"It Had to be You" was Ginger Rogers' first box office miss since 1934's heavily censored "Upperworld," although it was still profitable. By this time, she had had 18 #1 films; more number ones, in 15 years, than Katharine Hepburn would have in her entire 60 year career. Rogers was surprised at Cornel Wilde's ability to play comedy, which he wasn't known for, and had high praise for his work as her leading man. And her praise is well-deserved, he does a terrific job, working easily in a role built for a George Brent, Dennis Morgan, or early Gable or Cagney.
In her autobiography (and in several biographies, too), Ginger Rogers remained mostly silent about the time period around 1947-1949. She talks briefly about making this film and then leaving for the Rogue River region, where she famously owned a ranch. Several modern commenters have rushed to speculate what was happening: they guessed that she was hiding from the Red Scare / HUAC era, and that her mother's speeches were damaging Ginger's career, etc. Aside from this display of the most glaring lack of knowledge about one of the most confident actresses who ever lived, they could have simply read her memoirs which indicate she was proud of her mother's stance and she asked that people read her mother's speech itself instead of newspaper accounts. Others have speculated that she was trying to keep her marriage intact, and still others, that she was exhausted from a long career and entitled to some time off or even retiring.
The trade journals, however, show that she was steadily working behind the scenes with good friends like Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck, trying to get Enterprise Productions up and running. Founded by 'that notorious Red Commie Pinko actor,' John Garfield, Enterprise tried to break in to the Hollywood studio oligarchy the same way that Pickford, Fairbanks, Griffith & Chaplin had done years earlier with United Artists. Along with other Hollywood royalty like Ingrid Bergman, Joan Crawford and Charles Boyer, Rogers traveled to cities across the country to work with exhibitors and distributors. McCrea had a solid box office success for the studio, "Ramrod," with Veronica Lake, and the studio produced advertising for a Ginger Rogers film called 'Wild Calendar' which was to follow "It Had to be You," but it was never made. In spite of the support of these glittering names, the company couldn't break the stranglehold of the studio system, and folded. That business failure is probably the most likely explanation for Rogers' silence about this time in her life.
The point of "It Had to be You" is that wow!! Dreams really do actually come true, and for Ginger Rogers the dream had come true and would continue for many decades to come. But alas, for that group of actors, the business dream just didn't happen.
In her autobiography (and in several biographies, too), Ginger Rogers remained mostly silent about the time period around 1947-1949. She talks briefly about making this film and then leaving for the Rogue River region, where she famously owned a ranch. Several modern commenters have rushed to speculate what was happening: they guessed that she was hiding from the Red Scare / HUAC era, and that her mother's speeches were damaging Ginger's career, etc. Aside from this display of the most glaring lack of knowledge about one of the most confident actresses who ever lived, they could have simply read her memoirs which indicate she was proud of her mother's stance and she asked that people read her mother's speech itself instead of newspaper accounts. Others have speculated that she was trying to keep her marriage intact, and still others, that she was exhausted from a long career and entitled to some time off or even retiring.
The trade journals, however, show that she was steadily working behind the scenes with good friends like Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck, trying to get Enterprise Productions up and running. Founded by 'that notorious Red Commie Pinko actor,' John Garfield, Enterprise tried to break in to the Hollywood studio oligarchy the same way that Pickford, Fairbanks, Griffith & Chaplin had done years earlier with United Artists. Along with other Hollywood royalty like Ingrid Bergman, Joan Crawford and Charles Boyer, Rogers traveled to cities across the country to work with exhibitors and distributors. McCrea had a solid box office success for the studio, "Ramrod," with Veronica Lake, and the studio produced advertising for a Ginger Rogers film called 'Wild Calendar' which was to follow "It Had to be You," but it was never made. In spite of the support of these glittering names, the company couldn't break the stranglehold of the studio system, and folded. That business failure is probably the most likely explanation for Rogers' silence about this time in her life.
The point of "It Had to be You" is that wow!! Dreams really do actually come true, and for Ginger Rogers the dream had come true and would continue for many decades to come. But alas, for that group of actors, the business dream just didn't happen.