The Sailor Takes a Wife is a 1946 romantic comedy film directed by Richard Whorf. The film stars Robert Walker, June Allyson, Hume Cronyn, and Audrey Totter. The Sailor Takes a Wife was based on the 1943 unpublished play Happily Ever After by Chester Erskine.
Director: Richard Whorf
Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Cast: Robert Walker, June Allyson, Hume Cronyn, Audrey Totter, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Reginald Owen, Gerald Oliver Smith
US Box Office: $5,672,500 ($142,900,000 adjusted for inflation)
Film Format: Black & White
Genre: Comedy
Release Date: February 28, 1946
Plot Summary: In October of 1944, sailor John Hill (Robert Walker) marries Mary Breckinridge (June Allyson), who he had just met earlier that day, on a whim shortly before he is to be sent to Europe. However, John receives a medical discharge before he is deployed, and now he and Mary are stuck together in a cheap apartment. Mary’s friend and employer Freddie Potts (Hume Cronyn), who had romantic feelings for her, is less than thrilled by this. Marriage proves to be difficult for John and Mary due to their own personality differences and external factors: John is jealous of Mary’s friendship with Freddie, and Mary is concerned about John’s seeming interest in neighbor Lisa Borescu (Audrey Totter).
Production: In early 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer producer Edwin H. Knopf began working on a new romantic comedy film for the studio. The film was based on an unpublished play written by Chester Erskine titled Happily Ever After (1943). Anne Morrison Chapin and Whitfield Cook wrote the screenplay based on Erskine’s original concept. John and Mary and For Better, For Worse were working titles for the film before The Sailor Takes a Wife was chosen. Richard Whorf was chosen to direct The Sailor Takes a Wife. Whorf primarily worked as an actor at this time, and The Sailor Takes a Wife was only the third film he directed after the comedy Blonde Fever (1944) and the mystery The Hidden Eye (1945).
Robert Walker was cast as John Hill, the sailor who marries Mary before he is supposed to be deployed. Walker had a contract with MGM and recently appeared in the war film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944). He would later be best known for playing the villain in Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), which was released shortly before Walker’s death. June Allyson was cast as Mary Breckenridge, the stenographer who marries John. She had recently appeared in the musical Two Girls and a Sailor (1944). Walker and Allyson previously starred together in the romantic comedy Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945) and both later had roles in the star-studded musical biopic Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), which was co-directed by Richard Whorf.
The Sailor Takes a Wife began filming in March of 1945 and shooting wrapped up in May. The film was shot primarily on set at MGM Studios in Culver City, California. The Sailor Takes a Wife was originally supposed to be released on December 28, 1945, but was delayed until February of 1946.
Fun Facts and Trivia: Hume Cronyn had an uncredited bit part in the drama film The Secret Heart (1946), which starred June Allyson. She and Cronyn later starred together in the romantic comedy The Bride Goes Wild (1948). Audrey Totter had a bit part in Her Highness and the Bellboy, which co-starred Allyson and Robert Walker. Walker, Cronyn, and Totter were all featured in drama film The Beginning or the End (1947), which was about the development of the atomic bomb.
Reception: The Sailor Takes a Wife had its New York premiere on February 28, 1946. The film went into general release several weeks later. The Sailor Takes a Wife was a success at the box office and it earned a profit for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The critics at Variety magazine gave The Sailor Takes a Wife a positive review. They praised the film for its humor, directing, and general good production values.
Why You Should See It: The Sailor Takes a Wife is an average but enjoyable classic comedy film. June Allyson is cute and charming in her role as Mary. The various apartment mishaps and problems that Mary and John have to deal with are funny. Eddie “Rochester” Anderson was hilarious as Harry the apartment manager. In general, most of the character interactions in The Sailor Takes a Wife are amusing.