You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)

Having second thoughts, a young bride (Joan Fontaine) flees her husband (Willard Parker) on their honeymoon night. She charms her way onto a cargo plane heading to California. The pilot (James Stewart) is an ex-air force vet trying to trying to start up his own flying freight business. Romance follows. Directed by H.C. Potter (THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER), this wan screwball romcom doesn't have much going for it. Joan Fontaine was never known for her comedic abilities and having given one of her best performances earlier that year in Max Ophuls' LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN, this is a real disappointment. She and Stewart have little chemistry but honestly, even if the roles had been played by Tracy & Hepburn, it still wouldn't fly though the star power would have helped. The film's highlight isn't comedic at all but a tense emergency landing in a mud field. The film grasps for laughs where it can, like a cigar smoking chimpanzee! With Eddie Albert, Roland Young, Percy Kilbride and Porter Hall.