A Girl in Every Port (1952 film)

1952 American comedy film by Chester Erskine

Groucho Marx
Marie Wilson
William Bendix

CinematographyNicholas MusuracaEdited byRalph DawsonMusic byRoy Webb

Production
company

RKO Radio Pictures

Distributed byRKO Pictures

Release dates

January 8, 1952 (1952-01-08) (New York)
^[1] (^[1])

March 20, 1952 (1952-03-20) (Chicago)
^[2] (^[2])

March 21, 1952 (1952-03-21) (Los Angeles)
^[3] (^[3])

Running time

86 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

A Girl in Every Port is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Chester Erskine. The film stars Groucho Marx, Marie Wilson and William Bendix.^[4] It is based on the short story "They Sell Sailors Elephants" by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan.^[5]

Plot

Benny Linn and Tim Dunnovan are sailors assigned to the same ship. Tim spends some inheritance money that he received to purchase a racehorse named Little Aaron. Tim’s division officer disagrees with the purchase and orders Ben to help Tim return the horse to recover his money. However, Tim has already hired a team to train Little Aaron. Benny and Tim discover that Little Aaron has a history of weak ankles and cannot run very well. However, they also learn that Little Aaron has an identical twin, Little Shamrock, who has good ankles and can run fast.

Ben and Tim scheme to switch the horses and make money in a race. They find themselves trying to juggle the expectations of their division officer, the former owner of Little Aaron, a carhop named Miss Jane, some local mobsters and their fellow sailors, who all want a piece of the action.

Cast

Groucho Marx as Benjamin Franklin "Benny" Linn
Marie Wilson as Jane Sweet
William Bendix as Timothy Aloysius "Tim" Dunnovan
Don DeFore as Bert Sedgwick
Gene Lockhart as Doc Garvey
Dee Hartford as Millicent Temple
Hanley Stafford as Fleet Admiral Temple
Teddy Hart as High Life
Percy Helton as Drive-In Manager
George E. Stone as Skeezer

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic A. H. Weiler wrote: "The parlay of Groucho Marx, Marie Wilson, William Bendix, to say nothing of a horse-racing mix-up, the United States Navy and sabotage should have paid off in plenty of laughs. But 'A Girl in Every Port' ... brimming with these ingredients, is merely an involved mélange of obvious antics and gags, only one or two of which are likely to generate chuckles."^[1]

Critic Mae Tinée of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "It is not customary to worry about plots in such films, but no one seems to have given this one even a passing thought. It's a sloppy hodge-podge about a couple of gobs and a couple of horses, with a lot of tired complications tossed in here and there. Strictly second-rate stuff."^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b Weiler, A. H. (1952-02-14). "The Screen in Review: At the Paramount". The New York Times. p. 23.
^ ^a ^b Tinée, Mae (1952-03-25). "Groucho's New Movie Called 2d Rate Stuff". Chicago Tribune. p. 2, Part 4.
^ Scott, John L. (1952-03-22). "Farce Mixes Comics, Gags, Melodrama". Los Angeles Times. p. 12.
^ "A Girl in Every Port". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
^ Coniam, Matthew (4 August 2016). That's Me, Groucho! The Solo Career of Groucho Marx. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 63. ISBN 978-1476663739.