A family is befuddled when a World War II serviceman shows up to meet and marry his pen pal sweetheart. Everyone's in the dark about the romance by mail. Then they discover Ruth's younger si... Read allA family is befuddled when a World War II serviceman shows up to meet and marry his pen pal sweetheart. Everyone's in the dark about the romance by mail. Then they discover Ruth's younger sister was the culprit.A family is befuddled when a World War II serviceman shows up to meet and marry his pen pal sweetheart. Everyone's in the dark about the romance by mail. Then they discover Ruth's younger sister was the culprit.
- Albert Kummer
- (as Billy DeWolfe)
- Sgt. Chuck Vincent
- (as Kenny O'Morrison)
- Bus Passenger
- (uncredited)
- Harold Klobbermeyer
- (uncredited)
- Cab Driver
- (uncredited)
- Nightclub Waiter
- (uncredited)
- Mrs. Teaker
- (uncredited)
- Train Commuter
- (uncredited)
- Headwaiter
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough it is thought by some that J.D. Salinger got the name for his hero Holden Caulfield in "The Catcher in the Rye" when he saw a marquee for this film, starring William Holden and Joan Caulfield, Salinger's first Holden Caulfield story, "I'm Crazy", appeared in Collier's on December 22, 1945, a year and a half before this movie came out.
- GoofsLt. Seacroft wears the insignia of the 15th U.S. Army Air Force and states that he is a Bombardier on a B-26 (Marauder). However, there were no B-26 Bombardment Groups assigned to the 15th USAAF.
- Quotes
Miriam Wilkins: The game of man and woman maneuvering in pursuit of a mate I consider on the mental level of a game of checkers.
- ConnectionsFollowed by Dear Wife (1949)
- SoundtracksFINE THINGS
Written by Johnny Mercer and Robert Emmett Dolan
DR perfected the now familiar cliche-driven plot device of a young "miss fixit" teenage girl (Mona Freeman) initiating a romantic penpal correspondence with a naive unknowing serviceman by pretending to be her older more age-appropriate sister. The resulting exchange of letters produced all kinds of interesting complications from this situation that propelled the plot to its inevitable satisfactory resolution and conclusion. DR was so successful that its 1947 big screen version starring an extremely youthful William Holden and an equally attractive Joan Caulfield generated no less than two more almost equally popular sequels within the next few years (Dear Wife (1949) and Dear Brat (1951))!
Although critical praise for the film version of DR may have been somewhat muted, audiences seemed to appreciate the spirited enthusiasm of the lead actors, the splendid additional contributions by the veteran cast of character performers and the good work done by director William D. Russell. And while it is certainly true that by 1947 some of DR's wartime humor began to feel dated, its pace never let up as the likable cast entertained us for 95 laugh-filled minutes.
In DR, Holden clearly demonstrated an appealing natural aspect to his role as well as a more substantial acting range as a performer. In just a few more years, Holden would solidly emerge as one of cinema's major actors and one of the greatest leading men of his generation.
- malvernp
- Aug 11, 2022
- How long is Dear Ruth?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1