Kurt at 13:02, 15 March 2023

2023-03-15T13:02:52Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:02, 15 March 2023
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	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| name = To Dorothy a Son		\| name = To Dorothy a Son
	\| image = ~~"To_Dorothy~~,~~_a_Son"_~~(1956).jpg		\| image = To Dorothy, a Son (1956).jpg
	\| image_size =		\| image_size =
	\| caption = ~~U.S. half sheet poster~~		\| caption =
	\| director = [[Muriel Box]]		\| director = [[Muriel Box]]
	\| producer = Peter Rogers<br>Ben Schrift		\| producer = Peter Rogers<br>Ben Schrift

Kurt at 17:11, 13 March 2023

2023-03-13T17:11:50Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:11, 13 March 2023
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	~~{{short description\|1954 film}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=June 2016}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=June 2016}}~~
	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| name = To Dorothy a Son		\| name = To Dorothy a Son
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	*{{IMDb title\|0047589}}		*{{IMDb title\|0047589}}
	*[https://archive.org/details/variety201-1956-02/page/n17/mode/1up?q=%22muriel+box%22 Review of film] at Variety		*[https://archive.org/details/variety201-1956-02/page/n17/mode/1up?q=%22muriel+box%22 Review of film] at Variety
	~~{{Muriel Box}}~~

	[[Category:1954 films]]		[[Category:1954 films]]
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	[[Category:1950s English-language films]]		[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
	[[Category:1950s British films]]		[[Category:1950s British films]]


	~~{{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub}}~~

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2023-03-12T19:24:57Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 14:24, 12 March 2023
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en>Stephencdickson at 12:46, 8 March 2023

2023-03-08T12:46:27Z

New page

{{short description|1954 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = To Dorothy a Son
| image = "To_Dorothy,_a_Son"_(1956).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = U.S. half sheet poster
| director = [[Muriel Box]]
| producer = Peter Rogers Ben Schrift
| writer = [[Peter Rogers]]
|based_on = ''[[To Dorothy, a Son]]'' by [[Roger MacDougall]]
| starring = [[Shelley Winters]] [[John Gregson]] [[Peggy Cummins]] [[Wilfrid Hyde-White]]
| music = [[Lambert Williamson]]
| cinematography = [[Ernest Steward]] H. A. R. Thomson
| editing = [[Alfred Roome]]
| studio = Welbeck Films
| distributor = [[Independent Film Distributors]]
| released = 29 November 1954
| runtime = 81 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = £104,557 (UK)<ref>Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', ''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television'', Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p 504</ref>
}}
'''''To Dorothy a Son''''' is a black and white 1954 British gentle [[comedy film]] in the form of a [[farce]] directed by [[Muriel Box]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shooting on location a scene for 'To Dorothy, A Son' (including Ernest Steward; Muriel Box and Barbara Wainwright) - National Portrait Gallery |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw305325/Shooting-on-location-a-scene-for-To-Dorothy-A-Son-including-Ernest-Steward-Muriel-Box-and-Barbara-Wainwright |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=www.npg.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> and starring [[Shelley Winters]], [[John Gregson]] and [[Peggy Cummins]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b77a0d014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712004803/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b77a0d014|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-12|title=To Dorothy, A Son (1954)|work=BFI}}</ref> Known in the U.S. as '''''Cash on Delivery''''', it is based on the 1950 play ''[[To Dorothy, a Son]]'' by [[Roger MacDougall]] which had enjoyed a lengthy run in the [[West End theatre|West End]]. It was shot at [[Elstree Studios]] near [[London]] with sets designed by the [[art director]] [[George Provis]]. It was distributed in America by [[RKO Pictures]] in January 1956.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=51780| title=Cash on Delivery: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= 2 June 2014}}</ref>

==Premise==

Tony Rapallo, a composer, is married (or so he thinks) and his wife Dorothy is pregnant and expecting their child. All is thrown into confusion when his first wife Myrtle appears from America claiming that they are still married. However, her motivation is not to get Tony back, but to ensure she is the recipient of a $2 million inheritance from her New Yorker uncle, Uncle Joe. This will states that if a son is born to Tony before 9am on a certain day then the son will inherit the money, if not then Myrtle inherits all. Myrtle therefore hopes the birth will e after 9am.

