Idiot's Delight (1939)
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45% of users liked it
(856 ratings)
Robert E. Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Idiot's Delight starred Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne on Broadway. Set in a lavish alpine hotel bordering an Italian air base, the story throws together several disparate people, each in his or her own way affected by the World War that… More Robert E. Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Idiot's Delight starred Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne on Broadway. Set in a lavish alpine hotel bordering an Italian air base, the story throws together several disparate people, each in his or her own way affected by the World War that threatens to erupt at a moment's notice. The only person who doesn't seem to have a political or economic stake in world affairs is Harry Van, a two-bit American entertainer who is stranded in the hotel with his travelling all-girl troupe, "Les Blondes." Harry is convinced that the alluring Irene, the foreign-accented "travelling companion" of munitions tycoon Achille Weber, is actually an American girl with whom he'd had a one-night stand years earlier, but Irene laughs off his insinuations. Eventually, Irene turns to Harry for comfort when Weber proves too disgustingly warmongering for her tastes. When war breaks out and the hotel is targeted for bombing, Harry makes sure that everyone gets to safety; he himself stays behind with Irene, with whom he has fallen in love. The two sing a hymn as the hotel is blown to oblivion. When Idiot's Delight was filmed in 1939, Norma Shearer did her best Lynn Fontanne imitation as Irene, while Clark Gable remained Clark Gable in his interpretation of Harry Van (his song-and-dance rendition of "Puttin' on the Ritz" is a classic of sneering insouciance). The film underwent an extensive "MGM-izing": while the pre-European affair between Harry and Irene is never dramatized in the play, the film shows Harry and Irene commiserating in a long prologue set in a seedy vaudeville house--and, in keeping with censorship restrictions, it is made abundantly clear that, while Harry befriends Irene, he does not sleep with her. The munitions manufacturer, here played by Edward Arnold, is depicted as an aberration, and not representative of "honest" business moguls (many of whom were close personal chums of MGM head Louis B. Mayer). And, while the ending of the play does not tell us whether or not Harry and Irene survive the bombing, the film permits the lovers a sun-streamed happy ending. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Clarence Brown
- Written By
- Robert E. Sherwood
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jan 27, 1939 Wide
- Studio
- Unknown
Critic Reviews
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Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
WWII + Gable+ Gable singing! Add Norma Shearer for more MGM star power.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
An unfulfilling adaptation of Robert E. Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize-winning play.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Norma Shearer
as Irene Fellara
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Clark Gable
as Harry Van
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Edward Arnold
as Achille Weber
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Charles Coburn
as Dr. Waldersee
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Joseph Schildkraut
as Capt. Kirvline
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Burgess Meredith
as Quillery
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Laura Hope Crewes
as Mme. Zuleika
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Peter Willes
as Mr. Cherry
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William Edmunds
as Dumptey
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Fritz Feld
as Pittatek
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Virginia Grey
as Shirley Laughlin
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Lorraine Krueger
as Bebe
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Paula Stone
as Beulah Tremeyne
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Virginia Dale
as Francine, Les Blondes
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Joan Marsh
as Elaine Messiger
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Bernadene Hayes
as Edna Creesh
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Clem Bevans
as Jimmy Barzek
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Hobart Cavanaugh
as Frueheim the Theater Manager
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Jimmy Conlin
as Stagehand
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Frank Faylen
as Ed
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Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher
as Donald Navadel
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Bud Geary
as Ambulance Driver
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Eddie Gribbon
as Cop
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William Irving
as Sandro
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Charles Judels
as Greek Restaurant Owner
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Evelyn Knapp
as Nurse
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Mitchell Lewis
as Indian
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Francis McDonald
as Flight Captain
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Claire McDowell
as Mother
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Buddy Messinger
as Usher
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Robert Middlemass
as Hospital Commandant
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Adolph Milar
as Fellara
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Frank Orth
as Benny Zinssar
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Garry Owen
as Newsstand Man
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Paul Panzer
as Greek Chef
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Emory Parnell
as Fifth Avenue Cop
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Lee Phelps
as Train Announcer
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Edward Raquello
as Chiari
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George Sorel
as Major
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Harry Strang
as Sergeant
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Bernard Suss
as Auguste
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Frank M. Thomas
as Bert
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E. Alyn Warren
as Clerk Grand Hotel
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Joe Yule
as Comic
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Gertrude Bennett
as Woman with Powders
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Rudolph Myzet
as Czech Announcer
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Bonita Weber
as Woman with Catsup
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Pat Paterson
as Mrs. Cherry
