Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Running time: 99 minutes
Julia Misbehaves (1948)
“Lovely Elizabeth Taylor joins Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon in this charming and amusing film about a divorced couple reconciled by their daughter’s marriage.
“Julia Packett (Garson) is a happy-go-lucky chorus girl who, when her wealthy husband Willie (Pidgeon) wanted a divorce, went back on the road and left her daughter Susan (Taylor) behind, knowing that he could provide her with a better life. So when Julia receives an invitation for Susan’s wedding, she happily accepts, not aware that Susan secretly sent the invitation so she could meet her, and that her ex-husband and mother-in-law (Lucile Watson) are dead set against the idea. Hilarious circumstances ensue as Julia, Willie, Susan and a cast of colorful characters manage to turn each other’s lives upside down!
“The all-star supporting cast includes Peter Lawford as Susan’s secret paramour and Cesar Romero as an Italian acrobat smitten with Julia’s charms.” [From the DVD]
Cast
Julia Packett: Greer Garson
William Packett: Walter Pidgeon
Ritchie: Peter Lawford
Fred: Cesar Romero
Susan Packett: Elizabeth Taylor
Mrs. Packett: Lucile Watson
Colonel Willowbrook: Nigel Bruce
Mrs. Gennochio: Mary Boland
Bennie Hawkins: Reginald Owen
Hobson: Ian Wolfe
Daisy: Phyllis Morris
Jamie: Edmond Breon
Pepito: Fritz Field
Gabby: Marcelle Corday
Louise: Veda Ann Borg
Vicar: Aubrey Mather
Lord Pennystone: Henry Stephenson
Lady Pennystone: Winifred Harris
Woman in Pawn Shop: Elspeth Dudgeon
Pawn Shop Clerk: Stanley Fraser
Bill Collector: James Finlayson
Postman: Victor Wood
Piano Player in Pub: Herbert Wyndham
Waiter in Pub: Sid D’Albrook
Drunk: Jimmy Aubrey
French Messenger: Roland Dupree
Bellhop: Alex Goudavich
Stage Doorman: André Charlot
The Head: Joanee Wayne
Train Official: Mitchell Lewis
Mannequins: Joi Lansing, Lola Albright
Commissar: Torben Meyer
Crew
Director: Jack Conway
Producer: Everett Riskin
Screenwriters: William Ludwig, Harry Ruskin, and Arthur Wimperis
Adaptation: Gina Kaus and Monckton Hoffe
Based on the Novel “The Nutmeg Tree” by: Margery Sharp
Cinematographer: Cedric Gibbons and Daniel B. Cathcart
Musical Score: Adolph Deutsch
Editor: John Dunning
Song: “When You’re Playing with Fire” by Jerry Seelen and Hal Borne
Did You Know?
Julia Misbehaves reunited one of the great all-time screen duos, Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon, who played Elizabeth’s parents in the film.
Elizabeth developed a crush on her co-star, Peter Lawford. Although it was seemingly one-sided, the two would eventually strike up a friendship that would last the rest of his life.
“Peter to me was the last word in sophistication,” she later said. ”He was terribly handsome, and I had a tremendous crush on him. He invited me out twice after shooting, but he never did kiss me in private life. I was so thrilled that he had taken me out, because I was only sixteen and felt about twelve. The whole company knew I had a crush on him. In the scene where he had to kiss me I was supposed to say, ‘Oh, Rock [sic*], what are we going to do?’ After the kiss I looked at him, turned a hot scarlet and said, ‘Oh, Peter, what am I going to do?’ And the whole company fell down laughing. That’s another moment when you want the floor to open.”
*The name of Peter’s character in the film is actually Ritchie.
Elizabeth celebrated her sweet sixteen during filming. Members of the cast and crew gathered for a party on the set and presented Elizabeth with a beautifully decorated cake. Her parents gave her a gold-plated key to a powder-blue Cadillac. In the evening, she danced the night away at the Cocoanut Grove at LA’s Ambassador Hotel, arriving at the legendary nightclub wearing white mink, a gift from MGM (the studio had furnished her with a new wardrobe for her birthday).
