# Keeping Company > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Keeping_Company > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Keeping_Company.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_Company > Source revision: 1339362167 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. Please help improve the article by providing more real-world context. (September 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) 1940 American film Keeping Company Directed by S. Sylvan Simon Screenplay by Harry Ruskin James H. Hill Adrian Scott Story by Herman J. Mankiewicz Produced by Samuel Marx Starring Frank Morgan Ann Rutherford Irene Rich Cinematography Karl Freund Edited by Elmo Veron Music by Daniele Amfitheatrof Production company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributed by Loew's Inc. Release date December 27, 1940 (1940-12-27) Running time 80 minutes Country United States Language English ***Keeping Company*** is a 1940 American [drama film](/source/Drama_film) directed by [S. Sylvan Simon](/source/S._Sylvan_Simon) and starring [Frank Morgan](/source/Frank_Morgan), [Ann Rutherford](/source/Ann_Rutherford) and [Irene Rich](/source/Irene_Rich).[1] Morgan plays a [real estate broker](/source/Real_estate_broker) with three daughters who all have their own problems. The film was produced by [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](/source/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) and was followed by a sequel *[This Time for Keeps](/source/This_Time_for_Keeps_(1942_film))* (1942).[2] ## Plot summary Harry C. Thomas and his wife Susan have a hard time keeping track of their three very different daughters: Evelyn, the eldest, ready for marriage; Mary, engaged to car dealer Ted Foster; and Harriet, an unpredictable adolescent trying to catch up to her sisters, and always on the hunt for ice cream. Mary's engagement prompts Harry and Susan to give their daughter advice about married life. Mary and Ted are certain that marriage will be a walk in the park, but almost instantly Ted's old girlfriend, Anastasia Atherton, arrives from New York. She needs financial help and Ted gives her a car but doesn't tell Mary about the gift, which causes a misunderstanding when she finds in the car a check Ted wrote for Anastasia. Believing that Ted is having an affair, Mary goes home to her parents. Meanwhile, Ted manages to put the car shop's owner Mr. Hellman at risk, ordering 40 new cars that the intended customer refuses to buy. Humiliated, Ted goes into hiding and Mary must arrange and attend the company picnic alone. Hellman had planned to announce Ted as his successor at the picnic, but he doesn't; Mary scolds him and speaks highly of Ted's good points to bring Hellman to his senses. Ted reappears and tells everyone that he has managed to save the Hellman company from ruin by selling the cars to another dealer. Hellman talks to Ted, revealing how his wife had stood up for him while he was away. Ted is then reconciled with Mary.[3] ## Cast - [Frank Morgan](/source/Frank_Morgan) as Harry C. Thomas - [Ann Rutherford](/source/Ann_Rutherford) as Mary Thomas - [Irene Rich](/source/Irene_Rich) as Mrs. Susan Thomas - [Virginia Weidler](/source/Virginia_Weidler) as Harriet Thomas - [Gloria DeHaven](/source/Gloria_DeHaven) as Evelyn 'Skinny' Thomas - [John Shelton](/source/John_Shelton_(actor)) as Ted 'Teddy' Foster - [Gene Lockhart](/source/Gene_Lockhart) as Mr. Hellman - [Virginia Weidler](/source/Virginia_Weidler) as Harriet Thomas - [Virginia Grey](/source/Virginia_Grey) as Anastasia 'Stasia' Atherton - [Dan Dailey](/source/Dan_Dailey) as Jim Reynolds - [Sara Haden](/source/Sara_Haden) as Mrs. Foster - [Richard Crane](/source/Richard_Crane_(actor)) as Eddie Lane - [Fern Emmett](/source/Fern_Emmett) as Mrs. Miller - Harry Tyler as Joe Green, Ice Cream Man - [John Webb Dillion](/source/John_Webb_Dillion) as Postman - [Buddy Messinger](/source/Buddy_Messinger) as Basketball Ticket Boy ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Schmitt p.145 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Fetrow p.248 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Keeping Company"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131224115157/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/80136/Keeping-Company/). Archived from [the original](https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/80136/keeping-company) on December 24, 2013. ## Bibliography - Fetrow, Alan G. *Feature Films, 1940-1949: a United States Filmography*. McFarland, 1994. - Schmitt, Gavin. *Karl Freund: The Life and Films*. McFarland, 2022. ## External links - [*Keeping Company*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033782/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [*Keeping Company*](https://web.archive.org/web/1/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/80136/enwp) at the [TCM Movie Database](/source/Turner_Classic_Movies#TCMdb) (archived) - [*Keeping Company*](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/8082) at the *[AFI Catalog of Feature Films](/source/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films)* v t e Films directed by S. Sylvan Simon A Girl with Ideas (1937) Prescription for Romance (1937) The Crime of Doctor Hallet (1938) The Nurse from Brooklyn (1938) Spring Madness (1938) Four Girls in White (1939) The Kid from Texas (1939) These Glamour Girls (1939) Dancing Co-Ed (1939) Two Girls on Broadway (1940) Sporting Blood (1940) Dulcy (1940) Keeping Company (1940) Washington Melodrama (1941) Whistling in the Dark (1941) The Bugle Sounds (1942) Rio Rita (1942) Grand Central Murder (1942) Tish (1942) Whistling in Dixie (1942) Salute to the Marines (1943) Whistling in Brooklyn (1943) Song of the Open Road (1944) Son of Lassie (1945) Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945) Bad Bascomb (1946) The Thrill of Brazil (1946) The Cockeyed Miracle (1946) Her Husband's Affairs (1947) I Love Trouble (1948) The Fuller Brush Man (1948) Lust for Gold (1949) This article related to an American drama film of the 1940s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:1940s-US-drama-film-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3A1940s-US-drama-film-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:1940s-US-drama-film-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Keeping Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_Company) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_Company?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.