If I Had My Way (1940) Bing Crosby, Gloria Jean, Charles Winninger / American Musical Comedy Film

If I Had My Way is a 1940 musical comedy film directed by David Butler and starring Bing Crosby and Gloria Jean. Based on a story by David Butler, the film is about a construction worker who takes charge of the daughter of a friend killed in an accident.
Filming took place in Hollywood between February and April 1940. This was another independent production for Crosby outside his Paramount contract and he took a financial interest in it. The film had its New York premiere at the Rivoli Theater on May 5, 1940.

Plot:
Buzz Blackwell, Fred Johnson, and Axel Swenson are construction workers in San Francisco who are helping to build the Golden Gate Bridge. They are close friends, and Buzz and Axel even help Fred in raising his daughter Pat. When Fred dies in a tragic accident, Buzz and Axel resolve to find her relatives in New York City, whom she has never met. Buzz notifies Fred's brother, Jarvis Johnson, of Fred's death and Pat's impending arrival.
Jarvis and his wife Brenda are snobby socialites. Jarvis has received Buzz's telegram, but wants no part in raising Pat. When Buzz and company arrive, Jarvis denies knowledge of the telegram, pretends to be someone else, and sends them to "the other J. B. Johnson" across town. Joe Johnson—Jarvis's uncle—and his wife Marian are poor ex-vaudevillians, but welcome the girl with open arms. Buzz wants to give Joe the money he and his friends saved for Pat, but finds out a drunken Axel used this money to buy a failed Swedish restaurant.

Buzz allows Jarvis to think that Pat's stock certificates, left to her by her father, are valuable. Jarvis greedily pays Buzz $5,000, which Buzz uses to convert the Swedish restaurant into a vaudeville-themed nightclub. Jarvis returns to claim his money back, but the club is a success and Pat's friend—a banker—settles with Jarvis. The Johnson family feud is resolved.

Cast:
Bing Crosby as Buzz Blackwell
Gloria Jean as Pat Johnson
Charles Winninger as Joe Johnson
El Brendel as Axel Swenson
Allyn Joslyn as Jarvis Johnson
Claire Dodd as Brenda Johnson
Moroni Olsen as John Blair, banker
Nana Bryant as Marian Johnson
Donald Woods as Fred Johnson
Kathryn Adams as Miss Corbett
Brandon Hurst as Hedges, Jarvis's butler
Verna Felton as Mrs. De Lacey
Dell Henderson as Mr. Harris, of the finance company
Joe King as Pat, bank guard
Emory Parnell as Gustav Erickson
Blanche Ring as herself
Eddie Leonard as himself
Julian Eltinge as himself
Trixie Friganza as herself

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