The Groom Wore Spurs
Cast & Crew
Richard Whorf
Ginger Rogers
Jack Carson
Joan Davis
Stanley Ridges
John Litel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In his California home, heartthrob movie cowboy "Wild" Ben Castle explains to his new lawyer, Abigail "A. J." Furnival, that he owes $60,000 in gambling fees to mobster Harry Kallen. Ben, who is attracted to A. J.'s brains and beauty, asks her to accompany him to Las Vegas to confer with Kallen. In Las Vegas, A. J. is so smitten with Ben that she fails to notice that he is neither as competent nor as virtuous as he appears to be in his movies. As they wait for Kallen, they dance and kiss in the moonlight, and when Ben asks her to marry him, A. J. agrees immediately. They marry that night and then meet with Kallen, who tells A. J. that he was indebted to her father, a famous lawyer, and that he will drop the debt as a wedding present. Upon hearing this, Ben's pilot friend, Steve Hall, accuses Ben of marrying A. J. just to have his debt cleared, and A. J. realizes that Steve is right. She returns home, where her feisty roommate, Alice Dean, convinces her to fight for Ben and make a man out of him. The next morning, A. J. returns to Ben's house and begins to take charge. After waking him from a drunken stupor and firing his lazy housekeeper, A. J. poses with Ben for studio press photographers. When they are persuaded to kiss for the cameras, they cannot stop. That night, however, Ben regales A. J. with one of his movie songs, and she realizes that he is lip-synching and cannot actually carry a tune. She grows increasingly disillusioned, especially after his rowdy, flirtatious friends visit. The next day, Ben brings A. J. to the studio boss, J. Norman Birgin, to renegotiate his contract. Although Birgin is crafty and intimidating, A. J. manages to draw up an improved contract for Ben and secure a $60,000 advance. She then informs Ben that she is leaving him because she has done all she can for him. Days later, even while Steve is pursuing her, A. J. continues to pine for Ben. At the same time, Ben brings the $60,000 to Kallen and admits that he misses A. J. Just as he turns to leave, an intruder shoots Kallen and runs off. Ben grabs Kallen's body, then is discovered and booked for murder. He insists that A. J. handle his case, and she quickly convinces the chief of police to allow them one day to identify the real killer. Thanks to her clever detecting skills and her father's old contacts, they soon track the killer, Tony Lomac, to a plane that is about to take off for Mexico. Steve helps them delay the pilot and they jump into the plane, but when Lomac recognizes Ben, he attacks. A. J. drives the plane until it crashes, after which they chase Lomac into the hangar. There, Ben traps and disarms Lomac using rope tricks he learned in his movies. With Lomac safely imprisoned, A. J., impressed by Ben's newfound bravery, kisses him as the press cameras snap.
Director
Richard Whorf
Cast
Ginger Rogers
Jack Carson
Joan Davis
Stanley Ridges
John Litel
James Brown
Victor Sen Yung
Mira Mckinney
Gordon Nelson
George Meader
Kemp Niver
Robert B. Williams
John Eldredge
Kate Drain Lawson
Franklyn Farnum
Ross Hunter
Crew
Tom Andre
Victor Appel
Frank Burt
Robert Carson
Ralph Ceder
Mac Dalgleish
Perry Ferguson
Julia Heron
Ben Hersh
Jacie
Eloise Jenssen
Arthur Lange
Robert Libott
Otto Ludwig
Peverell Marley
Louise Miehle
Emil Newman
Emil Newman
Leon Pocher
Howard Welsch
Frank Westmore
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Illegal Bride. Robert Carson's novel was serialized in Collier's (30 July-3 September 1949) prior to its pubilcation. It is possible that the novel was published previous to 1955, but no earlier publication date has been confirmed. Although the onscreen credits list Robert Libott and Frank Burt as screenplay writers, reviews also include Carson as a co-screenwriter. According to Hollywood Reporter news items, some scenes were shot on location at the Neil McCarthy estate in California. Modern sources credit Charles Maxwell as co-writer of the music score.
