Take a Letter, Darling (1942) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A female executive hires a male secretary.

Cast & Crew

Read More

Mitchell Leisen

Rosalind Russell

A. M. "Mac" MacGregor

Fred Macmurray

Macdonald Carey

Jonathan Caldwell

Constance Moore

Robert Benchley

Photos & Videos

View All

Take a Letter, Darling -- (Movie Clip) Your Duties...

Take a Letter, Darling -- (Movie Clip) Opening Credits

Take a Letter, Darling -- (Movie Clip) About a Job...

Film Details

Genre

Comedy

Romance

Release Date

Jan 1942

Premiere Information

New York opening: week of 27 May 1942

Production Company

Paramount Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

Paramount Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 33m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

8,333ft (10 reels)

Synopsis

Having depleted his private income, artist Tom Verney accepts a job as private secretary to a tough female advertising executive named A. M. MacGregor. Tom finds his position humiliating because "Mac" uses him as a foil for her clients. One night, she pretends he is her fiancé to outwit the jealous wife of a client, and on another evening, uses him to captivate the interest of Ethel Caldwell, a racy Southerner whose brother Jonathan is a wealthy tobacco manufacturer who hates women. Trouble arises when Mac, who has fired her previous male secretaries for trying to seduce her, finds herself falling in love with Tom, but refuses to acknowledge it. In order to get the Caldwell account, Tom agrees to pretend that he is an advertising executive after Mac promises him a $10,000 bonus, which Tom would then use to buy a house in Mexico and paint. Tom accepts Ethel's invitation to work on the cigarette campaign at the Caldwell mansion in the South, and while he and Ethel entertain each other, Mac steams with jealousy in New York. Mac finally goes to the Caldwell home herself, to the delight of Jonathan, who in spite of his distrust of women, has fallen deeply in love with her. Tom confides in Jonathan that he is in love with Mac and that Ethel has agreed to allow him to use their platonic friendship to make Mac jealous. Jonathan then serves his own interests by encouraging Tom to continue his tactics until Mac becomes so angry at Tom that she accepts Jonathan's marriage proposal. Having developed a clever advertising campaign and gotten a signed contract from the Caldwells, Tom returns to New York. One day, Mac's ineffectual partner, G. B. Atwater, brings Tom his bonus and advises him that although Mac and Jonathan's wedding is set, Mac is miserable. Tom sends a semi-nude portrait of Mac as a wedding gift, and the Caldwells assume that Mac posed for the painting. Mac denies the accusation, but when she realizes that Jonathan does not believe her, she breaks the engagement and walks out. Later, Mac encounters Tom in a car pulling a trailer and angrily throws stones at him. When a train threatens to crash into the car on some railroad tracks, however, both Tom and Mac jump into the car and head for Mexico together.

Director

Mitchell Leisen

Cast

Rosalind Russell

A. M. "Mac" MacGregor

Fred Macmurray

Macdonald Carey

Jonathan Caldwell

Constance Moore

Robert Benchley

Charles Arnt

Cecil Kellaway

Kathleen Howard

Margaret Seddon

Dooley Wilson

George H. Reed

Margaret Hayes

Sonny Boy Williams

John Holland

Florine Mckinney

Amo Ingraham

Tall willowy brunette

Dorothy Granger

Switchboard operator

Katharine Booth

Blonde stenographer

Lynda Grey

Keith Richards

Jack Rice

Lorin Raker

Jean Del Val

Jacques Vanaire

Douglas Dean

Janet Graves

Francis Sayles

Arthur Loft

James A. Millican

George Dolenz

Assistant headwaiter

Isabel Randolph

Georgia Backus

Reginald Sheffield

Reginald Simpson

Virginia Brissac

Mrs. Dowling, landlady

Stanley Mack

Pat West

Eddie Acuff

Man who picks teeth

Betty Farrington

Fitter at Francesco's

Nell Craig

Assistant saleslady

Robert Winkler

Proprietor's son

Dave Willock

Proprietor's son

Thomas W. Ross

Harry Lamont

Sid D'albrook

Mrs. Wilfrid North

Wife of proprietor

Ronnie Rondell

Marshall Ruth

Roy Crane

Bertha Powell

Marta Downes

David James

Florence Wix

Crew

Francisco "chico" Alonso

Assistant Director

Roland Anderson

George Beck

Claude Binyon

Sam Comer

B. G. Desylva

Executive Producer

Hans Dreier

Doane Harrison

Irene

Miss Russell's gowns

Fred Kohlmar

Associate Producer

Mitchell Leisen

John Mescall

Director of Photography

Harry Mills

Sound Recording

Richard Olson

Sound Recording

Thomas Scott

Cullen Tate

Assistant Director

Wally Westmore

Victor Young

Videos

Take a Letter, Darling -- (Movie Clip) Opening Credits Opening title credits for Mitchell Leisen's Take a Letter, Darling, 1942, starring Fred MacMurray and Rosalind Russell, from a screenplay by Claude Binyon.

