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George Washington Slept Here

Play trailer Poster for George Washington Slept Here Released Nov 28, 1942 1h 33m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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Connie Fuller (Ann Sheridan) surprises her stubborn husband, Bill (Jack Benny), by purchasing a dilapidated house in the countryside where George Washington was once rumored to have slept. Moving into the "fixer-upper," the Fullers are joined by Connie's sister, and her rich uncle (Charles Coburn) who turns out to be broke. Nearly broke themselves from all the repair work, the Fullers are further troubled by a neighbor who wants their property at any cost.
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George Washington Slept Here

Critics Reviews

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Nathan Rabin The Dissolve George Washington Slept Here never transcends or even makes much of an effort to conceal its stagebound origins, but ultimately, it doesn't need to. Rated: 3.5/5 Dec 9, 2013 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Considering the fine cast and pedigree of the playwrights, this slapstick comedy is a let down. Rated: B- Apr 18, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Not serious cinema but Jack Benny and Ann Sheridan are so much fun. I good time do not take it too seriously and enjoy Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Starring Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan, Hattie McDaniel and Charles Coburn. Thematically similar to the better known "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House," this film is a delightful vehicle for radio star Jack Benny who plays a New Yorker reluctantly dragged to the country by his free spirited wife Sheridan. Directed by William Keighley. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member This was a funny play when I read it, with a wisecracking wife named Annabelle and a husband who was excited about their new house. These roles were reversed for the film, and Jack Benny does no justice to the lines that were somehow much funnier when spoken by a woman. I rings completely false that his pretty young wife would have purchased this house without his knowledge, and he comes across more like a wet blanket than a skeptical sophisticate, as the role originally demanded. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Enjoyable but predictable comedy about city couple buying a house in the country that becomes more and more of a money pit. Ann Sheridan is good, but Jack Benny is really the only reason to watch this film. It's not Benny's best film, but you could surely do a lot worse. It's hard to go too far wrong with the great Jack Benny. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member OMG another lost review-well I just re-watched this gem Benny is a master of physical comedy and prat-falls plus those one liners he keps pitching just a gr8 movie Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member William Keighley directed this adaptation of the Kaufman and Hart stage play, and it was released in late 1942. I read that Jack Benny's role was changed to fit his recognizable comic persona. In the play, Bill Fuller is as excited to move to the country as his wife Connie is. In this movie adaptation, Bill likes living in apartments in New York City and foresees the money pit that a colonial home in upstate New York can become. Jack Benny's altered character blends in believably to the existing story. His wife, played by the radiant Ann Sheridan, is the one who longs for a more settled lifestyle of home-ownership and is sold on a particular fixer-upper because supposedly "George Washington slept here." There is lots of good slapstick humor as Bill discovers everything in the house is falling apart, there is no water, and a neighbor claims ownership of the road and well. Mr. Kimber (Kilbride) is the caretaker of the property and his mounting expenses and slow country ways irritate Bill further. Bill's in-law Uncle Stanley (Coburn) comes to visit once they are settled in better. At first he is another annoyance, then a potential financial savior, then his secret of being broke since the depression is revealed, and yet he becomes one of the many allies the Fullers have against the mean neighbor. A local historian disillusions Bill and Connie by telling them the house was more likely visited by Benedict Arnold in a great punchline. Still the movie includes a patriotic message because of the year in which it was made. See it for Kaufman's and Hart's funny jokes and situations though. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Connie Fuller (Ann Sheridan) surprises her stubborn husband, Bill (Jack Benny), by purchasing a dilapidated house in the countryside where George Washington was once rumored to have slept. Moving into the "fixer-upper," the Fullers are joined by Connie's sister, and her rich uncle (Charles Coburn) who turns out to be broke. Nearly broke themselves from all the repair work, the Fullers are further troubled by a neighbor who wants their property at any cost.
Director
William Keighley
Producer
Jerry Wald
Screenwriter
Everett Freeman
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 28, 1942, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 33m
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