Anne Crandall is the mayor of a small town in Vermont. Her deceased husband had been the mayor for years and when he died, she was left to carry on and to raise his daughter from his first marriage. She lives with the daughter, her father-in-law and a housekeeper. In the town square, there was a statue of her late husband and every year since his death, they have an anniversary celebration there. This year during a thunderstorm, the statue is hit by lightning and the head falls off. The daughter insists that a new statue be erected instead of patching the old one. Mayor Crandall is sent to New York to interview the prospective sculptor, George Corday.
Acting
Irene Dunne's impeccable timing—watch her face when the statue falls.
Direction
Vidor stages the lightning strike with genuine visual wit.
Costume
Dunne's mayoral wardrobe: power suits before they had a name.
Director
Charles Vidor
Irene Dunne
Anne Crandall
Charles Boyer
George Corday
Charles Coburn
Jonathan Crandall Sr
Mona Freeman
Diana Crandall
Jerome Courtland
Gilbert Parker
Elizabeth Patterson
Jessie
Charles Dingle
Morton Buchanan
Brooks Benedict
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Virginia Brissac
Townswoman (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
Woman with Man in Leonardo's (uncredited)
Adele Jergens
Gilda Laverne (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee
Workman (uncredited)
Carole Mathews
Young Woman Fleeing Nightclub Raid (uncredited)
Nina Mae McKinney
Maid in Nightclub Powder Room (uncredited)
Frank Puglia
Leonardo (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Dunne and Boyer's third film together; their chemistry was so reliable studios kept pairing them.
The 'widow carrying on husband's legacy' plot was surprisingly common in wartime films—offering female competence while reassuring audiences about traditional structures.
US
