura Morton, Julie's sister, embittered against men by her own unhappy experience
- Jonathan HaleJonathan HaleJonathan Hale was a Canadian-born film and television actor.-Career:Born Jonathan Hatley in Ontario, Canada, Hale was well known as Dagwood Bumstead's boss, Julius Caesar Dithers, in the Blondie film series in the 1940s. He is also notable for playing Inspector Farnack in various The Saint films...
as Dr. Ned Gateson, a friend of the Walker family - Nella Walker as Grace Walker
- Alan Baxter as Charley
- Maurice Moscovitch as Dr. Muller
- Peggy Ann GarnerPeggy Ann GarnerPeggy Ann Garner was an American actress.A successful child actor, Garner played her first film role in 1938 and won the Academy Juvenile Award for her work in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...
as Ellen Eden, Julie's daughter
According to Robert Osborne
Robert Osborne
Robert Jolin Osborne is an American actor and film historian best known as the primary host for Turner Classic Movies, and previously a host of The Movie Channel.-Life and career:...
, the film was intended to reteam Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and Cary Grant. However, the disastrous reception of Bringing Up Baby
Bringing up Baby
Bringing Up Baby is an American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and released by RKO Radio Pictures....
led to Hepburn being considered "box office poison" and Lombard being cast instead.