Louisiana Purchase
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Irving Cummings
Bob Hope
Vera Zorina
Victor Moore
Irene Bordoni
Dona Drake
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Film studio lawyer Sam Horowitz reads the book for the Broadway musical comedy Louisiana Purchase and advises the studio that they cannot produce the show unless they make all the characters fictional. As a result, the lyrics sung by the performers on stage introduce the film noting that everything is fictional except the name of the state: Louisiana state representative Jim Taylor is framed by his four business partners, Colonel Davis, Sr., Davis, Jr., Captain Whitfield and Dean Manning, to take the rap for a graft investigation that Senator Oliver P. Loganberry, New England Republican, is launching against their Louisiana Purchasing Company. Although Jim is president of the company, he is a mere figurehead appointed by the four guilty partners and is innocent of graft. Jim unsuccessfully tries to distract the prudish and befuddled Loganberry from his investigation. He then enlists the help of Madame Bordelaise, a notorious New Orleans restaurateur, who hires Marina Von Minden, a beautiful young emigrant from Austria who boards with her, to ruin Loganberry's reputation. Marina, who is desperate to earn enough money to bring her mother to the U.S., goes along with the ploy in a private room at the restaurant. Disguised as a waiter, Jim tricks the teetotaler Loganberry into getting drunk, and then the four partners photograph him in compromising positions with Marina. When the evidence is presented to Loganberry, Marina defends him by claiming that they are engaged, as he has promised to use his influence to get her mother into the country. Jim, who has fallen in love with Marina, feels betrayed by her and convinces Madame Bordelaise to use her own vast experience to get Loganberry to drop the investigation. Her ruse only results in her marrying Loganberry, and Jim's partners desert him. To save himself, Jim, inspired by the film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , creates a filibuster in the House of Representatives by reading Gone With the Wind and other enormous novels. When he collapses, Loganberry receives a telegram revealing that Jim is innocent and that the corrupt business partners have been arrested. The House members applaud and Jim and Marina kiss.
Director
Irving Cummings
Cast
Bob Hope
Vera Zorina
Victor Moore
Irene Bordoni
Dona Drake
Raymond Walburn
Maxie Rosenbloom
Phyllis Ruth
Frank Albertson
Donald Macbride
Andrew Tombes
Robert Warwick
Charles Latorre
Charles Laskey
Emory Parnell
Iris Meredith
Catherine Craig
Sam Mcdaniel
Kay Aldridge
Katharine Booth
Alaine Brandes
Barbara Britton
Brooke Evans
Blanche Grady
Lynda Grey
Margaret Hayes
Louise Laplanche
Barbara Slater
Eleanor Stewart
Jean Wallace
Edgar Dearing
William Wright
Floyd Shackelford
Tom Patricola
Aileen Haley
Jack Chefe
Albert Pollet
André Cheron
Albert Godderis
George Mardelli
Constant Franke
Dave Willock
Jetsy Parker
Maxine Ardell
Jack Norton
Donald Kerr
Joy Barlowe
Patsy Mace
Patricia Carey
Ruth Swanson
Douglas Dean
Arlyne Varden
Jean Phillips
Lillian West
Harold De Garro
John Hiestand
Joseph Siegel
Richard Kipling
Crew
Irving Berlin
Jerome Chodorov
C. C. Coleman Jr.
Barney Dean
B. G. Desylva
Robert Emmett Dolan
Hans Dreier
Raoul Pène Dubois
Raoul Pène Dubois
Joseph Fields
Arthur Franklin
Harry Hallenberger
Earl Hayman
Natalie Kalmus
Louis S. Kaye
Sam Ledner
Walter Oberst
Morgan Padelford
Tom Plews
Eddie Prinz
Ray Rennahan
Stephen Seymour
Leroy Stone
Robert Usher
Wally Westmore
Harold Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Nominations
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Quotes
Boy, if she were black, she'd be beautiful!- Sam
You're a pretty smart fella, Mr. Taylor. I kinda wish you were a Republican.- Senator Oliver P. Loganberry
Trivia
Irene Bordoni and Vera Zorina both repeated their roles from the original Broadway stage version.
Notes
Actors Vera Zorina, Irene Bordoni, Victor Moore, Charles Laskey and Lynda Grey appeared in the original stage production of the play, which had been produced by Paramount production head B. G. DeSylva. According to a New York Times news item, Paramount purchased the rights to the hit play for $150,000. Variety notes that except for a new finish, the film was "an almost literal translation from the stage." Hollywood Reporter news items indicate the following: Ethel Merman was initially considered for a leading role in the film; New York fashion model Laurie Douglas was cast, but her appearance in the final film has not been confirmed; the airport scene was filmed on location at Lockheed Aircraft in Los Angeles, CA. This film marked the motion picture debut of actress Jean Wallace. Louisiana Purchase was nominated for Academy Awards in the following categories: Cinematography (Color), Harry Hallenberger and Ray Rennahan; and Art Direction/Interior Decoration (Color), Raoul Pène du Bois/Stephen Seymour.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1941
Released in United States on Video May 19, 1993
Released in United States 1941
Released in United States on Video May 19, 1993
