"San Diego I Love You" is a light and silly family comedy. This is a Universal film in the days when that studio was not among the Big Five. Along with Columbia and United Artists, it made up a second tier of studios. The Big Five were marked by large theater chains and big studio lots to support them. They also could pay more and sought out and got the best actors and actresses. Of course, with more studios their actors became more familiar to the public. The stars of the various studios might appear in occasional films with other studios by loan outs or other deals.
The leads in this film are Louise Allbritton and Jon Hall. They were a couple of the leading performers of Universal at the time. Allbritton was in a number of films with other big name stars, either filmed by Universal with trades, or on loan out herself to another studio. By 1950 she moved almost exclusively into TV series and films. Jon Hall had been a leading man at Universal since 1935. He appeared in a number of swashbuckler and adventure films. Most of those are forgotten or little known in the 21st century, although a few were very good films. Hall's star began to fade in the early 1950s, and by the end of that decade his movie career was all but ended.
One nice attribute of this film is the supporting cast. It includes Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore and Buster Keaton.
The date of this film is 1944, so World War II was still going strong. There's no mention of the war and no sign of it at all in this film. Considering that it takes place in San Diego, it was strange that it doesn't have scenes with many men and women in uniform. Especially the Navy, since San Diego was and is a major naval base.
A strange scene is the bus driving on the shore. There aren't many spots where a vehicle could get onto the beach at or near San Diego. If it was filmed there and not somewhere else along the coast, it probably was Dog Beach in the NW corner of the city where the San Diego River runs through Mission valley and empties into the ocean. It's just south of the Mission Bay Channel entrance. A beach access parking lot has been there since the late 20th century, but I don't know if it was there in 1944.
Allbritton plays a cheerful and chipper Virginia McCooley in this film. Horton is her dad, Philip, who was a high school science teacher until he came up with an invention that might have takers. Hall plays John Thompson Caldwell, the wealthy chairman of a large company that may be interested in the invention. But his character is very wooden in this film. Blore plays Nelson, the butler and handyman who goes with the house that the McCooley's buy in San Diego. Keaton plays a bus driver who has driven the exact same boring route for more than 20 years.
Most people would probably enjoy this film. It's not raucous comedy or a barrel of laughs. It has humorous situations and a sprinkling of funny lines. Mostly, it has warmth and a light-hearted feel for a family on a new adventure.
Here are some favorite lines.
Philip McCooley, "You mean to tell me that you resigned for me over the telephone to the principal of the high school?" Virginia McCooley, "He thought it was a little unusual too, at first. Then I told him you were just too bashful to admit the reason."
Philip McCooley, "What are you doing with that piece of furniture?" Moving Man, "Why, I'm growing mushrooms in it. One side, buddy."
Virginia McCooley, "Well, why all the fuss? What does San Diego think it is - Washington, D.C.?" Hotel clerk, "Lady, we pride ourselves on having more confusion per square inch in San Diego than Washington ever heard of."
