By Violet LeVoit
Kisses for Breakfast
Brief Synopsis
An amnesiac groom unknowingly marries a second time.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Lewis Seiler
Director
Dennis Morgan
Rodney Trask [also known as Happy Homes]
Jane Wyatt
Laura Anders
Shirley Ross
Juliet Marsden
Lee Patrick
Betty Trent
Jerome Cowan
Lucius Lorimer
Film Details
Also Known As
She Stayed Kissed
Genre
Comedy
Adaptation
Release Date
Jul
5,
1941
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the play The Matrimonial Bed by Seymour Hicks (New York, 12 Oct 1927), which was based on the play Au premier de ces messieurs by Yves Mirande and André Mouëzy-Éon (production undetermined).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,388ft
Synopsis
Fickle Juliet Marsden breaks off her engagement to long-suffering Lucius Lorimer for the third time and marries handsome singer Rodney Trask. After the wedding, Juliet's cousin, Laura Anders, calls to apologize for not attending, pleading illness. Juliet promises to visit on her honeymoon and instructs Rodney to write down Laura's address. Before the newlyweds can leave, Rodney is visited by a woman named Clara Raymond, who threatens to tell Juliet about their past relationship if Rodney does not listen to her. Juliet's friend, Betty Trent, sees them drive away. In the car, Clara demands money for her silence, and when Rodney refuses, he is knocked unconscious by Clara's confederate, Chet Oakley, who was hiding in the back seat. Clara and Chet then drive Rodney's car over a cliff, and it bursts into flames. Even though no body is found, Rodney is thought to be dead. Juliet's sorrow is tempered by the knowledge that Rodney did not leave her for another woman. In the meantime, Rodney, who is suffering from amnesia, adopts the name Happy Homes, which he sees on a billboard, and finding Laura's address in his pocket, heads for South Carolina, hoping she will be able to identify him. When Laura makes it clear that she has no idea who he is, Rodney charms her into hiring him to run her impoverished cotton plantation. A year later, Rodney has turned a profit at the plantation and fallen in love with Laura. After Juliet and Lucius, who are planning to marry, invite Laura to the wedding, Rodney proposes and suggests that they attend together. Although Rodney still remembers nothing of his previous life, Juliet faints from shock when she sees him. To prove that "Happy," Laura's new husband, is really Rodney, Betty asks him to sing, but he only manages a croak. Ellie, the maid, prepares Rodney's favorite dish of ham and cabbage, but in his amnesiac state, he turns away in disgust. Juliet's uncle, George Burroughs, a psychiatrist, suggests they attempt to get his fingerprints for comparison, but the prints are inconclusive. By this time, Rodney and Laura are convinced that the whole household is crazy and decide to leave immediately. Juliet and Betty trick them into staying, however, and the next morning, George hypnotizes Rodney. Under hypnosis, he forgets his life as Happy, and when he wakes up, he is once again Rodney. Lucius, furious over being jilted for a fourth time, tells Laura the whole story, and she rushes off to find Rodney kissing Juliet. Laura manages to talk to Rodney alone, but he genuinely does not remember her, although he finds her charming. After Juliet and Laura fight over Rodney, he tricks Laura into hitting him on the head and pretends to be transformed again into Happy.
Director
Lewis Seiler
Director
Cast
Dennis Morgan
Rodney Trask [also known as Happy Homes]
Jane Wyatt
Laura Anders
Shirley Ross
Juliet Marsden
Lee Patrick
Betty Trent
Jerome Cowan
Lucius Lorimer
Una O'connor
Ellie
Barnett Parker
Phillips
Romaine Callender
Dr. [George] Burroughs
Lucia Carroll
Clara Raymond
Cornel Wilde
Chet Oakley
Willie Best
Arnold
Louise Beavers
Chlotilda
Clarence Muse
Old Jeff
Leon Belasco
Accompanist
Frank Orth
Hobo
John Sheehan
Motorcycle policeman
Cliff Clark
Police captain
Winifred Harris
Dowager
Mary Brodel
Telephone girl
Crew
E. A. Brown
Sound
Walter Deleon
Contract Writer
Adolph Deutsch
Music
Arthur Edeson
Director of Photography
Leo F. Forbstein
Music Director
Kenneth Gamet
Screenwriter
James Gibbon
Film Editor
Art Lueker
Assistant Director
Charles Novi
Art Director
Harry Seymour
Dialogue Director
Howard Shoup
Gowns
Lynn Starling
Contract Writer
Harlan Thompson
Associate Producer
Perc Westmore
Makeup Artist
Film Details
Also Known As
She Stayed Kissed
Genre
Comedy
Adaptation
Release Date
Jul
5,
1941
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the play The Matrimonial Bed by Seymour Hicks (New York, 12 Oct 1927), which was based on the play Au premier de ces messieurs by Yves Mirande and André Mouëzy-Éon (production undetermined).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,388ft
Articles
Kisses For Breakfast
Dennis Morgan never had the uniqueness of other stars in the Warner Brothers stable. He lacked the hangdog-ness of Bogart or the pugnacity of Cagney, but his appeal was far from generic. Handsome with just a touch of roguery, with a purr in his speaking voice (not to mention his lovely tenor), he could play characters on the spectrum from solid to shady, all while keeping audience sympathy. That ability to stay on a viewer's good side was essential in this naughty comedy about an accidental bigamist (Morgan) who, after getting knocked on the noggin, forgets that he's married to cousin #1 (Shirley Ross) while wooing cousin #2 (Janet Wyatt). Much is made of the power of Morgan's titular smooches in this movie, with the gobsmacked gals in his wake making declarations like "When he kisses me I feel like champagne!" Its roots as the French farce Au Premier de Ces Messieurs can be seen in the plot's lustiness, even with the Hays Code's cold shower.
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Kisses For Breakfast
Dennis Morgan never had the uniqueness of other stars in the Warner Brothers stable. He lacked the hangdog-ness of Bogart or the pugnacity of Cagney, but his appeal was far from generic. Handsome with just a touch of roguery, with a purr in his speaking voice (not to mention his lovely tenor), he could play characters on the spectrum from solid to shady, all while keeping audience sympathy. That ability to stay on a viewer's good side was essential in this naughty comedy about an accidental bigamist (Morgan) who, after getting knocked on the noggin, forgets that he's married to cousin #1 (Shirley Ross) while wooing cousin #2 (Janet Wyatt). Much is made of the power of Morgan's titular smooches in this movie, with the gobsmacked gals in his wake making declarations like "When he kisses me I feel like champagne!" Its roots as the French farce Au Premier de Ces Messieurs can be seen in the plot's lustiness, even with the Hays Code's cold shower.
By Violet LeVoit
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was She Stayed Kissed. Yves Mirande and André Mouëzy-Éon wrote a play entitled Au premier de ces messieurs, which was adapted by Seymour Hicks and produced in London under the title Mr. What's His Name. Later, the English version was produced in New York under the title The Matriominal Bed. The Hollywood Reporter review notes that the film was released without press previews. Although the film has an onscreen copyright notation, the title was not found in the Copyright Catalog. Seymour Hick's adaptation was also the basis of the 1930 Warner Bros. film The Matrimonial Bed, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Frank Fay and Lilyan Tashman (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1921-30; F2.3527).
