The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)

The Devil and Miss Jones is a 1941 American romantic comedy film directed by Sam Wood and starring Jean Arthur, Robert Cummings, and Charles Coburn. Its plot follows a department store tycoon who goes undercover in one of his Manhattan shops to ferret union organizers, but instead becomes involved in the employees' personal lives.

With a screenplay by Norman Krasna, the film was the product of an independent collaboration between Krasna and producer Frank Ross (Jean Arthur's husband). Their short-lived production company released two films through RKO Radio Pictures (Miss Jones and the later A Lady Takes a Chance released in 1943). The film was well received by critics upon its release and garnered Academy Award nominations for Coburn and Krasna.

Plot

Cantankerous tycoon John P. Merrick, the richest man in the world, learns that he has been hung in effigy by the employees of a department store that he owns, who are trying to unionize the store. To identify the agitators, Merrick, who has not had his photograph in a newspaper in 20 years, goes undercover as a shoe clerk at the store under the assumed name Thomas Higgins. There, he befriends fellow clerk Mary Jones and her recently fired boyfriend Joe O'Brien, a labor union organizer. Over time, his experiences cause him to grow more sympathetic to his workers. He also starts to fall in love with sweet-natured clerk Elizabeth Ellis.

During a trip to the beach at Coney Island with his co-workers, Merrick begins to see a different side of Joe after he helps him avoid an arrest at a local police station by reciting the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. Merrick then joins Joe, Elizabeth, and Mary on the beach, where he and Elizabeth nap until dark. Believing the two to be fully asleep, Joe and Mary discuss the union attempts and the future of their relationship. Unbeknownst to them, Merrick listens in, and after Joe leaves, he pretends to awake, taking the opportunity to grab a list Joe dropped of employees willing to strike.

The remaining trio then travel home via subway, where Merrick drops a card showing that his undercover persona was working for Merrick. This, along with other factors, leads Mary to deduce that Merrick is a spy, and she tells Joe. Desperate to recover the list, Joe and Mary try unsuccessfully and they, along with Merrick, end up in the store manager's office. Disgusted with the treatment of the employees, Merrick berates the store manager, who is unaware of Merrick's true identity. Emboldened by Merrick, Mary declares that they have a list of 400 employees who will strike. The manager tricks the group into giving him the list. When they realize the manager's deceit, Merrick and Mary take back the list and destroy it by eating it, after which Mary uses the intercom system to successfully encourage the entire store to strike.

In the following days, all of the employees picket Merrick's home. Merrick finally reveals his identity and has Mary, Elizabeth, and Joe meet him and his staff to discuss terms. They are initially unaware of his identity, but upon discovery, Joe faints, Mary screams, and Elizabeth stares up at Merrick in disbelief as Merrick asks her if she would be willing to go back on a statement she made about not wanting to marry a rich man. Some time later, Joe and Mary, and Merrick and Elizabeth, are wed, and Merrick takes all the store employees on a cruise to Honolulu.

Cast

Production

Frank Ross and Norman Krasna decided to produce a movie together starring Jean Arthur (Ross's wife) based on a story by Krasna. The three formed a partnership and borrowed $600,000 from a bank to finance the film. In May it was announced that Krasna, Arthur and Ross would work without salary in change for profits and the film would be distributed through RKO. It was Arthur's first film at RKO since The Ex-Mrs. Bradford. By July Charles Coburn was attached.

The script was written in ten weeks. Krasna said "there was a tremendous social statement in" the film. "King Vidor in The Crowd [1928] would do it to the employee; I do it to the richest man in the world, so you'll smile at him. 'Are you chewing gum?' 'No, I’m not.' 'Open your mouth.' He swallows his gum."

In August 1940 it was announced Sam Wood would direct.

Filming

Filming started December 16, 1940. It finished February 1941. Krasna said " Sam Wood was a fabulous technician who knew nothing about the word, so that script stayed the same" throughout the shoot.

