Nothing But the Truth (1941 film)
| Nothing but the Truth | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Elliott Nugent |
| Produced by | Arthur Hornblow, Jr. |
| Written by | Ken Englund Don Hartman Frederic S. Isham (novel) James Montgomery (story) |
| Starring |
Bob Hope Paulette Goddard |
| Music by | Floyd Morgan Leo Shuken Victor Young |
| Cinematography | Charles Lang |
| Edited by | Alma Macrorie |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Nothing but the Truth is a 1941 American comedy film starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, their third movie together in three years. The movie was directed by Elliott Nugent.
The premise of the film, that the protagonist must tell the truth for the next 24 hours, is based on a play of the same name written by James Montgomery, itself loosely adapted from the novel by Frederic S. Isham. The book and play had previously formed the basis of an earlier movie, also called Nothing But the Truth, starring Richard Dix and Wynne Gibson. The 1941 film follows the plot of the play much more closely than the 1929 version. The same premise as used for the Jim Carrey movie Liar, Liar.
Steve Bennett (Bob Hope) is a stockbroker in Miami who has just accepted a position working for a man named T.R. Ralston (Edward Arnold). He is persuaded by Ralston's beautiful niece Gwen Saunders (Paulette Goddard), to invest a sum of $10,000 that she needs doubled in 24 hours. Ralston has promised Gwen that if she raises $20,000 he will double it, but has been working behind her back to prevent her from raising the initial funds.
When Steve objects to Ralston's practice of pushing bad stocks onto his clients, he claims that he could get buy just as well by telling the truth as by lying. Ralston and his partner Dick Donnelly, along with client Tom van Dusen (Gwen's boyfriend), bet Steve that he can't be completely honest for twenty-four hours straight. Steve bets the $10,000 he got from Gwen. One of the conditions is that no one can reveal the bet to an outsider and it can't be cancelled.
Steve is meticulously watched by the three men during the next twenty-four hours. They are entertaining guests and clients on Ralston's yacht during much of this time, and when Steve is honest with everyone he meets, he manages to insult several of them. In the late evening, an exotic dancer named Linda Graham enters the yacht, looking for Dick, who has promised her backing for her show. Linda meets and talks to Steve, telling him about the show. Mrs. Ralston and another distinguished woman overhear the conversation and mistakenly believes Linda is Steve's wife.
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