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2014.04.07
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Invitation (1952) DVD5 - Van Johnson, Dorothy McGuire [DDR]
Invitation is a 1952 melodrama starring Van Johnson and Dorothy McGuire as a happily married couple, until the wife learns a secret about her husband.
The film was based on the short story "R.S.V.P." by Jerome Weidman.
CAST:-
Van Johnson as Daniel I. Pierce
Dorothy McGuire as Ellen Bowker Pierce
Ruth Roman as Maud Redwick
Louis Calhern as Simon Bowker
Ray Collins as Dr. Warren Pritchard
Michael Chekhov as Dr. Fromm, a specialist Dan consults
Barbara Ruick as Sarah
Norman Field as Arthur, the Chauffeur
Matt Moore as Paul, the Butler
Pat Conway as Bill
Alex Gerry as Professor Redwick
Lucille Curtis as Mrs. Redwick
Lisa Gohm as Agnes, the housekeeper/cook
Directed by Gottfried Reinhardt
Produced by Lawrence Weingarten
Written by Paul Osborn
Based on R.S.V.P. by Jerome Weidman
Music by Bronislau Kaper
Running time 84 minutes
SYNOPSIS:- Invitation 1952
Ellen Pierce (Dorothy McGuire) is very happily married to architect Dan (Van Johnson). However, due to a bout of rheumatic fever in her childhood, her heart is weak and she cannot exert herself too much; how frail she is, she does not really know. Her wealthy father (Louis Calhern) and the family doctor (Ray Collins) have kept from her the fact that she probably only has a few more months to live.
When Ellen visits acquaintance Maud Redwick (Ruth Roman), Dan's embittered former girlfriend, Maud reminds her about a vicious remark she had made at Ellen and Dan's wedding that he was only a "loan" for about a year. That, plus an invitation addressed to Dan to a medical conference and various other clues, leads Ellen to discover the truth, not only about her prognosis, but also an even more devastating secret: that her father had arranged the marriage to make her happy, and that Dan did not love her.
When Dan finds out, he confesses via flashbacks that he had initially rejected her father's offer, but due to a lack of success in his career, he had indeed married her at her father's behest. However, he claims that he has since fallen deeply in love with her.
He tells her about a Doctor Toynberry who has come up with a new technique that has a good chance of curing her and begs her to undergo the operation he has arranged for her. If it is a success, they will know by spring. After absorbing everything, she goes through with the medical procedure. The film flashes forward to the spring, with her healthy and blissfully still married to Dan.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:-
Video Codec: MPEG-2
Video Bitrate: 4999 kbps
Video Resolution: 720x480
Video Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1
Frames Per Second: 23.976
Audio Codec: AC3
Audio Bitrate: 192kb/s CBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: English
RunTime 84 mins
Subtitles: None
Ripped by: Trinidad [DDR]
Duration: 84 mins
