Vivacious Lady (1938) with Jimmy Stewart and Ginger Rogers

Jimmy Stewart plays a college professor who quickly marries a nightclub singer (Ginger Rogers) after they both fall in love at first sight.

When they travel to his hometown and his parents' home,  Jimmy can't bring himself to tell his parents -- ailing mom (Beulah Bondi) and curmudgeonly father (Charles Coburn) -- that he and Ginger are married.

Needless to say this movie is very dated and modern audiences may find this whole concept unbelievable.

Waiting for the right time to make the announcement that they are married, Jimmy & Ginger put on act that backfires numerous times.

With Jack Carson, Franklin Pangborn, Hattie McDaniel, and Willie Best.

According to Gary Fishgall's Jimmy bio "Pieces of Time: The Life of James Stewart", this film took almost one year to make. There were numerous rewrites and production delays, including Stewart's illness and subsequent hospitalization (for unknown reasons)



Critic Rose Pelswick of the New York Journal wrote of the film was "...not only elegant entertainment, but also a welcome departure from the crack-brained concoctions that have been passing for comedy of late. For this one, instead of depending upon wild-eyed gags, gets its laughs from genuinely funny situations that arise from the action and become part of it....Mr. Stewart checks in with a grand performance."

Directed by George Stevens. Note: This film is not yet available on DVD 

Deanna Durbin in I'll Be Yours (1947)

Deanna plays a sweet girl from a small town who moves to the big city, where she lands a job as an usher in a big movie palace.

Among her new city friends are hopeless romantic lawyer (Tom Drake) and restaurant guru William Bendix.

In a funny scene, Deanna crashes a big party and poses as a Latina, stumbling around, chomping on celery and botching Spanish.

By accident, she manages to sing a beautiful rendition of "Grenada", and naturally, impresses everyone, including the organizer of the party, wealthy corporate executive Adolphe Menjou, who offers her a job in a musical show.

But before she achieves success (or romance), the main characters all get mixed up in several crazy screwball situations.

In a cameo, Franklin Pangborn plays a barber who reluctantly shaves off Tom Drake's beard.

This is loose remake of The Good Fairy, the 1935 was written by Preston Sturges, who gets a credit for this film.

There are a number of differences between this and the classic 1935 MGM version with Margaret Sullivan and Frank Morgan.