Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Kitty Foyle (1940)


Don McKeon, who has contributed many wonderful Scranton and Wilkes-Barre references to the blog, emailed me yesterday with a reference to the Pocono Mountains in the classic 1940 film Kitty Foyle, starring Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan:

"Hi Bill,
I'm not sure if I wrote this item in or maybe you have it already, but I was watching an old Ginger Rogers film the other night called Kitty Foyle and the Pocono Mountains are mentioned. This film was made in or around 1940 and I believe Ginger Rogers won an Academy Award for her performance (for Best Actress in a Leading Role).

The story originates in Philadelphia, where Kitty envies the "Main Line" way of life in comparison to her own. She falls in love with a Main Liner and eventually marries him, but the gap between their societal upbringing dooms the marriage.

Long story short, Kitty flees to New York and meets a doctor who falls in love with her. She agrees to marry him; but when her former husband comes back into her life, she faces the ultimate choice......................I won't spoil the ending.

Disregard this if you already are aware of of the film.

Merry Christmas.
Don"


Including Ginger Roger's Best Actress win, Kitty Foyle received a total of five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Sam Wood, who also directed 1935's A Night at the Opera with Old Forge and Scranton native Allan Jones), and Best Screenplay (Dalton Trumbo, who also went on to write Roman Holiday, Spartacus and Exodus).

Though the Lackawanna County Library System does not have the film in our collection, Kitty Foyle is available to purchase on DVD.

And a big thanks again to Don McKeon for not only this contribution, but for all of the references he gave me that I would otherwise be unaware of. You're the best, Don!

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