The Reformer and the Redhead


The Reformer and the Redhead is a 1950 American romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank and starring the real-life husband-and-wife team of Dick Powell and June Allyson.

Plot

Kathleen Maguire is the daughter of zookeeper Dr. Kevin G. Maguire, who is fired from his job for political reasons. She seeks help from crusading young attorney Andrew Rockton Hale. Trouble comes in the form of both political corruption and a loose lion.

Cast

Uncredited:

Production

The screenplay for The Reformer and the Redhead was adapted from a story written by Robert Carson that was published in the Saturday Evening Post on January 15, 1949. Soon after the publication, MGM acquired the rights and announced the film project as a vehicle for star Lana Turner, who had not appeared in a film since The Three Musketeers the previous year following her marriage to millionaire socialite Bob Topping. In the coming months, the Hollywood press speculated that Turner, who was reported to be yachting with Topping in Florida, might lose her scheduled roles in two films that had been planned for her, Running of the Tide and The Reformer and the Redhead. By July, the role was assigned instead to June Allyson, who would play the romantic lead with her real-life husband Dick Powell.

Reception

According to MGM records, the film earned $1,688,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $439,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $214,000.