One Rainy Afternoon
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Rowland V. Lee
Francis Lederer
Ida Lupino
Hugh Herbert
Roland Young
Erik Rhodes
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
When debonair actor Philippe Martin attempts to meet his mistress Yvonne in a dark movie theater, he is mistakenly seated next to Monique Pelerin, the daughter of a wealthy newspaperman, who is engaged to Count Alfredo Donstelli. During the film, Philippe kisses Monique, and she publicly accuses him, causing the priggish President of the Purity League to exploit the incident as a scandal. In court, Philippe makes a case for French romance and is sentenced to only three days in prison. Philippe is released and discovers that Monique paid his fine. Although she says she did it only to avoid publicity, secretly she is attracted to him. The tabloids, meanwhile, continue to exploit the scandal, making Philippe enormously popular. After Maillot, Philippe's producer at the Savoy, fires him, Philippe returns to the theater with a considerable raise and meets Monique in order to return her money. At an ice skating rink, the couple repeatedly meets and again makes newspaper headlines. Philippe then meets his mistress Yvonne for the last time, but a picture of them kissing appears in the paper. Mr. Pelerin then warns Philippe to sever his ties with Monique and learns that she paid his fine. Hoping finally to bury the story, Pelerin has Philippe arrested the day of his show's opening. Yvonne, who turns out to be the Minister of Justice's wife, convinces Pelerin to release Philippe for that night's performance. As part of the show, Philippe is to reenact his romantic faux pas with his co-star, Clara. When he goes into the audience, however, he discovers Monique sitting in Clara's chair.
Director
Rowland V. Lee
Cast
Francis Lederer
Ida Lupino
Hugh Herbert
Roland Young
Erik Rhodes
Joseph Cawthorn
Countess Liev De Maigret
Donald Meek
Georgia Caine
Murray Kinnell
Mischa Auer
Richard Carle
Phyllis Barry
Lois January
Eily Malyon
Seger Ellis
Margaret Warner
Lucille Ward
Angie Norton
Emilie Cabanne
Ferdinand Munier
Paul Irving
Billy Gilbert
Harvey Clark
Crew
Stephen Morehouse Avery
Margaret Clancy
Stanley Cooley
Richard Day
Tom Dowling
Louis Van Den Ecker
Ed Fitzgerald
Merritt Gerstad
Maurice Hanline
Percy Ikerd
Ralph Irwin
Omar Kiam
Jesse L. Lasky
Jesse L. Lasky
Peverell Marley
Paul Neal
Alfred Newman
Mary Pickford
Irving Sindler
Jack Stern
Preston Sturges
Harry Tobias
Charles Woolstenhulme
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
A taxi is just not the place to kiss in.- Yvonne
No? A lot of people would be surprised to know that.- Philippe Martin
Do you think they will send him to jail?- Yvonne
Oh sure, he hasn't got a chance. Now if he were only a murderer...- Toto
In weaving his subtle net, he employed all the insidious devices known to his perfidious profession.- Prosecutor
Trivia
Notes
A pre-production Hollywood Reporter news item lists the title of the French play on which the film is based as M. Martin. Although onscreen credits refer only to an "original story" by Emmerich Pressburger and René Pujol, the film actually was based on their screenplay for the 1935 French film Monsieur Sans-Gêne, directed by Karl Anton. Ralph Irwin wrote music for both the French and American versions. Only Pressburger's last name appears on the screen. Although Hollywood Reporter credits Arnold Pressburger as the screen story writer, biographic sources, as well as modern French film listings, suggest that Emmerich Pressburger was the true author. Pickford-Lasky Productions made its debut with this film. According to publicity, the interior of the famous Palais de Glace in Paris was reproduced in Hollywood studios for this film. Five thousand feet of synthetic, "hyposulphate" ice combined with twenty secret ingredients were boiled and hardened for twelve hours to create a noiseless skating surface. This film marked Francis Lederer's first starring role for United Artists. Hollywood Reporter announced that Morrie Ryskind would be writing lyrics for the film, and he is listed as lyricist in early Hollywood Reporter production charts, but his contribution to final film has not been confirmed. Production charts also include Mariska Aldrich and Ariane Borg in the cast, but no other source verifies their participation in the film. An anonymous contemporary source lists Edward Everett Horton in the cast, but that actor was not seen in the viewed print. An ad for this film calls Erik Rhodes' character "Count Alfredo Di Pignacelli Di Rostaganni." Seger Ellis and Margaret Warner appeared in the film-within-the-film. An ad in Hollywood Reporter contains one page of thank-you's for studio executives who allowed stars under contract to them to appear in this film. The ad promises: "We are returning these artists to you with increased box office value." A modern filmography of director Rowland V. Lee states that he contributed to the film's screenplay.
