Never Say Die (1939 film)

Never Say Die is a 1939 American romantic comedy film starring Martha Raye and Bob Hope. Based on a play of the same title by William H. Post and William Collier Sr.,[1] which ran on Broadway for 151 performances in 1912,[2] the film was directed by Elliott Nugent and written for the screen by Dan Hartman, Frank Butler and Preston Sturges. The supporting cast features Andy Devine, Alan Mowbray, Gale Sondergaard, Sig Ruman and Monty Woolley.

Never Say Die
VHS cover
Directed byElliott Nugent
Written byPlay:
William H. Post
William Collier Sr.
Screenplay:
Dan Hartman
Frank Butler
Preston Sturges
Produced byPaul Jones
StarringMartha Raye
Bob Hope
CinematographyLeo Tover
Edited byJames Smith
Music bySongs:
Ralph Rainger (music)
Leo Robin (lyrics)
Score:
Charles Bradshaw
John Leipold
Leo Shuken
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • March 9, 1939 (1939-03-09) (New York City)
  • April 14, 1939 (1939-04-14) (United States)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Post/Collier play had previously been adapted in 1924 as a silent film of the same name[3] and was remade as the 2004 South Korean film Someone Special. Other films with the same or similar titles are not related.

Plot

When test results get mixed up, multi-millionaire hypochondriac John Kidley is told that he only has a month to live. He dumps his fiancée, Juno Marko, while he is at the Swiss spa of Bad Gaswasser, there he meets a young Texas heiress, Mickey Hawkins.

Mickey has been betrothed to the fortune-hunting Prince Smirnov, but is in love with Henry Munch, a bus driver from back home. Believing he is dying, and wanting to help out, John suggests that Mickey and he get married, planning on leaving her his fortune so that she can marry who she wants when he's gone. On their honeymoon, with Henry along as a chaperone, the couple fall in love for real, although, of course, they don't realize it right away.

During the honeymoon, Mickey makes a bet that she can tell which man is kissing her while she's blindfolded. The experiment takes an unexpected turn when a bear scares off John and Henry and Mickey ends up enthusiastically kissing the animal.

Eventually, John bests the Prince in a duel, Henry and Juno get engaged, and John and Mickey get to stay together.

Cast

Cast notes:

  • Hans Conried has a small uncredited part, only his second film appearance.[4]
  • Albert Dekker, who plays the uncredited role of "Kidley's second" was an established Broadway star[5] before turning to film acting.[6]

Songs

"The Tra La La and the Oom Pah Pah" - by Ralph Rainger (music) and Leo Robin (lyrics)[7]

Production

Never Say Die was originally slated to star Jack Benny and Franciska Gaal, under the direction of Raoul Walsh and produced by Arthur Hornblow Jr.[8] The film was in production from early October to early December 1938, and premiered in New York on 9 March 1939.[9] It went into general release on 14 April of that year.[10]

Production credits

References
  1. TCM Screenplay info
  2. "Never Say Die (1912 play)". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database.
  3. "Never Say Die (1924 silent film)". IMDb.com. Internet Movie Database.
  4. "Hand Conreid". IMDb.com. Internet Movie Database.
  5. "Albert Dekker". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database.
  6. "Albert Dekker". IMDb.com. Internet Movie Database.
  7. IMDB Soundtrack listings
  8. TCM Notes
  9. TCM Overview
  10. IMDB Release dates
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