I Love a Soldier
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Mark Sandrich
Paulette Goddard
Sonny Tufts
Beulah Bondi
Walter Sande
Mary Treen
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In San Francisco, Evelyn Connors works as a welder by day and a canteen dance hostess at night, entertaining soldiers on their last nights in the States. One night, G.I.s Dan Kilgore and Lionel "Stiff" Briggs come to Eve's apartment to inform her that their friend, Richie, died in combat. Although Richie spoke of Eve as his true love, Eve cannot remember him. Dan is furious at Eve until she tells him that she only met Richie once, and Dan realizes he misjudged her. Eve accompanies Dan to see Richie's wealthy spinster aunt, Etta Lane, who is completely distraught at the news of Richie's death. Dan encourages Etta to help other soldiers, rather than drown in her sorrow, and gives her a medal he says Richie earned when he singlehandedly killed twenty-three enemy soldiers before his death. Impressed by Dan's compassion, Eve falls in love with him, and is further endeared to him when she finds out that he gave Etta, who has since opened a boardinghouse for soldiers on leave, his own medal. Although Dan earnestly proposes, Eve refuses to marry until the war is over, having learned hard lessons from her own parents' dismal wartime marriage. When Eve's friend, Cecelia "Cissy" Grant, who is dating Stiff, reveals that Dan has a wife, Eve feels betrayed and refuses to see Dan. One night, Dan follows Eve and her blind date to a carnival and throws his pushy rival overboard in a Tunnel of Love ride. Dan then insists on explaining to Eve the history of his marriage: Dan married his high school sweetheart, whose wealthy father then placed him in a useless job. When the war broke out, Dan discovered that his father-in-law was affiliated with the Nazis, and Dan left his comfortable job to work at hard labor. His wife refused to move to more humble surroundings and start a family, and while he was overseas, she sued for divorce. Dan recently went to see her to ask for a quick Nevada divorce, but she refused. Later that night, Eve accepts a telegram intended for her roommate, Jenny Butler, which informs Jenny that her husband is missing in action. Eve keeps the telegram secret, fearing the shock will affect Jenny's pregnancy. Cissy and Stiff then marry and move close to the military training camp. During a blackout, Eve confesses her love to Dan, but still refuses to marry him. Soon after, Jenny gives birth to her baby, and her loneliness reinforces Eve's feelings against wartime marriages, and she sends Dan away. When Etta tells Eve that she is a spinster because she lost her lover in World War I after refusing his proposal, Eve has a change of heart and moves near Dan and Stiff's training camp. Dan, meanwhile, has gone on a drunken binge because of Eve's rejection, but she brings him to his senses. She moves into the attic of a boardinghouse, and although the landlady believes that Dan and Eve are married, she assumes the worst about Eve when Dan's wife calls the boardinghouse. After the landlady has the military police take Eve away along with a group of prostitutes, Dan insists on joining her, even though he would be AWOL. Eve follows Stiff's advice and rejects Dan, so that he will not be distracted by thoughts of her during combat. In San Francisco, Jenny's husband returns home alive but has been blinded, and Eve moves out. Having secured a few hours' leave after divorcing his wife, Dan returns unexpectedly to be with Eve. Eve has disappeared, however, and although Etta helps him in his exhaustive search, they are unable to find her. As he is about to depart from the train station, Dan catches sight of Eve bidding farewell to another soldier. With only a few minutes left, Dan reunites with Eve, and she boards the train with him.
Director
Mark Sandrich
Cast
Paulette Goddard
Sonny Tufts
Beulah Bondi
Walter Sande
Mary Treen
Ann Doran
Marie Mcdonald
James Bell
Barry Fitzgerald
Frank Albertson
Almira Sessions
James Millican
Eddie Hall
Bobby Barber
Frank Moran
Ben Gerien
Charles Quigley
Hugh Beaumont
Roy Gordon
Eddie Dunn
Jimmie Dundee
Larry Steers
Chuck Hamilton
Eddie Acuff
Vic Christy
Art Foster
William Hall
Jack Shea
Barbara Pepper
Terry Adams
Ralph Peters
Buddy Gorman
Eric Alden
Helene Hansen
Len Hendry
Harlan Miller
Maeve Murray
Ronnie Rondell
Harry Templeton
Emmy Lou Sites
Beth Hartman
Judith Gibson
Charles Cane
Crew
John Cope
B. G. Desylva
Robert Emmett Dolan
Hans Dreier
Farciot Edouart
Edith Head
Earl Hedrick
Ellsworth Hoagland
Charles Lang Jr.
Ray Moyer
Wallace Nogle
Hal Rosson
Mark Sandrich
Mark Sandrich
Allan Scott
George Templeton
Wally Westmore
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was When I Come Back. According to Hollywood Reporter news items, some scenes were shot on location in San Francisco and at Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, CA. Because of a stage shortage at Paramount, some interiors were shot at California Studios in Los Angeles.