It gets more complicated when the lawyer explains Tony and Myrtle were never legally married in the first place because they were married in [[Tonga]] and although they thought they had been there 7 days they had only been six due to the [[International Date Line]] and therefore fell short of the minimum stay before marriage was permitted.

When 9am passes she celebrates but Tony is more concerned about the baby. However, he suddenly realises the will meant 9am New York time: five hours more. With 15 minutes to go and Myrtle in tow, a baby starts to cry. After brief celebration it seems it is a girl so Myrtle still gets the money, but it is twins and the second child born with seconds to go is a boy. Tony wants to be generous and offers Myrtle half thge money which she accepts. When she calls her boyfriend he says it is 10am not 9am because they are on Summer Time. So Myrtle is entitled to all the money., She decides to give Tony half.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
* [[Shelley Winters]] as Myrtle La Mar
* [[John Gregson]] as Tony Rapallo
* [[Peggy Cummins]] as Dorothy Rapallo
* [[Wilfrid Hyde-White]] as Mr Starke the lawyer
* [[Mona Washbourne]] as Cymbeline Appleby the midwife
* [[Hal Osmond]] as Livingstone Potts
* [[Hartley Power]] as Cy Daniel
* [[Maurice Kaufmann]] as Elmer, Myrtle's boyfriend
* [[John Warren (actor)|John Warren]] as Waiter
* [[Fred Berger (actor)|Fred Berger]] as Furrier
* [[Dorothy Bramhall]] as Starke's secretary
* [[Nicholas Parsons]] as Passport Official
* [[Ronald Adam (actor)|Ronald Adam]] as Parsons
* [[Martin Miller (actor)|Martin Miller]] as Brodcynsky
* [[Alfie Bass]] as Cab Driver
* [[Anthony Oliver]] as Express Reporter
* [[Joan Sims]] as Telephone Operator
* [[Aubrey Mather]] as Dr. Cameron
* [[Meredith Edwards (actor)|Meredith Edwards]] as Mr Carter, the landlord
* [[Campbell Singer]] as Pub Landlord
* [[Marjorie Rhodes]] as Landlady
* [[Charles Hawtrey (actor, born 1914)|Charles Hawtrey]] as Waiter at Pub
* [[Joan Newell]] as Mrs. Robinson
* [[Bartlett Mullins]] as Mechanic
* [[Gudrun Ure]] as Cy Daniel's Secretary
* Grace Denbeigh-Russell as Spinster
* Charles Hammond as 'Express' Photographer
* [[John Warren (actor)|John Warren]] as Waiter
{{div col end}}

==Critical reception==
''[[TV Guide]]'' described the film as "a time-zone comedy, with Winters leading a British cast to give the film US appeal...None of it is terribly interesting" ;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/cash-on-delivery/review/110473/|title=Cash On Delivery|work=TVGuide.com}}</ref> whereas ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "BELIEVE it or not, the running time of a stork determines the heir or heiress to $2,000,000 in ''Cash on Delivery'', a bright, British farce that was fun on delivery at the Little Carnegie yesterday...Shelley Winters, as Myrtle, is in one of those made-to-order roles. John Gregson, as Tony, and Peggy Cummins, as Dorothy, are fine. And Mona Washbourne makes a delightfully tart nurse. Deliver yourself to the Little Carnegie. You'll have a good time."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/reviews/movies|title=Movie Reviews|date=26 January 2020|accessdate=28 January 2020|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0047589}}
*[https://archive.org/details/variety201-1956-02/page/n17/mode/1up?q=%22muriel+box%22 Review of film] at Variety
{{Muriel Box}}

[[Category:1954 films]]
[[Category:1954 comedy films]]
[[Category:British films based on plays]]
[[Category:Films directed by Muriel Box]]
[[Category:British comedy films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Peter Rogers]]
[[Category:Films produced by Peter Rogers]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films shot at British National Studios]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:1950s British films]]

{{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub}}

To Dorothy a Son - Revision history

Kurt at 13:02, 15 March 2023

Kurt at 17:11, 13 March 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Stephencdickson at 12:46, 8 March 2023