This movie was made the year after Ginger Rogers decided to make movies without being Fred Astaire's dancing partner. In the interim, she had made two other movies: the romantic comedies Bachelor Mother (1939) with David Niven and Fifth Avenue Girl (1939). As with the later, the present movie was directed by Gregory La Cava. The story and setting has some of the feeling of Steinbeck's Cannery Row.
Primerose Hill--for that is what it was called in the movie—is a poor shanty town on the northern coast of California near San Francisco. Ellie May Adams (Ginger Rogers), her little sister, Honeybell (Joan Carroll), her Grandma (Queenie Vassar) and her father, "Homer" (Miles Manders) are all living from day to day with no visible means of support much like other families on Primerose Hill. "Homer" is a Greek scholar, with a college degree and everything. His "vocation "is translating works from Greek to English. But, something must have gone wrong along the way since he is now a hopeless, sad drunk with no ambition or market for his work.
So, the whole Adams family has to be supported by Ellie May's mother, Mamie (Marjorie Rambeau), who shows up, from time to time, with gifts and money after being away for days at a time. Mamie gets her money from rich men who want to be entertained by local women while they are away from their homes on business trips. But, Mamie is no different than many of her friends on Primerose Hill who support their families the same way, by "swells" who are generally named, Mr. Smith.
One day, Ellie May ties her hair up in pigtails and goes to the beach to catch some fresh crabs for the family. As she walks down the road towards the beach, Gramps (Henry Travers) offers her a ride. When she gets to gas station and Hamburger cafe owned by Graps,she meets she meets Ed Wallace (Joel McCrea) working as a chief cook there who serves his meals with humorous repartee (wisecracks about the food).
Ed takes Ellie May to the beach to crab. He shows her how to catch crabs by throwing a huge rock down on the sand to make the crabs come to the surface.
Ed rides around on a loud motor cycle with a sidecar and frequents the local bar, where he has many Portuguese friends. These "Port-ta-gee" are not rich, but they are hard-working fishermen who like to hang out at the bar called "The Bluebell."
Ellie May works at the cafe with Ed and Gramps and soon picks up the art of repartee, that is served up with meals to make eating there more fun.
Ed and Ellie May eventually get married, but she keeps her secret—that she had run away from home rather than being chased out. One day, she finally has Ed come to her home to meet her family. When he meets them, he leaves her in disgust, since she had lied to him.
Fate ultimately steps in when Ellie May's father accidentally shoots her mother.... This puts Ellie May back home where she is forced to to dress up and go to town to pick up a man...like her mother does (stopping first at the The Bluebell to try to make Ed jealous)...
...........................
Marjorie Rambeau received an Oscar nomination for this movie as Best Supporting Actress in 1940, but lost to Jane Darwell (The Grapes of Wrath).
Primerose Hill--for that is what it was called in the movie—is a poor shanty town on the northern coast of California near San Francisco. Ellie May Adams (Ginger Rogers), her little sister, Honeybell (Joan Carroll), her Grandma (Queenie Vassar) and her father, "Homer" (Miles Manders) are all living from day to day with no visible means of support much like other families on Primerose Hill. "Homer" is a Greek scholar, with a college degree and everything. His "vocation "is translating works from Greek to English. But, something must have gone wrong along the way since he is now a hopeless, sad drunk with no ambition or market for his work.
So, the whole Adams family has to be supported by Ellie May's mother, Mamie (Marjorie Rambeau), who shows up, from time to time, with gifts and money after being away for days at a time. Mamie gets her money from rich men who want to be entertained by local women while they are away from their homes on business trips. But, Mamie is no different than many of her friends on Primerose Hill who support their families the same way, by "swells" who are generally named, Mr. Smith.
One day, Ellie May ties her hair up in pigtails and goes to the beach to catch some fresh crabs for the family. As she walks down the road towards the beach, Gramps (Henry Travers) offers her a ride. When she gets to gas station and Hamburger cafe owned by Graps,she meets she meets Ed Wallace (Joel McCrea) working as a chief cook there who serves his meals with humorous repartee (wisecracks about the food).
Ed takes Ellie May to the beach to crab. He shows her how to catch crabs by throwing a huge rock down on the sand to make the crabs come to the surface.
Ed rides around on a loud motor cycle with a sidecar and frequents the local bar, where he has many Portuguese friends. These "Port-ta-gee" are not rich, but they are hard-working fishermen who like to hang out at the bar called "The Bluebell."
Ellie May works at the cafe with Ed and Gramps and soon picks up the art of repartee, that is served up with meals to make eating there more fun.
Ed and Ellie May eventually get married, but she keeps her secret—that she had run away from home rather than being chased out. One day, she finally has Ed come to her home to meet her family. When he meets them, he leaves her in disgust, since she had lied to him.
Fate ultimately steps in when Ellie May's father accidentally shoots her mother.... This puts Ellie May back home where she is forced to to dress up and go to town to pick up a man...like her mother does (stopping first at the The Bluebell to try to make Ed jealous)...
...........................
Marjorie Rambeau received an Oscar nomination for this movie as Best Supporting Actress in 1940, but lost to Jane Darwell (The Grapes of Wrath).