Wedding Present
Cast & Crew
Richard Wallace
Joan Bennett
Cary Grant
George Bancroft
Conrad Nagel
Gene Lockhart
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Chicago reporters Monica "Rusty" Fleming and Charlie Mason are about to be married, but the license bureau proves too formidable for Charlie and he backs out. Rusty conceals her deep disappointment. Their editor, Pete Stagg, is infuriated by their constant antics and sends them on an assignment, during which they sneak into Archduke Gustav Ernest's hotel room in the guise of hotel managers in order to get an interview with him. The archduke is delighted by their sense of fun and joins them on a drunken spree, after which they end up at the lakefront house of aviator George Blaker, who has been giving Rusty flying lessons. Charlie rescues New York racketeer "Smiles" Benson from Lake Michigan, and Smiles becomes determined to repay the debt. When Rusty and Charlie hear a radio report about a ship lost in a storm and foundering in Lake Michigan, they convince Gordon to locate the ship by plane. Gordon decides to turn back when he is unsuccessful, but Rusty knocks him on the head and takes over the plane, and she and Charlie locate the missing ship. The pair are awarded medals for excellence in journalism, and their paper highlights articles on both Gordon and the archduke. Rusty is given a one-month vacation and she goes to New York, where she pretends not to miss Charlie, while Charlie does the same in Chicago. When Stagg loses both his voice and his wife because of his job, he quits the newspaper, but is then horrified that publisher Howard Van Dorn gives his job to Charlie. Charlie turns into the kind of boss he always hated, a rigid workaholic who is unyielding with his staff, and earns the enmity of his former friends. When Rusty returns she is disgusted by him and plays a practical joke, hoping he will return to his old self. Charlie fires her, however, and Rusty returns to New York. On the way there, she meets author Roger Dodacker, who has published various books on success. With the encouragement of Dodacker's sister Laura, Dodacker and Rusty become engaged. Charlie suddenly realizes that he has not only lost himself, but he has lost Rusty, and he quits his job and goes to New York to reclaim his beloved. As he gets off the plane, he is commandeered by Smiles Benson's thug, "Squinty," who takes him to his boss. Smiles has been keeping tabs on both him and Rusty and has already arranged for Charlie's hotel room. With Squinty's help, Charlie sings under Rusty's window, but the only response is a bucket of water on his head by her roommate, who quit the paper after Charlie became editor. When Rusty gets home, she rejects his proposal. Smiles kidnaps Rusty and keeps her and Charlie hostage until they agree to marry, but Charlie finally realizes the hopelessness of his situation and insists Rusty be freed. While Smiles and Charlie get drunk together, Charlie decides that the perfect wedding present for Rusty would be a three-alarm fire, so he calls the fire department, police department, hospital and mortuary and sends them all to Dodacker's house, where Rusty is becoming increasingly disenchanted with her fiancé and his conservative family. The emergency vehicles surround the home and cause chaos. Rusty rushes out in the Dodacker family wedding dress and, excited by the ruckus, joins Charlie atop an insane asylum ambulance. She is delighted by her wedding present and reunites with Charlie, telling Dodacker she will return the dress, as the ambulance drives off.
Director
Richard Wallace
Cast
Joan Bennett
Cary Grant
George Bancroft
Conrad Nagel
Gene Lockhart
William Demarest
Inez Courtney
Edward Brophy
Purnell Pratt
Douglas Wood
George Meeker
Damon Ford
Lois Wilson
Mary Forbes
George Offerman Jr.
John Henry Allen
Ernie Conklin
Heinie Conklin
Billy Engle
Ray Hanson
Walter Long
Jack Mulhall
Cy Ring
Frances Morris
Chuck Hamilton
Marshall Ruth
Eddie Phillips
Charles Williams
Allen Fox
Eddie Borden
Mal Merrihugh
Ted Thompson
Charles Sherlock
Eddy Featherstone
Dagmar Oakland
Bradley Page
Torben Meyer
Charles Middleton
Clarence H. Wilson
Katherine Perry Moore
Harry C. Bradley
Frank Darien
Otto Hoffman
Hal K. Dawson
Harry Tyler
Richard Powell
George Davis
Russ Powell
Eddie Russell
Lee Shumway
Eddie Baker
Charles Meakin
Ralph Mccullough
Alfred Wagstaff
Crew
Joseph Anthony
Travis Banton
Robert Bischoff
Hans Dreier
Jack Goodrich
Earl Hedrick
Irene
Ray Lissner
Boris Morros
George T. Nicoll
B. P. Schulberg
Leon Shamroy
Adolph Zukor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
New York Times credits author Paul Gallico with the "screen story," however, this credit has not been verified by other sources. This film completed Cary Grant's contract with Paramount, and marked the film debut of Damon Ford. A news item in Daily Variety noted that actor Alfred Wagstaff was one hundred and eleven years old. According to copyright records, beach scenes were filmed in Santa Monica, CA, and the Los Angeles Fire Department and Police Department provided vehicles for the final scene.
