Out of the Blue is a 1947 American screwball comedy independent film[2] based on the short story by Vera Caspary, whose work was adapted for Laura and adapted A Letter to Three Wives, also co-wrote this screenplay. It stars George Brent, Virginia Mayo, Turhan Bey, Ann Dvorak and Carole Landis. It was directed by Leigh Jason.
| Out of the Blue | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Leigh Jason |
| Screenplay by | Vera Caspary Walter Bullock Edward Eliscu |
| Story by | Vera Caspary |
| Produced by | Isadore Goldsmith Bryan Foy |
| Starring | George Brent Virginia Mayo Turhan Bey Ann Dvorak Carole Landis |
| Cinematography | Jackson Rose |
| Edited by | Norman Colbert |
| Music by | Carmen Dragon |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Eagle-Lion Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.1 million[1] |
Plot
editArthur Earthleigh (George Brent) lives in an apartment in Greenwich Village, where he is dominated by his wife Mae (Carole Landis) and annoyed by Rabelais, the German Shepherd owned by his neighbour, artist and swinging bachelor David (Turhan Bey). David has a constant parade of attractive women visiting his apartment to pose for him. He currently is being visited by Deborah (Virginia Mayo) who wants David's champion Rabelais to breed with her dog.
When his wife goes off to visit her sister, Arthur visits a bar where he's picked up by interior decorator Olive (Ann Dvorak) who comes home with him. Olive has a taste for brandy that she insists alleviates her heart condition but makes her tipsy. Arthur orders the reluctant Olive to leave, but Olive enters the guest room unbeknownst to Arthur. Waking up the next day Arthur discovers Olive has not only spent the night but redecorated the room. In attempting to get her to leave he knocks Olive down to the floor where he thinks she has died.
Olive's 'body' is then moved about by David, who uses Arthur's fear of having killed Olive to blackmail him into changing his mind about getting a court order to compel David to get rid of his dog. Meanwhile, a serial killer is stalking the Village with two elderly snoopers (Elizabeth Patterson and Julia Dean) believing Olive is his victim. Adding to Arthur's troubles is his wife returning.
Cast
edit- George Brent as Arthur Earthleigh
- Virginia Mayo as Deborah Tyler
- Turhan Bey as David Gelleo
- Ann Dvorak as Olive Jensen
- Carole Landis as Mae Earthleigh
- Elizabeth Patterson as Miss Spring
- Julia Dean as Miss Ritchie
- Richard Lane as Detective Noonan
- Charles Smith as Elevator Boy (as Charlie Smith)
- Paul Harvey as Holliston
- Alton E. Horton as Detective Dombry
- Hadda Brooks as Singer
- Flame as Rabelais
Production
editThe previous year mystery writer Vera Caspary wrote, in England, the screenplay of Bedelia, from her 1945 novel, which was produced by her future husband Isadore Goldsmith. Her original short story for Out of the Blue appeared in Today's Woman magazine in September 1947. She had a percentage deal with Eagle-Lion Films.[3]
Hadda Brooks sings the title song in a nightclub.[4]
Out Of The Blue was the last film Carole Landis made in Hollywood.[5]
Release
editOn 26 November 2019, ClassicFlix released Out of the Blue on a single Blu-ray disc, in MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding with Mono DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.[4][6]
Reception
edit"Brent, who seldom gets a chance to show how accomplished he really is in light comedy easily holds up his end, but it is Miss Dvorak who wows as the screwball interior decorator. Dvorak reveals an entirely new side to a public that, if it hasn’t exactly forgotten her, never remembers her in this sort of thing. Had the others fitted as neatly into their roles, outcome might have been quite different, but it is very hard to accept Bey without a turban, while Virginia Mayo registers only when she simulates a tough babe."[7] - Variety (magazine)
"the direction isn't swiftly paced enough for effective farce, and some of the actors obviously aren’t comfortable in the genre...one must be in an open or forgiving mood to get the most out of this uneven comic effort"[8] - Matt Hough, Home Theater Forum, November 2019
"a curious film, not quite making the grade as a screwball item yet catching a good if spotty reaction through the incongruity of George Brent, Ann Dvorak, and Turhan Bey working as comedians"[7] - Laurence Dabin, Toronto Film Society, November 2020
References
edit- ↑ "Eagle-Lion's US Performance Reviewed by Foy in NY", Variety, 19 March 1947 p 13
- ↑ "'Out of the Blue' (1947) Review". www.thespinningimage.co.uk. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Out of the Blue (1947)". TCMuk.tv.
- 1 2 "Out of the Blue Blu-ray Release Date November 26, 2019". Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "'Out Of The Blue' (1947)". Carole Landis .net. Archived from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "'Out of the Blue' Blu-ray". DVD Beaver .com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- 1 2 "'Out of the Blue' (1947)". Toronto Film Society. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ Hough, Matt (November 10, 2019). "'Out of the Blue' (1947) Blu-ray Review". Home Theater Forum. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
External links
edit- Out of the Blue (1947) - "Under legal license from Cineverse", via: YouTube
Essays
- Out of the Blue (1947) August 30, 2021 essay by R. Emmet Sweeney - TCMDb
- Out of the Blue (1947) - Emanuel Levy
Metadata
- Out of the Blue at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Out of the Blue at the TCM Movie Database (archived)
- Out of the Blue (1947) - AllMovie
- Out of the Blue at IMDb