Directed by:
Gottfried ReinhardtScreenplay:
Paul OsbornCinematography:
Ray JuneComposer:
Bronislau KaperCast:
Van Johnson, Dorothy McGuire, Ruth Roman, Louis Calhern, Ray Collins, Michael Chekhov, Barbara Ruick, Matt Moore, Barbara Billingsley, Pat Conway (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Bronislau Kaper's haunting musical score for A Life of Her Own (1951) was recycled in the romantic melodrama Invitation. Dorothy McGuire stars as Ellen Bowker, a wealthy young woman with a rare heart condition. Knowing that his daughter may have only a year or so to live, Ellen's father Simon Bowker (Louis Calhern) wants to make certain that her last months on earth will be happy ones. To that end, he arranges for Dan Pierce (Van Johnson) to marry the girl. More interested in Ellen's millions than in Ellen herself, Dan agrees. Eventually, of course, he genuinely falls in love with the girl. But trouble looms on the horizon when Ellen discovers the real reason behind Dan's whirlwind courtship. How can a happy ending possibly result from all this? It's best to reveal no more at this point. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Van Johnson
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
Madame Curie (1943)
Dorothy McGuire
USA
Best movies:
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973)
Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
Ruth Roman
USA
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
The Sacketts (1979) (TV movie)
Louis Calhern
USA
Best movies:
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Arch of Triumph (1948)
Julius Caesar (1953)
Ray Collins
USA
Best movies:
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Citizen Kane (1941)
The Heiress (1949)
Michael Chekhov
Russian Empire
Best movies:
Spellbound (1945)
Barbara Ruick
USA
Best movies:
The Band Wagon (1953)
California Split (1974)
Scaramouche (1952)
Matt Moore
Ireland
Best movies:
The Front Page (1931)
Spellbound (1945)
The Unholy Three (1925)
Barbara Billingsley
USA
Best movies:
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Act of Violence (1948)
Airplane! (1980)
Pat Conway
USA
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Westward the Women (1951)
Scaramouche (1952)
Kenner G. Kemp
USA
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Limelight (1952)
Sam Harris
Australia
Best movies:
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Great Dictator (1940)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Lisa Golm
German Empire
Best movies:
Madame Curie (1943)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
Kenneth Nelson
USA
Best movies:
The Boys in the Band (1970)
Hellraiser (1987)
Nightbreed (1990)
Hal Taggart
USA
Best movies:
The Graduate (1967)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Inherit the Wind (1960)
Franklyn Farnum
USA
Best movies:
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Edward Clark
Russia
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
East of Eden (1955)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
David Newell
USA
Best movies:
Gone with the Wind (1939)
History Is Made at Night (1937)
Union Pacific (1939)
Fred Nurney
USA
Best movies:
Song of Love (1947)
M (1931)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
George Robotham
USA
Best movies:
Spartacus (1960)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
The Split (1968)