Always a Bride (1940)

Alice Bond is under a lot of pressure from her parents to marry Marshall Winkler, an arrogant blowhard whose only positive quality is his money. Alice really cares for Michael Stevens, an ... See full summary »

Director:

Noel M. Smith

Writers:

Barry Conners (play), Robert E. Kent (screenplay)

Stars:

Rosemary Lane, George Reeves, John Eldredge

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rosemary Lane	...	Alice Bond
George Reeves	...	Michael 'Mike' Stevens
John Eldredge	...	Marshall Winkler
Virginia Brissac	...	Lucy Bond
Francis Pierlot	...	Pete Bond
Oscar O'Shea	...	Uncle Dan Jarvis
Ferris Taylor	...	Mayor Paul Loomis
Joe King	...	Mr. Franklyn (as Joseph King)
Phyllis Ruth	...	Mary Ann Coleridge
Lucia Carroll	...	Mayor's Receptionist
Jack Mower	...	Martin, First Man Yelling Out at Meeting
Tom Wilson	...	Charlie, Dance Party Guest
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harrison Greene	...	Mr. Lucas (scenes deleted)
Vera Lewis	...	Second Old Maid (scenes deleted)
Edwin Stanley	...	(scenes deleted)

Storyline

Alice Bond is under a lot of pressure from her parents to marry Marshall Winkler, an arrogant blowhard whose only positive quality is his money. Alice really cares for Michael Stevens, an incredibly charming but utterly unambitious ne'er-do-well. Even Alice realizes that there's no future for a man who is content to sponge off his wealthy uncle instead of working. Michael convinces Alice's parents to let him marry her if he can get the job he intends to pursue. The catch is that the job is that of mayor, and to get it, he must run against the formidable political machine of the incumbent Mayor Loomis.

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Plot Keywords:

mayor | male female relationship | mail order bride | in law | party | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 1940 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Reeves replaced William Lundigan in this film.

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Quotes

Michael 'Mike' Stevens: Don't misunderstand me, Marshall. All marriages are happy. It's the arguments that aren't so happy.

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Connections

Version of Brides Are Like That (1936)

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Soundtracks

When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano
(uncredited)
Music by Leon René
Played by the band during the argument

User Reviews

Not much of a movie

ALWAYS A BRIDE (1940) stars Rosemary Lane, a couple years removed from her late-1930s musical successes with her sisters, and a little-known George Reeves, early in his Hollywood career and a decade before he'd become famous as television's Superman. They're surrounded by a cast of D-list actors in this third-rate production.

The story is weak and the ending, coming only an hour into the film, caught me off-guard. I was expecting the story to continue a little further and was surprised to see it "conclude" where it did. The film feels more like an episode of a television (or radio) series. It's a short story, not a novel. Not quite enough material for a feature-length movie.

Reeves is charming, though, as a sweet-talking idler who first must win back his sweetheart and then finds himself in the middle of a mayoral race.

Rosemary Lane didn't have the kind of Hollywood success that her sister Priscilla enjoyed, but she's always been a personal favorite of mine. Her movie career didn't go very far without her sisters and I would've liked to see her in more (and better) films.

ALWAYS A BRIDE is pretty inconsequential. A cheap quickie with the minimum allowable entertainment value, buoyed only by George Reeves's charm. The movie is really only of interest to fans of Reeves or Lane.