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The Good Fairy (film)
Encyclopedia
The Good Fairy is a 1935 romantic comedy
film written by Preston Sturges
, based on the 1930 play A jó tündér
by Ferenc Molnár
as translated and adapted by Jane Hinton, which was produced on Broadway
in 1931. The film was directed by William Wyler
and stars Margaret Sullavan
, Herbert Marshall
, Frank Morgan
and Reginald Owen
.
Sturges' screenplay diverges significantly from the Molnár play, and later became the basis for the book of the 1951 Broadway musical
Make a Wish
. In particular, Sturges added a movie-within-the-movie in which the actors communicate in one-syllable sentences.
) is a young, naive orphan who is given a job as an usherette in a Budapest movie palace. Detlaff (Reginald Owen
), a waiter she meets in the
theatre, takes her to an exclusive party where, to hold off the advances of Konrad (Frank Morgan
), a meat-packing millionaire a little too fond of drink, she picks a name from the phone book to be her "husband", hoping to do a good deed and divert some of Konrad's wealth to someone else. When the lucky man, stuffy but poor Dr. Max Sporum (Herbert Marshall
), gets a 5-year employment contract and a big bonus from Konrad, he thinks the millionaire is interested in him because of his ethical behavior, diligent hard work and integrity, but actually Konrad plans to send the "husband" to South America so that he will be free to seduce the girl. Many complications ensue when Lu gets curious about Sporum, and pays him a visit.
Cast notes:
and star Margaret Sullavan, for whom writer Preston Sturges
had tailored the lead role, clashed frequently, with Sullavan walking off the set several times. When it was brought to Wyler's attention that Sullavan's work was better on the days when they didn't fight, he started to go out of his way to avoid clashing with her. Then, on November 25, Wyler and Sullavan eloped to Yuma, Arizona
and got married. Their marriage would last two years.
There were problems between the studio, Universal
, and the film's principals. Despite complaints that Wyler was taking too much time because of multiple retakes of scenes involving Sullavan, especially close-ups, Sturges was keeping only a day or so ahead of the shooting, writing new scenes and feeding them to Wyler to shoot "off the cuff". Eventually both Wyler and Sturges were dropped from the studio payroll.
Filming had begun before the script had received formal approval from the Hays Office, which objected to some scenes and many lines in the submitted original, but allowed filming to start on assurance from the studio that changes would be made. The censors particularly objected to a scene in which the head of the orphanage explains the "facts of life" to Luisa before she leaves, to the attempted seduction of the girl by Konrad, the millionaire, and to there being a sofa in the room when Lu goes to Konrad's apartment.
The Good Fairy premiered in New York City on January 31, 1935, in Hollywood on February 12, and went into general release on February 18. It was the first film to be booked into Radio City Music Hall
without first being previewed.
for this film, the Molnár play had been presented on Broadway
with Helen Hayes
playing "Lu" for 151 performances in 1931–1932, with another production playing 68 performances later that year. The play was also the source for the Deanna Durbin
film I'll Be Yours
in 1947, and Preston Sturges used his screenplay for this film as the basis for the 1951 Broadway musical
Make a Wish
, which had music and lyrics by Hugh Martin
.
On television, Hallmark Hall of Fame
presented The Good Fairy on NBC
in 1956, produced by Maurice Evans
, directed by George Schaefer
, and starring Julie Harris
, Walter Slezak
and Cyril Ritchard
.
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
film written by Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
, based on the 1930 play A jó tündér
The Good Fairy (play)
The Good Fairy is the English translation by Jane Hinton of the 1930 play A jó tündér by Ferenc Molnár. The Hungarian original premiered in Budapest, Hungary in October 1931, and the English translation was presented on Broadway with Helen Hayes playing "Lu" for 151 performances in...
by Ferenc Molnár
Ferenc Molnár
LanguageFerenc Molnár was a Hungarian dramatist and novelist. His Americanized name was Franz Molnar...
as translated and adapted by Jane Hinton, which was produced on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1931. The film was directed by William Wyler
William Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
and stars Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Brooke Sullavan was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan started her career on the stage in 1929. In 1933 she caught the attention of movie director John M. Stahl and had her debut on the screen that same year in Only Yesterday...
