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Never a Dull Moment (1950 film)

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Never a Dull Moment
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge Marshall
Screenplay byLou Breslow
Doris Anderson
Based onWho Could Ask for Anything More
by Kay Swift
Produced byHarriet Parsons
StarringIrene Dunne
Fred MacMurray
CinematographyJoseph Walker, A.S.C.
Edited byRobert Swink
Music byFrederick Hollander
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release dates
  • November 21, 1950 (1950-11-21) (New York City)[1]
  • November 22, 1950 (1950-11-22) (United States)[1]
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.2 million[2][page needed]
Box office$1.4 million (US)[3] or $1.8 million[2][page needed]

Never a Dull Moment is a 1950 American comedy western film from RKO Pictures, starring Irene Dunne and Fred MacMurray.[4] The film is based on the 1943 book Who Could Ask For Anything More? by Kay Swift. The filming took place between December 5, 1949, and February 1, 1950, in Thousand Oaks, California.[5][1] It has no relation to the 1968 Disney film of the same name starring Dick Van Dyke and Edward G. Robinson.

Plot

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At a rodeo in New York, visiting cowboy Chris Heyward is charmed to make the acquaintance of Kay Kingsley, a songwriter. They marry and move out west to his ranch in Wyoming. Here, she meets Chris' two daughters from a previous marriage, Nan and Tina, and his old romantic interest, Jean Morrow.

Kay tries to adjust to her new life in Wyoming, but it is hard: a windstorm threatens their home, and the children are leery of her. A rival rancher named Mears holds the water rights to his land; Kay accidentally humiliates him at a dance and kills his prize steer.

Kay is eventually offered a job back in New York that could help pay for the water rights. She takes it, but Chris is alienated; he needs to be persuaded by the kids to return east and win her back.

Cast

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Uncredited (in order of appearance)

Songs by Kay Swift

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  • "Once You Find Your Guy" (sung by Dunne in the film's opening minutes)
  • "The Man with the Big Felt Hat"
  • "Sagebrush Lullaby"

Reception

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The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther described the film as a "miserably tedious farce" whose "sole achievement as entertainment is the presentation of Irene Dunne in a series of rustic encounters that are about as funny as stepping on a nail."[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Never a Dull Moment: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Charles Tranberg, Fred MacMurray: A Biography, Bear Manor Media, 2014
  3. ^ "The Top Box Office Hits of 1951", Variety, January 2, 1952
  4. ^ a b Bosley Crowther (November 22, 1950). "The Screen in Review; 'Never a Dull Moment,' New Film at the Rivoli, Stars Irene Danne, Fred MacMarray". The New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  5. ^ Schneider, Jerry L. (2015). Western Filming Locations Book 1. CP Entertainment Books. Page 133. ISBN 9780692561348.
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