Take a Letter, Darling -- (Movie Clip) About a Job... Struggling artist Tom Verney (Fred MacMurray) doesn't get the joke as he arrives for a job interview as a male secretary in Mitchel Leisen's Take a Letter, Darling, 1942.

Take a Letter, Darling -- (Movie Clip) Your Duties... Tom (Fred MacMurray), upon finding out that the boss MacGregor (Rosalind Russell) is a female, has misgivings about becoming her secretary in Mitchell Leisen's Take a Letter, Darling, 1942.

Film Details

Genre

Comedy

Romance

Release Date

Jan 1942

Premiere Information

New York opening: week of 27 May 1942

Production Company

Paramount Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

Paramount Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 33m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

8,333ft (10 reels)

Award Nominations

Best Art Direction

1942

Best Cinematography

1942

Best Score

1942

Articles

Take a Letter, Darling

December 4, 2008

A struggling painter takes a job as a secretary to a female advertising executive. While working to obtain an account from a tobacco company, they end up falling in love.

Producer: Mitchell Leisen
Director: Mitchell Leisen
Screenplay: Claude Binyon; George Beck (story)
Cinematography: John J. Mescall
Art Direction: Roland Anderson, Hans Dreier
Music: Victor Young
Film Editing: Doane Harrison, Thomas Scott
Cast: Rosalind Russell (A.M. MacGregor), Fred MacMurray (Tom Verney), Macdonald Carey (Jonathan Caldwell), Constance Moore (Ethel Caldwell), Robert Benchley (G.B. Atwater), Charles E. Arnt (Fud Newton), Cecil Kellaway (Uncle George), Kathleen Howard (Aunt Minnie), Margaret Seddon (Aunt Judy), Dooley Wilson (Moses), George Reed (Sam French), Margaret Hayes (Sally French), Sonny Boy Williams (Micky Dowling), John Holland (Ex-Secretary).
BW-92m.

Take A Letter, Darling

Take a Letter, Darling

A struggling painter takes a job as a secretary to a female advertising executive. While working to obtain an account from a tobacco company, they end up falling in love. Producer: Mitchell Leisen Director: Mitchell Leisen Screenplay: Claude Binyon; George Beck (story) Cinematography: John J. Mescall Art Direction: Roland Anderson, Hans Dreier Music: Victor Young Film Editing: Doane Harrison, Thomas Scott Cast: Rosalind Russell (A.M. MacGregor), Fred MacMurray (Tom Verney), Macdonald Carey (Jonathan Caldwell), Constance Moore (Ethel Caldwell), Robert Benchley (G.B. Atwater), Charles E. Arnt (Fud Newton), Cecil Kellaway (Uncle George), Kathleen Howard (Aunt Minnie), Margaret Seddon (Aunt Judy), Dooley Wilson (Moses), George Reed (Sam French), Margaret Hayes (Sally French), Sonny Boy Williams (Micky Dowling), John Holland (Ex-Secretary). BW-92m.

Quotes

You're a beautiful brain and beautiful clothes. No temperature, no pulse. That's all.
- Tom Verney

Where did you learn about women, Verney?
- A.M. MacGregor

It isn't a matter of learning. It's instinct.
- Tom Verney

I'm a brain with no pulse, eh? I'm a woman, Verney, more woman than you'll ever know.
- A.M. MacGregor

Trivia

Notes

Although a Hollywood Reporter news item indicates that Preston Sturges was slated to direct this film, Sturges was in pre-production for his film The Palm Beach Story at the time, and it is doubtful that he did any work on Take a Letter, Darling. Hollywood Reporter news items also report that Claudette Colbert was originally assigned the lead role, with Frances Farmer in the second lead, and that Katharine Hepburn was also considered for the lead. A modern source notes that Colbert was recast in The Palm Beach Story, due to that film's casting difficulties. Paramount Production Information from the AMPAS Library reveals that the "semi-nude" painting seen in the film was painted by Phil Paradise. The closing scene was shot near the intersection of Oxnard Avenue and Woodman in Van Nuys, CA; and the pool scene was shot in Beverly Hills at the home of Max Strauss. Backgrounds were filmed at Lake Arrowhead and Bear Valley, and other scenes were filmed at Busch Gardens in Pasadena, CA. This film was nominated for Academy Awards in the following categories: Best Art Direction/Interior Direction (Black and White), Hans Dreier, Roland Anderson/Sam Comer; Best Music (Scoring of Dramatic or Comedy Picture), Victor Young; and Best Cinematography (Black and White), John Mescall.

By using this site, you agree to our updated Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use