Happy Go Lucky
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Curtis Bernhardt
Mary Martin
Dick Powell
Betty Hutton
Eddie Bracken
Rudy Vallee
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Cigarette girl Marjory Stuart poses as an heiress in the hope of finding a wealthy husband. When her ship docks at a Caribbean island resort, Marjory drops a fake diamond bracelet overboard, intending to cash in on the ship's insurance. Pete Hamilton, an American ne'er-do-well lounging nearby on his boat with his friend, Wally Case, dives to retrieve the bracelet, however. After having the bracelet appraised, Pete learns that it is made of paste, and tells Marjory that he knows she is a phony. Nightclub performer Bubbles Hennessy, who is aware of Marjory's ruse, has come to the island to find, Wally, her fiancé, whom she is suing for breach of promise. Marjory confesses to Pete her husband-hunting scheme, and Pete decides to help her marry his former schoolmate, Alfred Monroe, a multi-millionaire on vacation at the island. Wally, meanwhile, is shocked when Bubbles slaps him awake from an afternoon nap, but he soon plays on her emotions and cajoles her into paying his rent to his landlady Tessie, a voodoo priestess. Pete and Marjory set up Alfred during a dinner with Marjory in order to interest him in her, but Marjory has to work hard as Alfred has little interest in love. After all of Pete's plans, including a disastrous picnic and home-baked meal and getting Alfred drunk, fail to inspire Alfred to propose, Pete and Marjory decide to try and make him jealous. After they kiss, however, both Marjory and Pete realize they are in love with each other, although neither one admits it. When Marjory cries for help according to their plan, Alfred encounters them and strikes Pete on the chin. Alfred's passion is not stirred, however, until Wally, hiding in the bushes, sprays him with the love potion Tessie used to calm her jealous husband. Alfred then proposes immediately and Marjory accepts. When Mr. Smith, a hotel guest, recognizes Marjory as a cigarette girl while she is rehearsing a number for the hotel's charity fête, Vespers, the hotel manager, becomes suspicious and plans to demand that she immediately pay her bill or be thrown out. Pete overhears Vespers' threats and, in order to save Marjory, has Wally steal a diamond pin he gave to Bubbles. They then raffle off tickets, purportedly to help orphans, offering the pin as a prize, and arrange for Bubbles' ticket to win. Alfred recognizes their trick and believes that they are swindling orphans. Pete reluctantly turns the money over to Alfred, who believes that Pete intended to use the money to start an oyster business. Alfred agrees to lend the money to Pete on the condition that he never again speaks to Marjory. Pete sends the money to Marjory in an envelope, and she receives it just in time to pay her bill. Pete's caring gesture makes Marjory realize that she is sincerely in love with him, and she gently tells Alfred the truth about herself and rejects his proposal. Marjory is sorely dismayed when Pete denies being in love with her and insists that she leave with Alfred the next day, on a ship bound for New York. As the steamship departs, Alfred tosses a gift of $2,000 overboard to Pete, saying that Marjory convinced him it was a sound investment. Pete is now dejected that he has lost Marjory. Wally, believing that Bubbles has left with the ship, goes to his hut, but as he walks through the door, Bubbles sprays him with the love potion and walks the lovesick man over to a priest, who is waiting to marry them. Pete follows Wally into the hut and is delighted to find Marjory waiting for him, armed with the love potion. Pete assures her that she will not need the potion, and kisses her.
Director
Curtis Bernhardt
Cast
Mary Martin
Dick Powell
Betty Hutton
Eddie Bracken
Rudy Vallee
Mabel Paige
Eric Blore
Clem Bevans
Rita Christiani
Sir Lancelot
Ben Carter
Lillian Randolph
Paul Mcvey
Fred "tomago" Williams
Frederick Clarke
William B. Davidson
Almira Sessions
Tom Dugan
Sarah Edwards
Hillary Brooke
Napoleon Simpson
Leyland Hodgson
Irving Bacon
Arthur Loft
Donald Kerr
Gene Cole
Olaf Hytten
Lorraine Miller
Barbara Slater
Rebel Randall
Aileen Haley
Lynda Grey
Louise Laplanche
Caleb Peterson
Kay Linaker
Jean Fenwick
Harry Barris
Edgar Norton
Charles R. Moore
Lyle Latell
James T. Mack
Patsy Mace
Paul Phillips
Crew
Art Camp
Wilfrid M. Cline
Walter Deleon
B. G. Desylva
Robert Emmett Dolan
Hans Dreier
Raoul Pène Dubois
Raoul Pène Dubois
Farciot Edouart
Melvin Frank
Arthur Franklin
Hugo Grenzbach
Pamela Harris
Ellsworth Hoagland
John Jacoby
Don Johnson
Natalie Kalmus
Frank Loesser
Jimmy Mchugh
Ray Moyer
Paul Oscard
Morgan Padelford
Norman Panama
Arthur Phillips
Henry J. Sayers
Karl Struss
Michael Uris
James Vincent
Wally Westmore
Harold Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
With your charm and my conniving, there's nothing to worry about.- Pete Hamilton
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Cupid with a Beard. Pre-production Hollywood Reporter news items noted that Frank Cavett, Curtis Kenyon, Kenneth Earl and Robert E. Kent were working on the script, but their contribution to the final film has not been confirmed. Hollywood Reporter news items also reported that the picture was originally slated as a vehicle for Bing Crosby and singer/composer Edna Heard was initially cast as "Tessie." Paramount borrowed director Curtis Bernhardt from Warner Bros. for the production.
