Cafe Society (1939 film)

Cafe Society
Film poster
Directed by	Edward H. Griffith
Written by	Virginia Van Upp
Produced by	Jeff Lazarus
Starring	Madeleine Carroll Fred MacMurray Shirley Ross
Cinematography	Ted Tetzlaff
Edited by	Paul Weatherwax
Music by	Leo Shuken
Production company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	March 3, 1939 (1939-03-03)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Cafe Society is a 1939 American romantic comedy film directed by Edward H. Griffith and starring Madeleine Carroll, Fred MacMurray and Shirley Ross.^[1] A wealthy young woman marries a reporter to win a bet.^[2]

Plot

The wealthy Christopher "Chris" West is a member of the cafe society. To win a bet, she marries reporter Crick O'Bannon, who believes Chris married him for love. When Crick overhears Chris telling one of her friends about the bet, he decides to get even by writing a story about her betrayal. In response, Chris's grandfather, Christopher West Sr, apologizes for his granddaughter's behavior and requests that the couple live together until the divorce is quietly finalized in order to avoid a scandal. Because he dislikes Chris' society friends, Crick refuses and lives apart from her.

While still married, Chris and Crick constantly argue. When she notices that Crick is close to nightclub singer Bells Browne, Chris becomes jealous but resigned that Crick prefers Bells. She decides to sail for Europe, but is surprised when Crick appears on the ship, having been alerted to Chris's departure by her grandfather. Crick explains that Bells is only a friend and Chris returns to shore with him. However, Chris's jealousy resurfaces upon seeing Bells singing at the club that night and she persuades the club's owner to fire Bells. When the bartender, Bill, calls Chris out on her brash behavior, a contrite Chris asks that Bells be rehired and admits to Crick that she has been an awful fool.

Cast

• Madeleine Carroll as Christopher West
• Fred MacMurray as Chick O'Bannon
• Shirley Ross as Bells Browne
• Jessie Ralph as Mrs. De Witt
• Claude Gillingwater as Old Christopher West
• Allyn Joslyn as Sonny De Witt
• Paul Hurst as Bartender
• Lillian Yarbo as Mattie Harriett (uncredited)

References

1. Stephens p.103
2. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:Cafe Society

{1939 Film credits, cast character names, Cafe Society, Paramount Pictures, Inc., 3 March 1939}

Bibliography

• Stephens, Michael L. Art Directors in Cinema: A Worldwide Biographical Dictionary. McFarland, 1998.

External links

• Cafe Society at IMDb