Love in Bloom
Cast & Crew
Elliott Nugent
George Burns
Gracie Allen
Joe Morrison
Dixie Lee
J. C. Nugent
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Gracie Downey and George work for her father's carnival, until Colonel "Dad" Downey is thrown in jail because he is broke. Stealing a carnival vehicle, Gracie and George travel to New York to find Violet, Gracie's sister, who gave up the carnival life. They plan to entreat her either to return to performing, or to give them enough money to bail their father out of jail. Unknown to them, Vi is broke and her landlord has thrown her out, keeping her suitcase. She spends her last dollar on breakfast with neighbor Larry Deane, a promising but untried songwriter who also is too poor to pay rent. In turn, he sells his suit for a dollar to buy them dinner. He and Vi convince Pop Heinrich, the owner of a music store, to hire them both after Larry appeals to Pop's heritage by performing a song in German. Vi and Larry secretly spend their nights in the store, having no place to live, and slowly fall in love. Vi is a brilliant saleswoman and Larry draws in customers by playing the piano and singing. After their first paycheck, they buy each other's suitcases back from their landlord. Larry proposes, but Vi protests because she thinks she is too tough and experienced a woman for him. When George and Gracie arrive, Vi reluctantly gives them all her hard-earned money, refusing to return to carnival life. Larry is not daunted by the financial setback, however, promising they will marry the next week. After getting out of jail, Dad finds Vi in New York and drunkenly stops another wedding believing it to be hers and Larry's. Ashamed of her family, Vi runs away from Larry before they are married and returns to the carnival. After making a huge success from selling his songs, Larry buys a partnership in the carnival and gains a lifelong partnership with Vi as well.
Director
Elliott Nugent
Cast
George Burns
Gracie Allen
Joe Morrison
Dixie Lee
J. C. Nugent
Lee Kohlmar
Richard Carle
Mary Foy
Wade Boteler
Marian Mansfield
Julia Graham
Sam Godfrey
Jack Mulhall
Frances Raymond
Bernadine Hayes
Harry Bradley
Douglas Wood
William Gorsman
Douglas Blackley
Benny Baker
Jimmy De Cobb
Topsy Mcgee
Jolly Ethel
Charlotte Ogden
Crew
Frank R. Adams
Frank R. Adams
Charles Brackett
Laurie Brazee
Emanuel Cohen
Charlie Cook
Proctor F. Cook
Hans Dreier
Mary Flannery
Benjamin Glazer
Mack Gordon
Harold Lewis
Louise Long
J. P. Mcevoy
John P. Medbury
Lev Alexandrovich Mey
Robert Odell
Frank Partos
Harry Revel
William Shea
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Harlan Thompson
Keene Thompson
Leo Tover
Virginia Van Upp
Adolph Zukor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The pre-release title was Win or Lose, which also was the title of Frank R. Adams' original idea. Gracie Allen's character performs a song-and-dance act in the carnival, billed as "Fatima." According to the pressbook, this was the first time Miss Allen sang in a film. Charlie Cook, manager of the A. G. Barnes Circus, supervised the carnival sequences, and many members of the circus appear in the film including Jimmy De Cobb, Jolly Ethel, Topsy McGee, Charlotte Ogden, 10 ticket sellers, 20 canvas men, and 200 extras. William Tyroler, opera coach, assisted actor Joe Morrison in his rendition of Piotr Ilyich Tschaikowsky's "None But the Weary Heart," which he performed in German. Actor J. C. Nugent was the director's father. Paramount filmed the carnival scenes in Arcadia, CA, which at the time had a law prohibiting carnivals within the city limits.
