Letter of Introduction (1938)
-
40% of users liked it
(24 ratings)
A master blend of high comedy and tense emotional drama, A Letter of Introduction reteams Adolphe Menjou, Andrea Leeds, and Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, who'd previously costarred in the negligible Goldwyn Follies. Menjou plays John Mannering, a Barrymoresque actor who years earlier had… More A master blend of high comedy and tense emotional drama, A Letter of Introduction reteams Adolphe Menjou, Andrea Leeds, and Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, who'd previously costarred in the negligible Goldwyn Follies. Menjou plays John Mannering, a Barrymoresque actor who years earlier had divorced his wife and severed his relationship with his daughter Kay (Andrea Leeds). Now a grown woman, Kay aspires to an acting career, fully determined to make it on her own without her father's help. She goes so far as to change her last name to Martin, and to keep her actual relationship to Mannering a secret from the public. This set-up leads to a dizzying series of complications, including the breakup of Mannering's romance with a tootsie named Lydia Hoyt (Anne Sheridan), who falsely assumes that Kay is Mannering's mistress, and Kay's own romantic travails with vaudeville hoofer Barry Paige (George Murphy). Meanwhile, Kay's ventriloquist friend Bergen and his dummy McCarthy rise to superstardom on radio. It is, in fact, Bergen and Charlie who are instrumental in reuniting the estranged Mannering and Kay, paving the way for the film's tear-stained conclusion. Unavailable for many years, A Letter of Introduction re-emerged on the Public Domain circuit in 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- John M. Stahl
- Written By
- Sheridan Gibney, Leonard Spigelgass
- Genres
- Drama, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Aug 5, 1938 Wide
No Critic Reviews Found…
Featured Audience Ratings
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Also available on
Other Retailers
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Subscription Services
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Cast
-
Adolphe Menjou
as John Mannering
-
Andrea Leeds
as Kay Martin
-
Edgar Bergen
as Edgar Bergen
-
George Murphy
as Barry Paige
-
Rita Johnson
as Honey
-
Ann Sheridan
as Lydia Hoyt
-
Eve Arden
as Cora Phelps
- John Archer
- Irving Bacon
- Don 'Red' Barry
-
May Boley
as Mrs. Meggs
-
Wade Boteler
as Policeman
-
Don Brodie
as Reporter
-
Douglas Carter Beane
as Photographer
-
Chester Clute
as Doctor
-
Ernest Cossart
as Andrews Mannering's Butler
- Inez Courtney
- Edith Craig
-
Mark Daniels
as Kibitzer
-
William B. Davidson
as Mr. Raleigh
-
William "Wild Bill" Elliott
as Backgammon Man
-
Dorothy Granger
as Women at Party
-
Jonathan Hale
as Lou Woodstock
-
Eleanor Hansen
as Stagestruck Girl
-
Sam Hayes
as Announcer
- Robert E. Homans
-
Kathleen Howard
as Aunt Jonnie
-
George Humbert
as Musician on Stage
-
Frank Jenks
as Joe
-
Armand Kaliz
as Jules the Barber
-
Crauford Kent
as Mr. Sinclair
-
Doris Lloyd
as Charlotte
-
Alphonse Martell
as Maitre d'Hotel
-
Dummy: Charlie McCarthy
as Himself
-
Constance Moore
as Autograph Seeker
-
Natalie Moorhead
as Mrs. Maud Raleigh
-
Leonard Mudie
as Critic
-
Raymond Parker
as Call Boy
-
Walter Perry
as Backstage Doorman
-
Esther Ralston
as Mrs. Sinclair
- Frank Reicher
-
Kane Richmond
as Man
-
Frances Robinson
as Hatcheck Girl
-
Rolfe Sedan
as Fitter
- Charles Sherlock
-
Philip Trent
as Men at Party
-
Richard Tucker
as Gossip
- Theodore von Eltz
-
Ray Walker
as Reporter
-
Morgan Wallace
as Editor
-
Claire Whitney
as Nurse
-
Dick Winslow
as Elevator Boy
-
Russell Hopton
as Process Server
-
Kitty McHugh
as Girl Singers
-
Sharon Lewis
as Bridge Player
- Mortimer Snerd
