Elopement
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Henry Koster
Clifton Webb
Anne Francis
Charles Bickford
William Lundigan
Reginald Gardiner
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Industrial designer Howard Osborne and his practical wife Claire are thrilled when their lovely, talented daughter Jacqueline, whom they call Jake, graduates from college. That evening, Claire and Howard welcome Roger Evans, an old family friend and Jake's godfather, who has been living in South America for many years. While Howard is bragging to Roger about Jake's intelligence and versatility, she is attending the faculty dance, at which she is pursued by young, handsome psychology instructor Matt Reagan. Matt confesses that he has loved Jake since she began taking his class five months previously, and Jake realizes that she returns his affections. Matt is dismayed, however, by Jake's revelation that she is leaving for three years to study with Howard's mentor in Sweden. After a starry-eyed Jake returns from the dance, the Osborne household settles down for the night, but Howard and Claire are awakened early in the morning by a banging shutter in Jake's room. Howard is alarmed to discover that Jake is missing, but his dismay changes to fury when Roger reveals that he accidentally caught Jake as she was leaving to elope with one of her professors. After a number of false starts, Howard, Claire and Roger arrive at the Reagan home, where they meet Matt's parents, Tom and Millie. Tom is irritated by Howard's imperious manner, and Millie and Claire begin to quarrel over the suitability of their respective children. Because Matt had told his parents that he was driving to Deerfield, Delaware with "a friend," the parents jump into their cars and dash off to intercept the eloping couple. Outside town, however, the Reagans' car breaks down, and Howard reluctantly stops to pick them up. With Roger and the Reagan's youngest son Daniel also aboard, the car is very crowded, and tempers flare during the overnight drive. In the morning, Matt and Jake buy a marriage license and eat at a distant truck stop, where Jake becomes jealous of Matt's description of an old flame. Meanwhile, Roger, who approves of Jake's attempt to break from her loving but overbearing father, takes the wheel from him when he recognizes Jake and Matt and avoids them as the cars pass each other. As evening approaches, a heavy rainstorm starts, and the weather allows Roger to change the sign pointing to Deerfield and lead the families in the opposite direction. Forced to stop, the Reagans and Osbornes are given shelter by farmer Simpson and his wife, who set them up in the barn. As the two families settle in and express their grudging affection for each other, Matt and Jake, who were also misled by Roger's sign change, end up at the Simpsons' farm. The couple is welcomed into the house, but Jake, nervous and tired, starts a fight with Matt and calls off their engagement. Howard and Claire see the young couple, as do Millie and Tom, but the parents keep their presence a secret because they have accepted the upcoming nuptials. The next morning, however, the Simpsons inform their guests that the couple called off their wedding and returned home during the night. After another long drive, the Reagans and Osborns reach their homes, where they greet Matt and Jake. Tom tries to talk Matt into changing his mind, while Howard tells Jake how nervous he was before he married Claire, and that it takes courage and determination to follow through on marriage plans. Pleased that Howard is more interested in her happiness than into molding her to his image, Jake rethinks her decision and decides to elope with Matt. Howard and Claire are again awakened by the banging shutter, but this time are elated to discover that Jake is missing. They are joined by Tom and Millie for a celebration, and as Howard boasts about what a good wife and mother Jake will be, he assures Tom that Jake's favorite movie is Cheaper by the Dozen .
Director
Henry Koster
Cast
Clifton Webb
Anne Francis
Charles Bickford
William Lundigan
Reginald Gardiner
Evelyn Varden
Margalo Gillmore
Tommy Rettig
J. Farrell Macdonald
Julia Dean
Howard Price
Maude Wallace
Willis Bouchey
Selmer Jackson
Norman Leavitt
Doris Kemper
Frank Ferguson
Michael Ross
Parley Baer
Robert Foulk
Paul Dunn
Jean Epper
Tony Epper
Mark K. Dunn
Hazel Shaw
Gertrude Astor
Forbes Murray
Oliver Cross
Dulce Daye
Grandon Rhodes
Crew
Alfred Bruzlin
Paul S. Fox
Richard Irvine
Anthony Jowitt
Fred Kohlmar
Joseph Lashelle
Herbert Leeds
Charles Lemaire
Harry M. Leonard
Thomas Little
Cyril Mockridge
William B. Murphy
Lionel Newman
Ben Nye
Edward Powell
Ad Schaumer
Fred Sersen
Bess Taffel
Lyle Wheeler
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, the sequences of "Jake's" college graduation were shot on location at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA. The popular 1950 Twentieth Century-Fox film Cheaper by the Dozen, which is mentioned at the end of Elopement, starred Clifton Webb as an industrial engineer and the father of twelve children; it was one of his most successful pictures. Elopement marked the first above-title starring role of Anne Francis, who played Webb's daughter again in the 1952 Twentieth Century-Fox film Dreamboat.
