H. M. Pulham, Esq.

H.M. Pulham, Esq. is a 1941 film, directed by King Vidor and based on a novel by John P. Marquand. Vidor co-wrote the screenplay with his wife, Elizabeth Hill Vidor. The movie starred Robert Young in the title role, with Hedy Lamarr, Ruth Hussey, Charles Coburn, and Van Heflin. There is also an early uncredited appearance by Ava Gardner.

Plot summary

Harry Moulton Pulham Jr. (Robert Young) is a conservative, middle-aged Boston businessman, set in a precise daily routine. He has a proper wife, Kay (Ruth Hussey), with whom he has settled into a comfortable if passionless relationship. However, it was not always that way.

When Harry is saddled with the task of organizing a twenty-five-year college reunion, it triggers a flashback to a time more than twenty years earlier. After the end of World War I, his Harvard classmate and friend Bill King (Van Heflin) gets him a job in a New York City advertising company, where he falls in love with a vivacious, independent coworker oddly named Marvin Miles (Hedy Lamarr). However, though they love each other, she cannot bring herself to fit into his traditional idea of a wife's role and he cannot imagine living anywhere other than hidebound Boston. So they break off their relationship. Harry falls in love with and marries a woman from his own social set with the same attitudes and assumptions, someone approved of by his father (Charles Coburn) and mother (Fay Holden).

Marvin (also married) arranges to meet Harry again after all those years. There are sparks and Harry is tempted to have an affair, but they both realize that it would be foolish. One thing changes though; Harry becomes profoundly dissatisfied with his dull routine. He begs his wife to go away with him immediately, to rekindle their love. At first, she dismisses the idea as impractical and vaguely improper, but then changes her mind and agrees to go with him, making him very happy.

Cast

• Hedy Lamarr as Marvin Myles Ransome
• Robert Young as Harry Moulton Pulham
• Ruth Hussey as Cordelia 'Kay' Motford Pulham
• Charles Coburn as John Pulham
• Van Heflin as Bill King
• David Clyde as Hugh

Production notes

• Production Dates: 30 Jul-30 Sep 1941
• John P. Marquand's novel was serialized as Gone Tomorrow in McCall's magazine (Sep 1940-January 1941). Marquand's novel sold over 200,000 copies within the first six months of publication.
• Most reviews singled out the performance of Hedy Lamarr and called it the best of her career.
• Modern sources include Ava Gardner in the cast, but she was not identifiable in the viewed print. An Hollywood Reporter news item on August 1, 1941 noted that Gardner "a model," had just been signed by M-G-M. If she did appear as an extra in H. H. Pulham, Esq., it May have been her debut film.

External links

• H. M. Pulham, Esq. at the TCM Movie Database
• H.M. Pulham, Esq. at the Internet Movie Database
• H.M. Pulham, Esq. at AllRovi
• Review at Classic Film Guide