As the cost of everything continues rising amid increasing inflation, it’s hard for families to make ends meet and still have a little left over for fun. Financial worries are nothing new for our wonderful nation. In the earlier twentieth century, many Americans had to operate on a strict budget, first during the Great Depression of the 1930s and later during the shortages and rationing of World War II in the 1940s. Thus, many films, magazine articles, and books from that era dealt with how to thrive on a conservative budget.
One great example of a movie which shows a family enjoying the simple pleasures of life on a small budget is “Listen, Darling” from 1938. This is an obscure MGM musical with four huge stars of their day: Judy Garland, Freddie Bartholomew, Mary Astor, and Walter Pidgeon. The supporting cast also includes recognizable character actors of the 1930s and 40s, including Gene Lockhart, Charles Grapewin, and Alan Hale.
A Simple American Story
Dottie Wingate (Astor) is a widow with two children, an adolescent girl who loves to sing, Pinkie (Garland), and an eight-year-old rapscallion, Billie (Scotty Beckett). Pinkie’s best friend is another middle schooler, “Buzz” Mitchell, who lives with his uncle Joe (Grapewin) but spends most of his time with the Wingate family.Dottie worries that she can’t give her children everything they need by herself, since her husband was an impractical dreamer who left her very little, and she isn’t trained to do any work. She has decided to marry the town banker, Mr. Drubbs (Lockhart), since he is a conscientious man who can provide for them all. Pinkie is very distressed at this news, since she knows her mother doesn’t love him. She asks for Buzz’s advice, since he is planning to become a lawyer.
Pinkie and Buzz devise a plan to keep Dottie from marrying Drubbs. Borrowing the Wingates’ trailer, which Dottie is trying to sell, Buzz tricks her into getting inside the trailer, only to lock her and Billie inside and drive away. Once the duo has driven their hostages miles out of town, they let them out. Dottie is furious and flabbergasted by this maneuver, but her anger quickly melts away when Pinkie tearfully says that she would do anything to keep her mother from agreeing to an unhappy marriage for her sake. The foursome decides to spend their summer vacation in the trailer and have a good time together while seeing the country.
Love and Laughter
The central point of this film is the relationship between the mother and daughter. They love each other so much that each only cares if the other is happy. Mary Astor is very tender in the role of Dottie, who is a loving, devoted mother not only to her own two children but to Buzz, an orphan who lives with his gruff uncle. Pinkie and Buzz have an adorable bond, since the older boy fits into the family so well that it’s easy to forget that he’s not actually a Wingate. Sometimes even the other characters forget. There isn’t even a hint of a romance between Pinkie and Buzz, since they seem entirely like brother and sister. I think the only reason the character of Buzz was written as a friend instead of a third child is that the British Freddie Bartholomew couldn’t hide his English accent enough to convincingly fit into an American family. He tried to tone it down, but they still say that he is from Canada.A Fun Family Trip
This is the last movie Judy Garland made before she was launched to stardom by “The Wizard of Oz.” In fact, she was able to join the cast of “Listen, Darling” because filming for the fantasy musical was delayed a few months. Judy got to show off her musical talents in three songs in this movie. In the opening scene, she sings “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart,” which she originally sang for her MGM audition. This was the first time she sang the song on film, but it would later become one of her biggest hits. The other two songs in the score were original compositions written for this film. The first, “On the Bumpy Road to Love,” is a bouncy little tune which Judy sings with the other principal cast members a couple of times. The other is “Ten Pins in the Sky,” a charming lullaby Pinkie sings to her little brother when he is afraid of a thunderstorm.“Listen, Darling” shows how taking a road trip can be a fun, cost-effective option for a family vacation. If you rent, borrow, or buy a trailer to hitch to your car, and cook your own meals, you can avoid the cost of lodging and the expenses of eating out. Although an RV or motorhome offers the same benefits, it doesn’t allow for the rustic camping options which the Wingates utilize. While Pinkie and Dottie sleep inside the comfortable trailer, Buzz and Billie bunk in a tent outside. Both the Wingates and Mr. Thurlow use clever customizations to make their trailers more comfortable. While the technology is very different than that which we see now, it doesn’t look antiquated or inferior. On the contrary, it looks far more ingenious than anything you would see in a modern vehicle!
Whether or not hitting the open road in a trailer, motorhome, or car is your cup of tea, “Listen, Darling” can give you inspiration for planning your family’s next vacation. It proves that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a good time and enjoy a wonderful vacation. You just have to know how to have a good time, laugh, and sometimes forget about tomorrow so you can truly enjoy being with the people you love.