THE LIFE OF RILEY (1949 movie)

For cinephiles, one of those hidden surprises comes in the form of a movie that turned out to be above average – and one the viewer was not expecting. A perfect example is The Life of Riley, a motion-picture produced in late 1948 and released in April of 1949. Based on the popular radio program starring William Bendix, Rosemary DeCamp, Lanny Rees and John Brown, who also agreed to reprise their roles for the big screen. 

 

Irving Brecher, who co-created the radio program in the early forties, and wrote most of the scripts, also directed this movie for Universal-International. The story concerns a well-meaning factory employee who is struggling financially and finding himself in scenarios that is embarrassing to his close friends. His career gets a lift when he receives a promotion, but this causes resentment among his fellow workers who believe it is due to the fact his daughter is engaged to the factory owner's son. When Junior, Riley’s son, discovers that the daughter’s happiness is at risk to the jerk of a wealthy son, Riley comes to the rescue. 

 

The Life of Riley radio program was originally conceived by Irving Brecher and Groucho Marx, a situation comedy originally conceived for Groucho to play the lead. The comedian went another direction, however, leaving Brecher to find another actor – William Bendix – to play the lead. 

 

At the time this movie was being produced, the television counterpart went up on NBC television with Jackie Gleason in the lead. The sponsor of the radio program, Pabst Blue Ribbon, wanted to expand the potential to television. Contracted for 26 weeks, Gleason played the role on television admirably, helping to boost sales for the beer company, while Bendix played the role on radio. A number of reference guides inaccurately claim Bendix could not get out of a studio contract at Paramount, but the real reason he was unable to play the role on television for that brief spell was because Bendix was busy filming the motion-picture. Following the completion of the 26 weeks, Gleason went off to do bigger, greater things, while Bendix made himself available for the television rendition, ultimately playing the role on both radio and television. 

 

The 1949 motion-picture has yet to be released commercially on DVD and this is a darn shame. The script is top-notch, not the type of story you expect from an adaptation of a radio situation comedy, with an ending that almost brings a tear to your eye. And, along the way, some radio in-jokes such as Howard Duff reprising his role as Sam Spade as Junior listens to a non-referenced radio detective program adds to the fun. If you can find this movie to watch, I recommend you make the effort. Your will be rewarded.

 

Interesting trivia: The screenplay was adapted into a hardcover novel, released in the same year as the movie, and is now a pricey collectible.