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The Doughgirls
The Doughgirls
Directed by	James V. Kern
Screenplay by	James V. Kern; Sam Hellman
Based on	The Doughgirls; 1942 play; by Joseph Fields
Produced by	Mark Hellinger
Starring	Ann Sheridan; Alexis Smith; Jack Carson; Jane Wyman
Cinematography	Ernest Haller
Edited by	Folmar Blangsted
Music by	Adolph Deutsch
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Release date	November 25, 1944;
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Doughgirls is a 1944 American comedy film directed by James V. Kern based on the 1942 hit Broadway play written by Joseph Fields. The film works around three newlywed couples, focusing on the Halstead couple, played by Jane Wyman and Jack Carson, and their misadventures trying to find some privacy and living space in the housing shortage of WWII era Washington, D.C. Eve Arden as a Russian sniper and Joe DeRita as a sleepy hotel guest, both looking for edge in the overcrowded hotel.^[1]

The Doughgirls is based on a stage play of the same name,^[2] written in 1942 by Joseph Fields.^[3]^[4]

Plot

The newly-wed Halsteads, Arthur (Jack Carson) and Vivian (Jane Wyman), upon their arrival at their overcrowded D.C. hotel, set out for the honeymoon suite, only to find it usurped by the previous newlywed couple the Cadmans, Julian (John Ridgely) and Edna (Ann Sheridan).^[5] Finally, a third newlywed couple the Dillons, Tom (Craig Stevens) and Nan (Alexis Smith), arrive to claim the suite as well.^[6] Add to this a military contractor with a no nonsense attitude; a lecherous boss; an FBI investigator; a judge (to make one couple's marriage "legal"); a group of orphan babies; a Russian who likes to shoot pigeons;^[6] and a wandering man trying to find somewhere, anywhere to get some sleep.^[5]

Cast

Ann Sheridan as Edna Stokes Cadman
Alexis Smith as Nan Curtiss Dillon
Jack Carson as Arthur Halstead
Jane Wyman as Vivian Marsden Halstead
Irene Manning as Mrs. Sylvia Cadman
Charles Ruggles as Stanley Slade
Eve Arden as Sgt. Natalia Moskoroff
John Ridgely as Julian Cadman
Alan Mowbray as Breckenridge Drake
John Alexander as Warren Buckley
Craig Stevens as Lt. Tom Dillon
Barbara Brown as Elizabeth Brush Cartwright
Francis Pierlot as Mr. Jordan
Donald MacBride as Judge Franklin
Regis Toomey as Agent Walsh
Joe DeRita as The Stranger (uncredited)
Marie De Becker as Maid (uncredited)

Production

Warner Bros. bought the rights for The Doughgirls stage play^[2] for $250,000 but still needed a script and a way to get the story of three unmarried couples in the same hotel suite around the censors, known as the Breen office, onto the screen.^[7] The studio employed James V. Kern and Sam Hellman^[5] to adapt Fields' play; marrying the couples off and toning down the language. They added jokes to address overcrowding in Washington, D.C., using wartime references such as rationing and meatless Tuesdays, while putting in a White House visit for the Dillons to meet the Roosevelts off camera.

Jane Wyman, though not pleased with fourth billing nor the "ditsy" role, was happy with the cast and to be working.^[5] Ann Sheridan was nearly suspended over The Doughgirls when Warner Bros. refused to let her out of filming, but she used her star status and negotiated a USO tour following completion, something she had wanted for some time.^[6]

Reception

Daniel Bubbeo in The Women of Warner Brothers described The Doughgirls as "a raucous farce where the humor comes from the unconsummated marriage of Wyman and Carson, with a great performance by Eve Arden as a visiting Russian."^[6]

The New York Times reviewed it saying it is "distilled from the play" and "at times the dialog twirls into nonsense being saved only by the performance of the players."^[1]