, Herbert Marshall
Herbert Marshall
Herbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...
, Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
and Reginald Owen
Reginald Owen
John Reginald Owen was a British character actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American movies and later in television programs.-Personal:...
.
Sturges' screenplay diverges significantly from the Molnár play, and later became the basis for the book of the 1951 Broadway musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Make a Wish
Make a Wish (musical)
Make a Wish is a musical with a book by Preston Sturges and Abe Burrows, who was not credited, and music and lyrics by Hugh Martin.Based on Sturges' screenplay for the 1935 film The Good Fairy, which in turn is based on the play of the same name by Ferenc Molnár as translated by Jane Hinton, the...
. In particular, Sturges added a movie-within-the-movie in which the actors communicate in one-syllable sentences.
Plot
Luisa Ginglebusher (Margaret SullavanMargaret Sullavan
Margaret Brooke Sullavan was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan started her career on the stage in 1929. In 1933 she caught the attention of movie director John M. Stahl and had her debut on the screen that same year in Only Yesterday...
) is a young, naive orphan who is given a job as an usherette in a Budapest movie palace. Detlaff (Reginald Owen
Reginald Owen
John Reginald Owen was a British character actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American movies and later in television programs.-Personal:...
), a waiter she meets in the
theatre, takes her to an exclusive party where, to hold off the advances of Konrad (Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
), a meat-packing millionaire a little too fond of drink, she picks a name from the phone book to be her "husband", hoping to do a good deed and divert some of Konrad's wealth to someone else. When the lucky man, stuffy but poor Dr. Max Sporum (Herbert Marshall
Herbert Marshall
Herbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...
), gets a 5-year employment contract and a big bonus from Konrad, he thinks the millionaire is interested in him because of his ethical behavior, diligent hard work and integrity, but actually Konrad plans to send the "husband" to South America so that he will be free to seduce the girl. Many complications ensue when Lu gets curious about Sporum, and pays him a visit.
Cast
- Margaret SullavanMargaret SullavanMargaret Brooke Sullavan was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan started her career on the stage in 1929. In 1933 she caught the attention of movie director John M. Stahl and had her debut on the screen that same year in Only Yesterday...
as Luisa "Lu" Ginglebusher - Herbert MarshallHerbert MarshallHerbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...
as Dr. Max Sporum - Frank MorganFrank MorganFrank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
as Konrad - Reginald OwenReginald OwenJohn Reginald Owen was a British character actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American movies and later in television programs.-Personal:...
as Detlaff, the Waiter - Eric BloreEric BloreEric Blore was an English comic actor. Blore was born in Finchley , England.Aged eighteeen, he worked as an insurance agent for two years. He gained theatre experience while touring Australia. Originally enlisting into the Artists Rifles he was commissioned in the South Wales Borderers in World...
as Dr. Metz - Beulah BondiBeulah BondiBeulah Bondi was an American actress.Bondi began her acting career as a young child in theater, and after establishing herself as a stage actress, she reprised her role in Street Scene for the 1931 film version...
as Dr. Schultz - Alan HaleAlan Hale, Sr.Alan Hale, Sr. was an American movie actor and director, most widely remembered for his many supporting character roles, in particular as frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn. His wife of over thirty years was Gretchen Hartman , a child actress and silent film player and mother of their three children...
as Maurice Schlapkohl - Cesar RomeroCesar RomeroCesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
as Joe - Luis Alberni as The Barber
- June Clayworth as Mitzi, on-screen actress
Cast notes:
- Future film musical star Ann MillerAnn MillerJohnnie Lucille Collier, better known as Ann Miller was an American singer, dancer and actress.-Early life:...