Filming started without a leading man cast. In January it was announced Robert Cummings would be borrowed from Universal. Filming had to stop for nine days so that Robert Cummings could shoot extra scenes at MGM in Free and Easy in late January.

The film needed three days of retakes, which included adding a role for Montagu Love.

Krasna claimed he heard Wood saw the film "and was horrified because he was an extreme rightist. I do it at such an angle—not to fool people—but because I believe it’s the best way to do something of social significance."

Krasna described the experience of making the film as one of the best in his career.

Release

The Devil and Miss Jones had an early screening in New Orleans on April 2, 1941, followed by a premiere in Miami on April 4, 1941.

In order to promote the film, Arthur agreed to appear in a "cheesecake" still for the movie, which she was traditionally opposed to doing.

Reception

Critical

Variety wrote "At times, script tends to over dialog passages that tend to slow down the otherwise neatly-paced temp but this is minor shortcoming in the overall content of the picture."

Filmink called it "an utterly brilliant social comedy... a rare pro-union movie from Hollywood."

Krasna called it "the best picture I ever wrote, in my opinion. I worked in Macy’s when I was going to law school, and I know what working in a department store was like. The Los Angeles Times, which was an arch-conservative newspaper at that time, knew enough to write an editorial against the picture. But the guy who came from some labor magazine... got up at the press preview in the studio and said, “You copped out.” He should have turned toward the audience and said, “That’s what it’s like, exploiting the lower classes.” I looked at this amateur. He hadn’t the vaguest idea of how propaganda works and what social statement I wanted to make. The editorial writer for The Los Angeles Times knew this was a dangerous picture."

Box office

According to RKO accounts, the film grossed $1,421,000 in the United States, making a profit of $117,000. However Jean Arthur's biographer wrote this was a disappointment to Ross, who was "absolutely devastated" by the result, according to Ross' son.

Ross and Krasna later collaborated on Krasna's play The Man with Blond Hair. They announced they would make another film, Googer Plays the Field but it appears to have not been made.

Accolades

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor – Charles Coburn

Nominated for Best Original Screenplay – Norman Krasna

Adaptations to other media

On November 14, 1941, Philip Morris Playhouse presented a version of The Devil and Miss Jones on CBS radio. The adaptation starred Lana Turner. The story was also adapted as a radio play on two broadcasts of Lux Radio Theatre, first on January 19, 1942, with Turner and Lionel Barrymore, then on March 12, 1945, with Linda Darnell and Frank Morgan. It was also adapted twice on The Screen Guild Theater, first on June 7, 1943, with Laraine Day, Charles Coburn and George Murphy, again on August 12, 1946, with Van Johnson and Donna Reed. It was also adapted on the October 23, 1946, broadcast of Academy Award Theater, starring Charles Coburn and Virginia Mayo.

In 1950 Ross announced he wanted to make the film as a musical for his then wife Joan Caulfield. However, it was never made.

References

Sources

McGilligan, Patrick (1986). "Norman Krasna: The Woolworths Touch". Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age. pp. 212–235.

Jewell, Richard (1994). "RKO Film Grosses, 1929–51". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. Vol. 14. pp. 51–58. ISSN 0143-9685.

External links

The Devil and Miss Jones at IMDb

The Devil and Miss Jones at AllMovie

The Devil and Miss Jones at Rotten Tomatoes

The Devil and Miss Jones at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

The Devil and Miss Jones at the TCM Movie Database (archived)

Streaming audio

The Devil and Miss Jones on Lux Radio Theatre: January 19, 1942

The Devil and Miss Jones on The Screen Guild Theater: June 7, 1943

The Devil and Miss Jones on Lux Radio Theatre: March 12, 1945

The Devil and Miss Jones Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine on The Screen Guild Theater: August 12, 1946

The Devil and Miss Jones on Academy Award Theater: October 23, 1946