Bedtime Story
Bedtime Story
NR | 25 December 1941 (USA)
Bedtime Story Trailers

A Braodway playwright wants to keep on writing plays for his wife to star in, but all she wants is to retire to Connecticut and, following a few 'worlds-apart" discussion of the issue, they get a divorce. The actress marries a banker in a fit of pique only to quickly discover the divorce was not valid. She communicates this information to her not-yet ex-husband and he, to prevent consummation of the invalid marriage rescues her by sending plumbers, waiters, porters, chambermaids, bellhops, desk clerks, exterminators and, finally, a crowd of roistering conventioneers to the suite to ensure no bedtime story would take place there

Reviews
Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
Brightlyme i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.
Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
pizzgwn While watching this movie today, I noticed that the 'play within a play' scene that takes place is verbatim the scene in 'Theadora Goes Wild' when Irene Dunne blasts the ladies of the 'Garden Club'. I was amazed to find that none of the writers associated with the story/screenplay were credited for 'Theodora'. Loretta Young to me is always enjoyable no matter the caliber of movie in which she appears. I was disappointed in the casting of Fredric March. He always struck me as comfortable in dramatic roles but just not very good in comedic roles. He had the same uncomfortable quality in 'Nothing Sacred' and 'I Married a Witch'. Though these movies were entertaining it was the other cast members who carried the films.
bkoganbing I was looking at the Citadel Film series book The Films of Fredric March while watching Bedtime Story and the author there makes the point that this seemed to be something that might have been originally designed for Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. That might be the case, but I doubt even those two could have done as good a job as Fredric March and Loretta Young did in this film.March and Young both knew how to play comedy and well, despite both of them primarily known for drama. With something like Nothing Sacred among March's best films who would doubt that? As for Loretta, she's every bit as sparkling as Irene Dunne at her best.To make the analogy complete, there's even a Ralph Bellamy part in this film, ably done by Allyn Joslyn. In fact in many ways Joslyn's the best thing in the film.The lead characters seem to me to be based on that noted theatrical couple, playwright Charles MacArthur and actress Helen Hayes. The film begins with Loretta Young taking a curtain call and giving a farewell to the theater. She and her hubby want to settle down and enjoy life. But Loretta should have suspected something when March wasn't around to take the bow with her.Good reason because that isn't March's idea at all. In fact he's written a new play for his wife, but she wants nothing to do with it. She's made her mind up and that breaks them apart. And good old Allyn Joslyn, stuffy banker in the Ralph Bellamy tradition, is ready on the rebound. He catches her all right, but the game isn't over, not from March's point of view.Bedtime Story starts out a little slow, but really makes up for it in the end. That final scene as the newly married Joslyn and Young are trying to get down to business is absolutely hysterical. The situations are funny enough, but Joslyn's reactions are what really put it over. It's something borrowed from A Night At The Opera.In fact I spotted elements from The Awful Truth, His Girl Friday, and Twentieth Century as well as the Marx Brothers classic. And producer B.P. Schulberg and director Alexander Hall make it all work.Rounding out the cast in familiar type cast parts are Helen Westley, Robert Benchley, Eve Arden, Joyce Compton and Grady Sutton. You just mention those names and any devoted film buff can tell you exactly what they played.I'm surprised Bedtime Story isn't rated higher by fans of both leads. It's a real gem of a screwball comedy, don't miss it.
MartinHafer This was a pretty interesting film for me because my wife and I watched it and had rather different ideas about the film--at least until the final half hour which we both enjoyed. She hated most of the film--mostly because Frederic March's character was such an awful liar and manipulator. I think she just wanted something terrible to happen to him once and for all! I loved the film and didn't mind that March played such a cad. After all, the guy who manipulates his wife and tries to prevent her from remarrying is a rather common plot element--used in such wonderful movies as HIS GIRL Friday and THE AWFUL TRUTH. I could let this go and just enjoy. Which camp you fall into might just determine whether this movie is for you.The film begins with Loretta Young on stage at the end of a performance. She announces that she and her playwright husband (March) are retiring. It seems that they have long talked about giving it all up once they made a fortune and moving to a farm. The trouble is that March has suddenly changed his mind and he never bothered to tell his wife!! And, when he mentions that he has just written ANOTHER play and wants her to star in it, she walks out and gets a divorce.Again and again, March connives to get Young back, though it mostly seems because he wants her in the new play and not because he really loves her. My wife was yelling at the television at these points--calling March a "schmuck" and advising Young not to believe his lies! Well, being a Hollywood film, the ending was not too unexpected. However, I was delighted how well it was handled. Once Young remarried but before she could consummate the marriage, March did some truly amazing things to prevent this. You have to see it to believe it, but the whole thing is rather reminiscent of the stateroom scene from A NIGHT AT THE OPERA.Funny and charming--I really liked this film and think my wife is wrong. Fortunately, she rarely reads my reviews and so I'm probably not "in the doghouse"--unless someone would tell her. Can you please keep it a secret folks?!
boblipton Some wonderful actors are a lot of fun in a curiously unengaging screwball comedy. The cast is a great one: Fredric March and Loretta Young in the leads, with Robert Benchley, Eve Arden, the unfortunately forgotten Allyn Joslyn and Joyce Compton as a blonde bimbo. It has some wonderful comedic moments -- the one where Young orders Westley to sit down and play the piano is priceless. However, the whole thing never quite gels.Perhaps it is because of the theatrical background of the story: March gives one of his few miscalculated performances. It is impossible to tell when his character is being sincere and when his character is trying to manipulate the other characters. When he is in full blown theatrical mode, as in THE ROYAL FAMILY OF Broadway, he is hilarious. When he he plays a small-time chiseler, as in NOTHING SACRED, he is hilarious. Perhaps it is because there seems to be no chemistry between him and Young. It is appropriate to their characters' relationship in the movie, but it is not, very interesting. And that pretty well describes this movie. Watch it for the moments, but not for the movie.