The Groom Wore Spurs

The Groom Wore Spurs is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Richard Whorf and starring Ginger Rogers and Jack Carson.

Plot

Hollywood singing cowboy Ben Castle hires lawyer A. J. Furnival to help him overcome gambling debts to Harry Kallen that he incurred in Las Vegas. Kallen recognises A. J. as the daughter of a legendary attorney who had helped him on several occasions. Castle seduces A. J. into a quick wedding with Kallen, forgiving Castle his debts. A. J. discovers that Castle schemed the entire meeting and wedding with the intended result. Encouraged by her roommate Alice, A. J. seeks revenge by living with him. She settles Castle's film contract and then discovers that he is a milquetoast who is unable to ride a horse or sing. Gangsters try to frame Castle with a murder.

Cast

Ginger Rogers as A. J. Furnival
Jack Carson as Ben Castle
Joan Davis as Alice Dean
Stanley Ridges as Harry Kallen
John Litel as Uncle George
James Brown as Steve Hall
Victor Sen Yung as Ignacio
Mira McKinney as Mrs. Forbes
Gordon Nelson as Ricky
George Meader as Bellboy at the Lariat
Kemp Niver as Killer
Robert Williams as Jake Harris

Soundtrack

"No More Wandrin' Around"

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "Pity poor Ginger Rogers. In a thing called 'The Groom Wore Spurs,' an utterly lustreless item,... she has to struggle with an assignment that would make any actress look like a chump—the sort of assignment, in fact, that has made many a lesser actress and audience writhe in pain.... The only thing funny about this picture is that it is called a Fidelity film."