This Thing Called Love (1940 film)

This Thing Called Love
Directed byAlexander Hall
Written byKen Englund
George Seaton
P. J. Wolfson
Based onThis Thing Called Love (play)
by Edwin Burke
Produced byWilliam Perlberg
StarringRosalind Russell
Melvyn Douglas
CinematographyJoseph Walker
Edited byViola Lawrence
Music byWerner R. Heymann
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • December 20, 1940 (1940-12-20) (Hollywood, California)
  • January 2, 1941 (1941-01-02)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

This Thing Called Love is a 1940 American romantic comedy film directed by Alexander Hall and starring Rosalind Russell and Melvyn Douglas as newlyweds with an odd arrangement: the wife insists on not sleeping together for a trial period. It is the second film adaptation of the play of the same name by Edwin Burke. The 1929 version, which shares the same title, is believed to be lost.

The film was condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency as "contrary to the Christian concept of marriage".[1][2]

Plot

Ann Winters, an insurance company statistician made wary by her data, her sister's impending divorce and the messy divorce of their parents, tells her fiancé, Tice Collins, that after their marriage, there will be a three-month trial period before they consummate it so they can make sure that they are compatible. He thinks the idea is crazy, but she points out that they have known each other for a very short time. Harry Bertrand, his lawyer and friend, convinces him to pretend to go along, then use his charm to get her to change her mind.

Cast

See also

References

  1. ^ Dick, Bernard F. (2006). Forever Mame: The Life of Rosalind Russell. University Press of Mississippi. p. 79. ISBN 1578068908.
  2. ^ "Film 'This Thing Called Love' Recalled on Sherbrooke Protest". Montreal Gazette. March 6, 1941.
  • This Thing Called Love at IMDb
  • This Thing Called Love at the TCM Movie Database