The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)

An irate but very wealthy father (Eugene Pallette) objects to his daughter (Bette Davis) marrying a publicity seeking musician (Jack Carson) she's only known four days. When she announces she's eloping with the groom immediately in spite of her father's objections, the father hires a freight pilot (James Cagney) to kidnap her and fly her to Texas where he'll be paid $1,150 (the exact amount of the pilot's final payment on his plane). But when the plane crashes in the desert, events take a surprising turn. Directed by William Keighley (MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER), this is a riff (some might say rip off) on IT HAPPENED ON NIGHT. One doesn't think of Cagney and Davis as screwball comedy material but they do quite well and I enjoyed the movie very much. Sure, it's not the most original material (Davis wasn't fond of the movie) but director Keighley keeps a quick pace and his two leads rattle off their quips at a machine gun gallop (not to mention major star presence). The film wasn't popular with critics but audiences liked it enough to make it a hit at the box office. With Stuart Erwin, Harry Davenport, George Tobias and William Frawley.