Bride Came C.O.D., The (Blu-ray Review)
Director
William KeighleyRelease Date(s)
1941 (November 25, 2025)Studio(s)
Warner Bros. (Warner Archive Collection)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: A-
- Audio Grade: B
- Extras Grade: B+
Review
The Bride Came C.O.D. features two of Warner Bros.’ biggest stars in a slapstick comedy that involves a mismatched couple, an independent heiress, and a pilot fearful of losing his plane and livelihood.
Heiress Joan Winfield (Bette Davis) is soon to marry Los Angeles nightclub bandleader Allen Brice (Jack Carson) despite the objections of her well known father, oil magnate Lucius K. Winfield (Eugene Pallette). Radio broadcaster Tommy Keenan (Stuart Erwin), always on the lookout for juicy gossip, persuades them to elope to Las Vegas where they can be married immediately without interference. Keenan then breaks the sensational story on his show and hires a private plane to fly the happy couple to Vegas.
The owner and pilot of the plane, Steve Collins (James Cagney), is in a fix. If he can’t immediately repay the $1,100 he borrowed to buy the plane, it will be repossessed by a finance company. Upon learning that Joan’s father is opposed to the marriage, Steve makes a deal with him to kidnap his daughter and deliver her to him in Amarillo, Texas in exchange for a $10-a-pound freight fare for Joan that will be enough for him to pay back the loan.
Steve tricks Allen off the plane and takes off with Joan, which leads to nationwide reports that the heiress was kidnapped. Joan resists, offering to up Steve’s fee considerably if he takes her to L.A. A struggle ends in a crash landing in the desert. Joan and Steve spend an awkward night camping under the stars before spotting a ghost town nearby, where they find the town’s only resident, Pop Tolliver (Harry Davenport). Initially cordial and welcoming to the couple despite Joan’s protests, Tolliver hears a radio report about the kidnapping and locks Steve in a deserted cell. Meanwhile, the assistant D.A. orders Sheriff McGee (William Frawley) to locate Steve for stealing his own plane.
From this point, the plot takes on familiar tropes as Joan and Steve’s antipathy for one another softens into love. Though the ending is no surprise, it’s the getting there that creates misunderstandings, confusion, switched loyalties, and physical comedy.
The Bride Came C.O.D. was Cagney and Davis’ second picture together. They had starred in Jimmy the Gent in 1934. By 1941 they were top stars eager to branch out from the kinds of roles they previously played. Neither was pleased with the old-fashioned script, but they were interested in giving screwball comedy a try.
Davis does her best but isn’t the right actress for slapstick. A running gag has her landing butt-first in a bunch of cactus. While mildly amusing the first time, she’s not convincing and the joke fails to land subsequently. In a frenzy for most of the film, Davis goes for broad acting choices, her mastery of subtlety unexploited. In later scenes, when Joan and Steve are trapped in a mine, the Davis we know emerges and we see a vulnerable human being rather than a caricature.
Cagney comes off better as a man who sees an opportunity and knows how to grab it to solve his financial woes. Quick-thinking, clever, with a touch of larceny, his Steve is also chivalrous towards Joan even though she’s a constant irritant.
Rather than showcase the two stars as masters of comedy, director William Keighley simply puts them through the script’s paces without focusing enough on their screen chemistry, which is tepid at best. The script’s abrupt mood transitions and contrived plot points are no help. It’s unlikely, for example, that an experienced pilot would allow himself to lose control of a plane he values so highly. Keighley did assemble a solid supporting cast. Carson’s Brice, Davenport’s Pop Tolliver, Pallette’s blustery Lucius K. Winfield, and William Frawley’s gruff Sheriff McGee all add color to a picture that’s sadly short of laughs.
