over 21 the film version of the ruth gordon play which detail her experience try to keep the marriage together with garson kanin after he would go in the service provide irene dunne with one of her better later role on the big screen . it also in keep with what be then an upbeat spirit in america about how we would not screw up the peace a we do in the first world war and sow the seed of yet another global conflict . the play ruth gordon write and star in herself run for 221 performance in 1944 on broadway and be confine simply to the bungalow that gordon and harvey stephen who be the male lead have on a training base . if you look on the broadway credit list it say that the production be tag by george s. kaufman a oppose to be direct by him . i be not sure of the distinction and but i can imagine that with a wit and will as strong a kaufman it must have be an interesting period put the production together before open night . when columbia buy the screen right and sidney buchman have to do some considerable script reconstruction to move the action beyond the bungalow . the film bear very little trace of it stage origin . alexander knox play the husband and charles coburn the employer of both dunne and knox who be writer . knox have graduate to not only editor and but featured columnist . his word and thought help sell the paper and coburn be in a bind . but knox feel he have to get into the war and the seminal event of his time in order to speak authoritatively on the kind of post war world he want . this be not an uncommon theme in those year . irene dunne have some good comic moment and the kind she use to have when she be appear opposite cary grant . in fact garson kanin direct both of them in my favorite wife a few year earlier . coburn be his usual cantankerous old water buffalo of a bos who ultimately have a good heart . over 21 be an optimistic picture which sad to say wasn not accurate about what the ally and i mean all of them could bring to the peace conference to create a good world . still hopefully a new generation will get it right .