The Life of Riley (1949 film)

The Life of Riley
The Life of Riley
Directed by	Irving Brecher
Written by	Irving Brecher; Groucho Marx
Produced by	Irving Brecher
Starring	William Bendix; Rosemary DeCamp; James Gleason
Cinematography	William H. Daniels
Edited by	Milton Carruth
Music by	Frank Skinner
Production; company	Brecher Productions
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	April 16, 1949;
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	over $1.5 million

The Life of Riley is a 1949 American comedy film directed by Irving Brecher and starring William Bendix, Rosemary DeCamp and James Gleason.^[2] It was based on the popular radio show of the same title.^[3] The film was premiered in Cincinnati, Ohio on 5 March 1949.^[4]

Plot

A well-meaning factory employee is struggling financially. His career gets a lift when he receives a promotion, but this causes resentment among his fellow workers who believe it is due to the fact his daughter is engaged to the factory owner's son.

Cast

William Bendix as Chester A. Riley
Rosemary DeCamp as Peg Riley
James Gleason as Gillis
Bill Goodwin as Sidney Monahan
Beulah Bondi as Miss Martha Bogle
Meg Randall as Barbara "Babs" Riley
Richard Long as Jeff Taylor
Lanny Rees as Junior Riley
Mark Daniels as Burt Stevenson
Ted de Corsia as Norman
John Brown as Digby "Digger" ODell
Victoria Horne as Lucy Monahan
William E. Green as Carl Stevenson

Radio adaptation

William Bendix and Rosemary DeCamp reprised their roles in an hour-long radio adaptation of the film that was presented on Lux Radio Theatre on May 8, 1950.^[5]

References

^ "'Kettle', 'Riley', Key U's Bread-and-Butter B.O." Variety. 10 August 1949. p. 6.
^ Monaco p.50
^ "The Life of Riley". Variety. January 26, 1949. p. 11. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
^ Warfel, Jack. "Stage and Screen: 'The Life of Riley'." Cleveland (OH) Press, 7 March 1949, 16.
^ "Monday High Spots". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1950-05-08. Retrieved 2022-06-17.