Appointment for Love
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
William A. Seiter
Charles Boyer
Margaret Sullavan
Rita Johnson
Eugene Pallette
Ruth Terry
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Physician Jane Alexander falls asleep at the opening of a new play by playboy writer Andre "Pappy" Cassil. Later, Andre tries to romance Edith Meredith at the cast party only to have Nancy Benson, his girl friend actress, interrupt with a phone call from New York. When Jane arrives to pick up the purse she left in the theater, Andre hands the call over to his producer, George Hastings. Enchanted by her ideas about love, Andre follows Jane to her hospital. When her supervisor, Dr. Gunther, enters her office, Jane is forced to give Andre a physical examination. Andre continues his dogged pursuit of Jane, but she rejects all his overtures until the night he calls for an ambulance at a restaurant and ends up getting into a fight with another patron. The two begin seeing each other, but Jane's devotion to her profession limits their social time together. Despite this, the two are soon married and plan a two-week honeymoon at his mountain retreat. Nancy interrupts their honeymoon night by insisting that Andre meet her at the local train depot. She then coerces Andre into casting her in the lead of his new play, in hopes that it will help her "get over him." Returning to the retreat, Jane tells Andre that he had nothing to worry about, as she does not believe in jealousy. Jane is then called back to New York on an emergency. Later, Andre becomes upset when Jane takes her own apartment in his building, stating that their separate careers require separate residences. Andre goes to George for advice, who suggests that he go along with Jane's idea of "two people, two lives" until he can make her become jealous. Andre and Jane are interrupted at lunch the same day by Jane's old suitor, explorer Michael Dailey, who tells them that he plans to do everything he can to break up their marriage. Andre then invites Edith to dinner, hoping to make Jane jealous, but the physician wife does not respond in the hoped for manner. When Andre follows Jane up to her apartment, however, he becomes jealous himself when he finds Michael there. Later, the newlyweds each plan romantic evenings at the other's apartment, unaware that they have chosen the same evening for their tryst. The next day, Andre confronts Jane during a live radio broadcast, demanding to know where she spent the night. The couple becomes a national gossip sensation, making headlines coast to coast. Jane files for divorce and plans to join Michael on an expedition until Gus, the elevator operator, tells her the truth about the couple's mysterious night apart. That evening, Jane arrives uninvited at Andre's dinner party, slaps Nancy and announces that she is no longer seeking a divorce. Andre follows Jane back to her apartment and finally learns the truth. The couple makes up, and, as Gus leaves the building, he finds both keys to Jane's apartment lying on the sidewalk. He picks them up, smiles, then drops them down the storm drain.
Director
William A. Seiter
Cast
Charles Boyer
Margaret Sullavan
Rita Johnson
Eugene Pallette
Ruth Terry
Reginald Denny
Cecil Kellaway
J. M. Kerrigan
Roman Bohnen
Gus Schilling
Virginia Brissac
Mary Gordon
Aileen Pringle
Charles Lane
Erskine Sanford
Romaine Callender
Winifred Harris
James Bush
Doris Lloyd
Frank Darien
Arthur Loft
Garry Owen
William Ruhl
Eddie Dunn
Jack Mulhall
Frank Marlowe
Charles Sherlock
George Offerman Jr.
Ed Kane
Reed Hadley
Hooper Atchley
Jean De Briac
Stanley Blystone
Paul Dubov
William Gould
Dora Clemant
Gordon De Main
Walter Mcgrail
James C. Morton
Lilyan Irene
Count Stefenelli
Charles Ray
Betty Roadman
David Newell
Aileen Haley
Eddie Hart
Dale Van Sickel
Virginia Engels
Kernan Cripps
Jerry Mandy
Dorothy Gulliver
Harold Miller
Polly Vann Bailey
Tristram Coffin
Vangie Beilby
Jane Barnes
Tony Paton
Crew
William F. Bloecher
Bernard B. Brown
Ladislaus Bus-fekete
Franklin D. Coen
Helen Deutsch
Charles K. Feldman
Lewis R. Foster
R. A. Gausman
William Hedgcock
Felix Jackson
Charles Kaufman
Edward Kaufman
Ted Kent
Muriel King
Bruce Manning
Bruce Manning
Jack Otterson
Charles Previn
Richard H. Riedel
Frank Shaw
Frank Skinner
Joseph Valentine
Seward Webb
Vera West
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Nominations
Best Sound
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Heartbeat. The on-screen credits acknowledge that the "rights" were "by arrangement with Chas. K. Feldman." According to information found in the Charles K. Feldman papers at the AFI Library, this project was initiated in 1938 as an original screenplay called Heartbeat written by Ladislaus Bus-Fekete with producer-director Otto Preminger attached. The Feldman-Blum Corp. purchased the screenplay outright from Bus-Fekete for $8,000 under a partnership agreement with Preminger. Under this agreement, Bus-Fekete was assured an author credit should his work be produced. Feldman-Blum later purchased Preminger's interest in the material for $1,000. Feldman-Blum then hired writers Edward Kaufman, Charles Kaufman, Helen Deutsch, Lewis Foster and Franklin D. Coen to work on the script at various times. Feldman-Blum made numerous attempts during these re-writes to interest Walter Wanger Productions, Howard Hughes, Warner Bros., and Twentieth Century-Fox in the project, with no success. They were finally able, however, to sell the script to Universal for $50,000 in June 1941. The Feldman papers also indicate that director Sidney Lanfield was once attached to this project and sold his rights to the material for $7,500 to Universal through Feldman-Blum. A March 1941 Hollywood Reporter news item states that Universal purchased an original story by writers Jack Rubin and Oscar Brodney entitled "Appointment for Love," but it has not been determined if anything other than the title of this work was used for this film. Hollywood Reporter reported in June 1941 that the film's original production dates were moved back approximately one month due to the fatigue of actor Charles Boyer. According to Universal press materials, actress Susan Miller was cast in this film, but her participation in the final film has not been confirmed. The film had a preview in Glendale, CA on October 22, 1941. New York Times reported in July 1946 that this film was one of the first American pictures to be shown to German civilians after the conclusion of World War II. It received an Academy Award nomination in the Sound Recording category. Margaret Sullavan, Charles Boyer and director William Seiter had previously worked together on the 1941 Universal film Back Street . Charles Boyer reprised his role in a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast on February 23, 1942, co-starring Myrna Loy. The broadcast was repeated on May 1, 1944.
