When most people think of William Holden and the parts he played, they think of gritty characters such as Sheers (The Bridge on the River Kwai) and Pike Bishop (The Wild Bunch), or military men like Major Ferris (The 7th Dawn) and Lt. Col. Black (The Proud and the Profane), or even perhaps businessmen such as MacDonald Walling (Executive Suite); but very few think of him as "that handsome and pleasant young star of light-hearted comedies". Yet, that is exactly how one movie-goer dubbed him in a 1940s fan magazine.
One of the best of his "handsome and pleasant young man" portrayals was that of Lieutenant Bill Seacroft in Paramount's Dear Ruth, released in 1947.
Dear Ruth centered around the Wilkins family, primarily their teenage daughter Miriam ( Mona Freeman ). Believing it to be her patriotic duty to support the morale of soldiers overseas, she begins writing letters to an Air Force lieutenant, Bill Secroft (William Holden), signing them with her older sister's name - Ruth. As might be expected, when the airman gets his leave he decides to make a surprise visit to meet the girl he has fallen in love with through her letters. Ruth (Joan Caulfield), surprised and unaware of Miriam's military pen-pal, decides to play along with the charade only until the soldier's leave is up, much to the chagrin of her fiance (Billy De Wolfe). Only it becomes apparent that Bill's intentions are marriage, and Ruth finds she does not want to brush off the soldier after all.
Director William Russell kept the cast busy throughout handling one comedic situation after another in the film. Edward Arnold and the inimitable Billy De Wolfe stole all the scenes, but it was William Holden who really shined as the bewildered airman.
Seacroft was a part that suited William Holden to a tee (in real life he served in the Air Force during WWII as a lieutenant) and he brought an innocence to the role that made audiences, just like Ruth, feel sorry for him and yet love and admire him at the same time.
The film's success with the movie public left it wide open for a sequel and it arrived, albeit two years late, in the equally amusing Dear Wife (1949) with, thankfully, the complete cast intact. This film focused on Bill and his father-in-law, Judge Wilkins (Edward Arnold), vying for a Senatorial seat.
If William Holden's roles in comedies are unfamiliar to you, then I would highly recommend viewing Dear Ruth and Dear Wife. Both of these films showcase Holden in top form and at his most endearing.
I did a quick search and could not find it, where can you get it? It sounds like a fun movie.
ReplyDeleteDear Ruth hasn't been released officially by Paramount yet, but it is available to watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8PlEgjCyzw&pp=ygUOZGVhciBydXRoIDE5NDc%3D
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