Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business

96 mins | Comedy, Romance | Aug. 27, 1941

With Irene Dunne, Robert Montgomery, Preston Foster, and Eugene Pallette. This sublime film exemplifies La Cava’s gift for creating comedies that contain a profound depth of feeling. Starting with a cruel joke – a couple of callow men make a bet that one of them can seduce the woman sharing their train compartment – the film charts the relationship that develops between Irene Dunne, a small-town girl in the big city, and Robert Montgomery, the brother of the man who has heartlessly seduced and abandoned her. Their love affair is all the more affecting for taking place against a backdrop of heartbreak and alcoholism, all conveyed under the guise of comedy. UNFINISHED BUSINESS is truly one of the most remarkable Hollywood films of the 1940s.

Unfinished Business

96 mins | Comedy, Romance | Aug. 27, 1941

Unfinished Business
With Irene Dunne, Robert Montgomery, Preston Foster, and Eugene Pallette. This sublime film exemplifies La Cava’s gift for creating comedies that contain a profound depth of feeling. Starting with a cruel joke – a couple of callow men make a bet that one of them can seduce the woman sharing their train compartment – the film charts the relationship that develops between Irene Dunne, a small-town girl in the big city, and Robert Montgomery, the brother of the man who has heartlessly seduced and abandoned her. Their love affair is all the more affecting for taking place against a backdrop of heartbreak and alcoholism, all conveyed under the guise of comedy. UNFINISHED BUSINESS is truly one of the most remarkable Hollywood films of the 1940s.
IMDb rating 6.4
Producers Universal Pictures
Original title Unfinished Business
Directors Gregory La Cava
Writers Eugene Thackrey, Vicki Baum

Cast

Irene Dunne

as Nancy Andrews

Robert Montgomery

as Tommy Duncan

Preston Foster

as Steve Duncan

Eugene Pallette

as Elmer

Esther Dale

as Aunt Mathilda

Walter Catlett

as Billy Ross

Samuel S. Hinds

as Uncle

Dick Foran

as Frank

June Clyde

as Clarisse

Richard Davies

as Richard

Kathryn Adams

as Katy

Phyllis Barry

as Sheila

Mary Gordon

as Miss Brady

Paul Fix

as Reporter

Chester Clute

as Mr. Beck

Fortunio Bonanova

as Impresario

Hugh Beaumont

as Hugh the Bridegroom