Dear Brigitte (1965)

Interesting facts

Dear Brigitte is a 1965 American DeLuxe Color CinemaScope family comedy film produced and directed by Henry Koster, based on the 1963 novel Erasmus with Freckles by John Haase. Starring James Stewart, it is the third of three family comedy vehicles for Stewart that are directed by Koster and written by Nunnally Johnson, following Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) and Take Her, She's Mine (1963). The title character, Brigitte Bardot, makes an uncredited appearance as herself.

Production

John Haase's novel Erasmus with Freckles was published in 1963. There was some talk that Disney would option the film rights and cast Bing Crosby in the lead role. However, rights were bought by 20th Century-Fox, which assigned the project to Nunnally Johnson, Henry Koster, and James Stewart, the team that made Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation and Take Her, She's Mine.

Johnson later said that he "hadn't wanted to do" the film. "I didn't think there was enough material in it, but I really allowed myself to be persuaded to do it. Jimmie would sign if I would write it, and Koster would get a job if Jimmie would sign. It all got around that, one depending on another. There was no material in there that justified a picture."

Although Johnson wrote early drafts of the film, Hal Kanter was brought in to work on it, and he received sole screen credit. Kanter says that it was Koster's idea to introduce a captain, played by Ed Wynn, to act as a Greek chorus. Johnson said that Koster got the idea from the film Tom Jones. Johnson did not like the device because he felt that it did not suit the picture, and he told Koster to get another writer to do it.

Filming started April 1964. It was one of the first movies made at the recently re-opened 20th Century-Fox studios.

Billy Mumy was cast on the recommendation of James Stewart's wife Gloria Stewart, who taught a Sunday School class that Mumy attended.

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