The Bride Came C.O.D. was shot by director of photography Ernest Haller on 35mm black & white film with spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The new 1080p HD master is sourced from a 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative by the Warner Archive Collection. What makes the film distinctive is the extensive filming done away from the studio. Desert locations were used to show the aftermath of the plane crash. Quality is somewhat uneven, likely because location filming didn’t present ideal situations for consistent lighting. Details are generally well rendered, such as Bette Davis’ clothes, airplane controls, Pop Tolliver’s cabin and its decor, and the photo Steve carries of his co-worker’s kids.
The soundtrack is English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio. English SDH subtitles are an available option. Dialogue is clear and distinct. There’s an annoying, distracting echo quality in a number of scenes. In the early part of the film, Davis speaks in a shrill, high-pitched voice. Later, her timbre is lower. Cagney speaks rapidly, as in his early gangster roles. The pacing is brisk, in keeping with the Warners style. Sound effects include an airplane engine, a gunshot, punches hitting their mark, a runaway car bouncing over a dirt road, screams of pain whenever Davis lands in a cluster of cactus, and a howling coyote. Max Steiner’s score provides an upbeat exuberance to the madcap adventures.
Bonus materials on the Blu-ray release from the Warner Archive Collection include the following:
- Warner Night at the Movies:
- Carnival of Rhythm (17:52)
- Forty Boys and a Song (10:13)
- Newsreel (1:11)
- Porky’s Pooch (7:08)
- Rhapsody in Rivets (7:35)
- Saddle Silly (7:35)
- Honeymoon for Three (2:29)
- Lux Radio Theater Broadcast (59:28)
- The Bird Came C.O.D. (7:41)
- Theatrical Trailer (2:51)
Carnival of Rhythm – Featuring Katherine Dunham and Her Company, this short in three-strip Technicolor celebrates Brazilian culture with stylized sets and choreographed dance numbers.
Forty Boys and a Song – This 1941 black & white short is a tribute to the Robert Mitchell Choir School of Hollywood, which educates talented young boys in the musical arts as well as regular academic studies. Performances include If You Would Like to Lose Your Blues, Home on the Range and Shortnin’ Bread. This documentary was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject (One Reel).
Newsreel – This black & white clip shows models wearing the latest in formal gowns for Spring, 1941.
Porky’s Pooch – In this 1941 black & white Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert Clampett, a dog named Rover explains to a down-on-his-luck shaggy dog named Andy how he got his master. He went into a hotel room and bothered someone taking a bath—Porky Pig. Porky doesn’t want Rover as a pet, no matter how many times he tries to make Porky adopt him.
Rhapsody in Rivets – Directed by Friz Freleng, this Technicolor Merrie Melodies cartoon from 1941 features a crew of anthropomorphic animals at an urban site constructing a building to the tune of Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 as the foreman, a caricature of the conductor Leopold Stokowski, uses the blueprints as his score to conduct the workmen.
Saddle Silly – Released in 1941, this Technicolor Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones follows a clumsy Pony Express rider (voiced by Mel Blanc) and his rebellious horse on a dangerous mail delivery through rugged Western terrain as they encounter a persistent hitchhiker and an Indian chief, leading to slapstick situations.
Lux Radio Theater – Introduced by host Cecil B. DeMille, this radio broadcast, originally aired on December 29, 1941, stars Bob Hope and Hedy Lamar in an adaptation of The Bride Came C.O.D.
The Bird Came C.O.D. – Conrad Cat, an employee of the Arctic Palm Company, struggles to deliver a potted palm to a studio set as he encounters odd obstacles like a mischievous, seemingly magical bird from a magician’s hat who constantly outwits him. Conrad tries to perform magic, gets beaten up, and eventually runs into more birds, highlighting his bad luck and the bird’s dominance. This Technicolor Merrie Melodies cartoon is directed by Chuck Jones.
The Bride Came C.O.D. is pleasant enough but never achieves the highs of, say, It Happened One Night, the ultimate screwball comedy. It’s evident that Davis and Cagney are working hard to make their characters come to life, but the film has a been-there, seen-that feel as it attempts to recapture the whimsy and wit-driven silliness of a previous decade. I just wish Davis and Cagney had sharper material to work with.
- Dennis Seuling