, who it was once claimed had the world's fastest feet when tap dancing, has an uncredited bit part, her second film appearance. - Future child star Jane WithersJane WithersJane Withers is an American actress best known for being one of the most popular child film stars of the 1930s and early 1940s, as well as for her portrayal of "Josephine the Plumber" in a series of TV commercials for Comet cleanser in the 1960s and early 1970s.-Biography:Withers began her career...
appears as a child in the orphanage sequence. At only nine years old, it was already her seventh film appearance. - Matt McHughMatt McHughMatt McHugh was an American film actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1931 and 1955, primarily in small parts.-Career:...
of the McHugh acting familyFrank McHughFrancis Curray "Frank" McHugh was an American film and television actor.Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents ran a stock theatre company and as a young child he performed on stage...
has a small uncredited part as a moving man.
Production
The Good Fairy was in production from September 13 to December 17, 1934. During filming, director William WylerWilliam Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
and star Margaret Sullavan, for whom writer Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
had tailored the lead role, clashed frequently, with Sullavan walking off the set several times. When it was brought to Wyler's attention that Sullavan's work was better on the days when they didn't fight, he started to go out of his way to avoid clashing with her. Then, on November 25, Wyler and Sullavan eloped to Yuma, Arizona
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
and got married. Their marriage would last two years.
There were problems between the studio, Universal
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, and the film's principals. Despite complaints that Wyler was taking too much time because of multiple retakes of scenes involving Sullavan, especially close-ups, Sturges was keeping only a day or so ahead of the shooting, writing new scenes and feeding them to Wyler to shoot "off the cuff". Eventually both Wyler and Sturges were dropped from the studio payroll.
Filming had begun before the script had received formal approval from the Hays Office, which objected to some scenes and many lines in the submitted original, but allowed filming to start on assurance from the studio that changes would be made. The censors particularly objected to a scene in which the head of the orphanage explains the "facts of life" to Luisa before she leaves, to the attempted seduction of the girl by Konrad, the millionaire, and to there being a sofa in the room when Lu goes to Konrad's apartment.
The Good Fairy premiered in New York City on January 31, 1935, in Hollywood on February 12, and went into general release on February 18. It was the first film to be booked into Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
without first being previewed.
Other versions and adaptations
Before being adapted by Preston SturgesPreston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
for this film, the Molnár play had been presented on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
with Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
playing "Lu" for 151 performances in 1931–1932, with another production playing 68 performances later that year. The play was also the source for the Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin is a Canadian-born, Southern California-raised retired singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias....
film I'll Be Yours
I'll Be Yours
I'll Be Yours is a 1947 musical comedy film starring Deanna Durbin and directed by William A. Seiter. It was adapted by Felix Jackson from the screenplay for the 1935 non-musical film The Good Fairy by Preston Sturges, which was based on the play A jó tündér by Ferenc Molnár as translated and...
in 1947, and Preston Sturges used his screenplay for this film as the basis for the 1951 Broadway musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Make a Wish
Make a Wish (musical)
Make a Wish is a musical with a book by Preston Sturges and Abe Burrows, who was not credited, and music and lyrics by Hugh Martin.Based on Sturges' screenplay for the 1935 film The Good Fairy, which in turn is based on the play of the same name by Ferenc Molnár as translated by Jane Hinton, the...
, which had music and lyrics by Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He is best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In St...
.
On television, Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
presented The Good Fairy on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in 1956, produced by Maurice Evans
Maurice Evans (actor)
Maurice Herbert Evans was an English actor noted for his interpretations of Shakespearean characters. In terms of his screen roles, he is probably best known as Dr...
, directed by George Schaefer
George Schaefer (director)
George Louis Schaefer was a director of television and Broadway theatre from the 1950s to the 1990s.-Life and career:...
, and starring Julie Harris
Julie Harris
Julia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
, Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak was a portly Austrian character actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film Lifeboat , but occasionally he got to play lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the...
and Cyril Ritchard
Cyril Ritchard
Cyril Ritchard was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is probably best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in the Mary Martin musical production of Peter Pan....
.