Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyatt, Shirley Ross, and Lee Patrick star in "Kisses for Breakfast" based on a play and produced in 1941.
Morgan, a likable actor, plays Rodney Trask, a handsome crooner who marries Juliet (Shirley Ross). Juliet wanted her cousin Laura (Jane Wyatt) to come up from the south, but cousin Laura begs off due to illness. Juliet decides that en route to their Havana honeymoon they will visit her, so Rodney takes down her address.
They are preparing to leave when Rodney's old girlfriend Clara shows up. She seems to think she can get $10,000 from Rodney. To keep their meeting private, they go for a drive. Clara has a partner, who knocks Rodney out and trashes his car.
Rodney wakes up with amnesia. Everyone believes him to be dead. The only thing Rodney has on him is Laura's address. After a hobo gives him the name "Happy Homes" from a billboard, Rodney heads for Laura's.
Laura and Rodney fall in love, and he is able to help bring her plantation back to its former glory. They marry, and Laura receives an invitation to Juliet's wedding to Lucius (Jerome Cowan). Laura and Rodney decide to attend.
Crazy comedy that would have been funnier with just the right cast. As someone pointed out, Jerome Cowan is miscast, and Shirley Ross is too overdone. Lee Patrick as Juliet's friend is hilarious. Morgan is just fine, as is Wyatt.
But this thing needed a boost, which a few tweaks in the casting would have given it. William Powell, Jean Arthur, Cary Grant, Claudette Colbert, actors more adept at comedy could have helped this along.
Since it's 1941, there are also racial stereotypes and racial humor. I for one think these are a reminder of where we once were - I'm not a fan of rewriting history.
Una O'Connor plays a maid, and she's a riot. This is a true madcap comedy that needed more madcap actors.