Gary Cooper is a small town dentist dissatisfied with his lot. Though married to the lovely and affectionate
Frances Fuller, Cooper still carries a torch for his former sweetheart,
Fay Wray. Years earlier, Cooper had lost Wray to his old friend
Neil Hamilton, and is consumed with the desire to get even with his rival. The now-wealthy Hamilton comes to visit Cooper, with Wray in tow. Seeking to rekindle his old romance, Cooper discovers that Wray has become cruel and hard, and has made the "lucky" Hamilton's life miserable. Realizing that he'd married the right girl all along, Cooper embraces his loving wife. Based on the stage play by James Hagan (which starred
Lloyd Nolan on Broadway), One Sunday Afternoon was remade with James Cagney as
Strawberry Blonde (41), then reworked as a musical with
Dennis Morgan under its original title in 1948. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide