Cup of Coffee

As mentioned previously, we have loved A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob (1941) for a long time, but never blogged it. So here we go.

Edmund O'Brien is taking his society fiancee and future mother-in-law to the opera, but he can't find his tickets. Since he is a season box holder, they let him in anyway and take them to his box - where he finds a family of commoners: Lucille Ball, her deaf-ish dad, batty mom and sketchy brother Pigeon (Lloyd Corrigan). Since they have tickets, O'Brien's party is deated on the floor, of all things. Of course, Ball figures out that Pigeon lifted or found the tickets, and they really did belong to O'Brien.

At the office the next day, O'Brien's shipping business is in full swing, but his secretary has eloped. One of the first applicants for the job is Ball. She apologizes for the night before, and tries to leave. But a phone cal comes in, and Ball is a very good secretary. It's too bad she's so clumsy, and that O'Brien's fiancee shows up just when she'd fallen into his lap.

Now we meet the real star of the show, George Murphy as sailor "Coffee" Cup. He is as caffeinated as his name, full of energy and good spirits. He grew up with Ball, calls her Spindle-Shanks and hopes to marry her, now that his hitch in the Navy is done. He just needs a little money.

On the street, he runs into his fellow sailor Doodles Weaver, and claims he can grow 4 inches. A crowd gathers and people start making bets. O'Brien, who works across the street, is enlisted to mark the 4-inch target as Doodles squirms and loosens up to gain height. The excitement grows, a fight breaks out and O'Brien gets decked.

He comes to in Ball's apartment with her wacky family and some sailors. He has so much fun, he agrees to go dancing with them - although he has a date with his fiancee at the symphony. And as he dances with Ball, well, you can see where this is going.

Coffee Cup needs to get some money up for the wedding, but all of his schemes backfire. Richard Lane, his recruiting officer, keeps trying to tempt him to re-up, invoking the beautiful women he could meet at sea. Meanwhile, O'Brien's father's old pal and business partner keeps telling O'Brien that he needs to loosen up, get into more fights with sailors - that's whar the shipping industry used to be about.

I'm sure you can figure out who ends up with the girl, and who goes back to sea.

This is a fun, fast paced movie, directed by Richard Wallace and produced by Harold Lloyd. It's full of great charactr actors - Doodles Weaver! - and wacky hi-jinx. But George O'Brien (R. Sen. CA) makes it perfect. His energy, confidence and love of life makes this movie so much fun to watch. Makes you want to change your life.