The Big Hangover
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Norman Krasna
Van Johnson
Elizabeth Taylor
Percy Waram
Fay Holden
Leon Ames
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
While attending law school, honor student David Maldon is awarded a job at the prestigious law firm of Belney, Parkford, Evans and Hughes. One day, at a birthday cocktail party for the law firm's senior partner, John Belney, David behaves in an erratic manner. His behavior catches the notice of John's daughter Mary, an attractive psychoanalyst, who accuses John of being drunk. John denies the accusation and explains that he suffers from "liquor recoil," a condition he developed during World War II, when he nearly drowned in a vat of brandy at a French monastery. Realizing that David gets drunk at the mere mention of alcohol, Mary saves him from further humiliation by sending him home. In the hope of curing himself of his sensitivity to alcohol, David decides to take a teaspoonful of brandy every night before going to bed. The experiment appears doomed to failure, however, when David begins imagining that his dog is talking to him. The day after John's birthday party, Mary, who has fallen in love with David, offers to help David overcome his problem. Intrigued by David's claim that his dog talks to him, Mary offers him a glass of brandy and observes him conversing with his dog. One day, at the law office, David is present when Carl Bellcap, the city attorney, threatens to sue John if he allows one of his clients, the manager of a luxury apartment building, to evict the Lees, a Chinese couple. Carl also warns John that if the pregnant wife of the Chinese doctor loses her child, he will charge the law firm with causing her undue trauma and will hold it responsible. When Dr. Lee's wife loses her child in childbirth, David, working without the consent of the attorneys at his firm, contacts the management company and insists that the Lees be returned to their apartment. Later, at an alumni dinner, Charles Parkford, the partner at the law firm who is responsible for the eviction of the Chinese couple, learns that David is allergic to alcohol and decides to take revenge on his initiative by secretly slipping some wine into his soup. The wine makes David drunk, and he embarrasses himself by singing with the band. When David regains his sobriety, he accuses Bellcap of compromising his responsibilities as a public servant to gain favor with the partners at the law firm. Bellcap admits that he is seeking a job at the law firm, but tells David that he has been stymied in his efforts to fight rich and powerful law firms like John's because few talented lawyers are willing to work for the city. Convinced that Bellcap has done the best he could to fight the many injustices in the city, David apologizes to him. At his law school graduation ceremony, David announces his resignation from John's law firm, and accepts a job with the city attorney's office. Though Mary prefers that David remain with her father's firm, she respects his principles and plans to marry him.
Director
Norman Krasna
Cast
Van Johnson
Elizabeth Taylor
Percy Waram
Fay Holden
Leon Ames
Edgar Buchanan
Selena Royle
Gene Lockhart
Rosemary De Camp
Phillip Ahn
Gordon Richards
Matt Moore
Pierre Watkin
Russell Hicks
Kathleen Lockhart
Gayne Whitman
Bert Moorhouse
Stuart Holmes
Philo Mccullough
Harold Miller
Cameron Grant
Jay Eaton
Cliff Clark
Anna Q. Nilsson
Bess Flowers
Tristram Coffin
Lester Dorr
Cosmo Sardo
Dino Bolognese
John Valentine
Elsa Peterson
Everett Glass
Louise Lorimer
Peter Thompson
Charles Evans
Brett King
Mickey Mccardle
Fred Shellac
Bert Davidson
John Rosser
Bob Davis
Lew Smith
Lyle Clark
The Country Gentlemen
Loulie Jean Norman
Crew
Joseph Reed Alden
Jack Dawn
Adolph Deutsch
Walter Donaldson
Raymond B. Egan
George Folsey
Cedric Gibbons
Henry W. Grace
Paul Groesse
Norman Krasna
Norman Krasna
Ange Lorenzo
Warren Newcombe
Helen Rose
Joseph Ruttenberg
Douglas Shearer
Fredrick Y. Smith
Marvin Stuart
Richard A. Whiting
Edwin B. Willis
Film Details
Technical Specs
Articles
The Big Hangover
Producer/Director: Norma Krasna
Screenplay: Norma Krasna
Cinematography: George J. Folsey, Joseph Ruttenberg
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse
Music: Adolph Deutsch
Cast: Van Johnson (David Muldon), Elizabeth Taylor (Mary Belney), Percy Waram (John Belney), Fay Holden (Martha Belney), Leon Ames (Carl Bellcap), Edgar Buchanan (Uncle Fred Mahoney), Gene Lockhart (Charles Parkford), Rosemary DeCamp (Claire Bellcap).
BW-83m. Closed captioning.
The Big Hangover
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Drink to Me Only. Norman Krasna's onscreen credit reads: "Written, directed and produced by Norman Krasna." The opening cast list differs slightly in order from the end credits. Hollywood Reporter production charts list Joseph Ruttenberg as the film's photographer, while onscreen credits list George Folsey.