Main Cast: Margaret Sullavan, Herbert Marshall, Frank Morgan, Reginald Owen, Alan Hale
Release Year: 1935
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
Margaret Sullavan graduates from a girl's orphanage to an usherette's job at a Budapest movie theatre. Bibulous millionaire Frank Morgan makes a play for Margaret, but she keeps him at arm's length by picking a name from the phone book and insists that that's the name of her husband. The man chosen at random is attorney Herbert Marshall, who can't understand why Morgan has taken a sudden interest in him. Morgan offers Marshall a huge contract in hopes that Margaret will be "exchanged", but the truth comes out to everyone's satisfaction. Adapted from a Ferenc Molnar play by Preston Sturges (who added a hilarious movie-within-a-movie in which the "stars" emote by speaking in one-syllable sentences), Good Fairy was remade as the Deanna Durbin vehicle I'll Be Yours (47). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The Good Fairy is a charming and delightful comedy that finds director William Wyler operating in Ernst Lubitsch-land -- and seeming a bit uncomfortable doing so. Although his direction is good, it feels a bit forced; on a project in which a light and effortless hand is needed at the helm, this has the effect of muting some of the comedy. Fortunately, Preston Sturges' screenplay is so full of amusing situations, witty and flavorful dialogue, and finely observed characters that the slightly off-key direction doesn't really matter. The film is also helped immeasurably by the enchanting Margaret Sullavan, whose charm is always laced with just enough acid to keep her characters from becoming vapid or one-dimensional. Sullavan is at her best here, more naïve than in some of her later roles, and a total delight. She is aided by a marvelous supporting cast, with Frank Morgan displaying his usual excellent comic timing and Beulah Bondi and Eric Blore adding their distinctive personalities into the mix. While The Good Fairy is not as frothy and light as it wants to be, it still manages to float along very nicely. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
William Wyler - Director, Dan Mandell - Editor, Norbert Bodine - Cinematographer, Henry Henigson - Producer, Preston Sturges - Screenwriter, Ferenc Molnar - Play Author
Sturges' screenplay diverges significantly from the Molnár play, and later became the basis for the book of the 1951 Broadway musicalMake a Wish.[1] In particular, Sturges added a movie-within-the-movie in which the actors communicate in one-syllable sentences.[2]
Luisa Ginglebusher (Margaret Sullavan) 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.[2][3][4]
Future film musical star Ann Miller, who it was once claimed had the world's fastest feet when tap dancing, has an uncredited bit part, her second film appearance.[5]
Future child star Jane Withers appears as a child in the orphanage sequence. At only nine years old, it was already her seventh film appearance.[6]
The Good Fairy was in production from September 13 to December 171934.[8] During filming, director William Wyler 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.[1][9] 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.[1]
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.[1]
Before being adapted by Preston Sturges for this film, the Molnár play had been presented on Broadway with Helen Hayes playing "Lu" for 151 performances in 1931–1932,[11] with another production playing 68 performances later that year.[12] The play was also the source for the Deanna Durbin film I'll Be Yours in 1947,[13] and Preston Sturges used his screenplay for this film as the basis for the 1951 Broadway musicalMake a Wish, which had music and lyrics by Hugh Martin.[14]
