Gary Cooper was equally at home doing drama or comedy, as he proves in "Cassanova Brown", a 1944 Paramount vehicle that reunited the winning team of "The Pride of the Yankess". Sam Wood directed again and Teresa Wright played the female lead. Based on a play co-written by veteran actor Thomas Mitchell, this hardly seen movie is worth a look whenever it shows on cable. Nunnally Johnson, one of the geniuses of that era in Hollywood adapted the material for the screen and produced it.

Mr. Cooper makes a great contribution to the film as the absent minded English professor who returns back to his small mid western town vowing never to set foot in New York. Casanova, or Cass, asks Madge to marry him and just as they are about to say "I do", a letter, somewhat mysterious, arrives from a maternity hospital in Chicago. Intrigued by the missive, he decides to solve the puzzle, but little does he know what is in store for him.

In flashbacks we get to know what happened to Cass in New York. It involved his having fallen in love with the beautiful Isabel Drury. As he is about to ask for her hand, Mrs. Drury, a woman who is into horoscopes, planets, and stars, sees trouble ahead. An incident with a lit cigarette butt causes much unhappiness to all and he flees in horror, leaving Isabel to fend for herself.

When Cass arrives at the hospital, he is made to take a physical that Dr. Zernerke has ordered. After the tests, Cass finds out the real reason for his being there, Isabel has delivered a healthy baby and it's going to be given for adoption! Cass takes an instant attachment to the baby girl and takes her away to his hotel. Eventually Isabel traces him and they are reunited, much to the consternation of the Drurys and the would be in-laws, the Ferris.

Although Mr. Cooper and Ms. Wright are more than perfect in their roles, some of the joy we found in the movie was watching superior performances by Frank Morgan, Jill Esmond and Patricia Collinge, who as Mrs. Drury, is marvelous. Mary Treen and Emory Parnell play the maid and the bellhop that help Cass take care of the baby. Anita Louise appears as Madge Ferris.

"Casanova Brown" is a fun film, so tune in whenever it shows again.

This "screwy comedy" seems very forced. Indeed, the actors TRY very hard to make a go of an essentially unfunny script. And, as a result it doesn't really go anywhere. The idea of a woman finding out she was pregnant after getting a quickie divorce just isn't all that funny. And then, when Cooper sneaks off with the baby because he doesn't want it put up for adoption just seems terribly unfunny and it's really pushing hard to turn this into a comedy. It's really a shame, too, as the actors were more capable than the script and I found myself just bored by the whole mess. Considering that Cooper made so many GOOD comedies, I recommend you see them instead.

"Casanova Brown" is a 1944 comedy, based on a play that ran on Broadway. Apparently Warner Brothers filmed this story something like two times previously. In those days, the studios many times would do an "A" movie and then do it again as a "B" movie. This apparently is an RKO movie.

I can't believe if it was done so many times, no one bothered to fix the script.

The play was done in 1929, but this was 1944. I don't suppose it occurred to anyone to mention World War II.

Gary Cooper plays Cas Brown, who is about to marry Madge Ferris (Anita Louise),receives a letter from a maternity hospital in Chicago. It really doesn't say anything, just that he should contact a certain doctor. Nervous, he confides in his father-in-law to be (Frank Morgan) that he had been married previously, very briefly, to Isabel (Teresa Wright). Her parents had it annulled because she did not have their consent. However, this all took place in New York, not Chicago.

Mystified, Cas heads for Chicago before his wedding. When he arrives at the hospital, he finds out that his former wife has given birth to his child, a girl, and is giving the baby up for adoption. He falls in love with the baby the minute he sees her (and who wouldn't - she's adorable). In a panic, he kidnaps her and goes to a hotel. Enlisting the help of a maid there, he cares for the baby while everyone looks for him.

The film had some very funny moments but the script was not tight. No war, as I mentioned, but also, I don't know my adoption law for every state, but wouldn't the father have had to sign off on the adoption as well? The baby wasn't illegitimate.

The other problem is that Cas seems to just forget about his wedding, which was to take place I believe the day after he went to Chicago. We don't really find out the effects of that. And what about the adoptive parents? It's mentioned the baby was going to a great family, but there's no mention of them either.

Still, it's a pleasant and occasionally fun film with a scene that is probably one of the best ever. Wright's mother is her mother in Shadow of a Doubt, Patricia Collinge. Her character is batty, a believer in astrology and a strict code of behavior which includes no smoking.

After they elope, Isabel brings Cas to meet her family. He takes a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and when Isabel's mother disapproves, he says someone gave him the pack. Then she says worse than a smoker is a liar.

To cover the fact that he was smoking, Cas has a cigarette in his suit jacket pocket which starts to burn. Ultimately he burns their house down. I'm talking razed to the ground. It's absolutely hilarious. If only the whole movie had been like that.

Excellent performances from all involved, with Frank Morgan playing a curmudgeon very well. Cooper is incredibly handsome and delightful as the determined father, and Teresa Wright is lovely as the conflicted mother. Collinge is a riot.

I recommend this - it doesn't deserve all the bad reviews. It's not great but it's far from awful. And who can beat tall, dimpled Cooper and that baby?