Laugh and Get Rich
| Laugh and Get Rich | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gregory La Cava[2] |
| Written by | Douglas MacLean[1] |
| Screenplay by | Gregory La Cava Ralph Spence (dialogue) |
| Produced by | William LeBaron[3] Douglas MacLean (associate)[3] |
| Starring | Edna May Oliver Hugh Herbert Dorothy Lee Russell Gleason |
| Cinematography | Jack MacKenzie[3] |
| Edited by | Jack Kitchin[3] |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release dates | |
Running time | 72 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Laugh and Get Rich is a 1931 Pre-Code American comedy film, directed by Gregory La Cava, from a screenplay he also wrote with contributions from Douglas MacLean (who also was the associate producer) and Ralph Spence. The film starred Edna May Oliver, Hugh Herbert, and Russell Gleason, and revolved around the antics in a boarding house in the early 1930s, run by Oliver, and the complications caused by her husband.
Plot
Sarah Austin (Edna May Oliver) runs a boarding house during the Depression, always on the verge of bankruptcy. Her husband, Joe (Hugh Herbert) is a shiftless person who has never understood the concept of work; he is constantly involving them in get rich quick schemes. Their daughter, Alice (Dorothy Lee) has her eyes set on a young, poor inventor, Larry Owens (Russell Gleason), but her mother wishes she would become involved Bill Hepburn (John Harron), seemingly from a well-connected family.
Sarah's illusions about Bill, however, are dashed when Bill kidnaps Joe, who he mistakenly believes is the local patriarch, Mr. Pennypacker. Shortly after this, Joe takes Sarah's life savings, which she thinks she has carefully hidden in a lamp, and invests it in one of his get-rich-quick schemes, this time an oil well, which he was conned into investing in by one of Sarah's boarders, Mr. Phelps (Robert Emmettt Keane). When Sarah discovers his treachery, she is furious, and to assuage her anger, Joe takes a job as a ditch digger. A job which lasts a single day. However, much to everyone's surprise, the oil well actually strikes oil. Believing that their ship has finally come in, Sarah and Joe go to Sarah's sister's, Cassie Palfrey (Louise Mackintosh), who lives in an upper-class estate on Long Island.
While there, the oil well runs dry, and their newfound wealth evaporates like the morning dew in the desert. However, all is not lost, as they find out that one of Joe's inventions, a tire valve, has actually been discovered by an investor, and they will be making over $50,000 per year off the invention, a veritable fortune in 1931.
Cast
- Edna May Oliver as Sarah Austin
- Hugh Herbert as Joe Austin
- Dorothy Lee as Alice Austin
- Russell Gleason as Larry Owens
- John Harron as Bill Hepburn
- Charles Sellon as Biddle
- George Davis as Vincentini
- Robert Emmett Keane as Phelps
- Maude Fealy as Miss Teasdale
- Louise Mackintosh as Mrs. Cassandra 'Cassie' Palfrey
- Lita Chevret as Party guest
- Rochelle Hudson as Joan
- Ivan Lebedeff as The Count
(Cast list as per AFI database, and Theiapolis.com)[2][1]
Reception
Mordaunt Hall, of The New York Times gave the film a good review, calling it, "...a pleasant little comedy of boarding house life, distinguished by the performance of Edna May Oliver as the head of the establishment."[5]
Silver Screen magazine gave it a good, but not great, review, stating the film was "... a nice homey comedy ..." which was "entertaining, but not a laugh riot." They praised the work of Hugh Herbert, but were less kind to the performance of Edna Mae Oliver. [6] Photoplay was a bit kinder, complimenting both Herbert and Oliver, and saying that the film was "Good for plenty of laughs", and that audience members would be "... agreeably surprised at the newness of the treatment and gags."[7] Motion Picture Magazine was the most impressed, not only praising Herbert and Oliver, but also Dorothy Lee, John Harron, and Russell Gleason as well. They called the picture, "... one of the best little comedies to happen along in many a celluloid moon."[8]
Notes
Board and Room was the working title of the film during production.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Laugh and Get Rich: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
{{cite web}}:|archive-url=is malformed: timestamp (help) - ^ a b "Laugh and Get Rich: Technical Details". theiapolis.com. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Laugh and Get Rich, Credits". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
{{cite web}}:|archive-url=is malformed: timestamp (help) - ^ Jewell, Richard B.; Harbin, Vernon (1982). The RKO Story. New York: Arlington House. p. 36. ISBN 0-517-546566.
- ^ Hall, Mordaunt (March 28, 1931). "Laugh and Get Rich: A Boarding House Farce". New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
{{cite web}}:|archive-url=is malformed: timestamp (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Talkies in Tabloid: Laugh and Get Rich". Silver Screen. September 1931. p. 66. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^ "The Shadow Stage: Laugh and Get Rich". Photoplay. May 1931. p. 126. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^ "The Picture Parade: Laugh and Get Rich". Motion Picture Magazine. June 1931. p. 61. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
External links
- Laugh and Get Rich at IMDb
- Laugh and Get Rich at AllMovie
- Laugh and Get Rich at the TCM Movie Database
- Laugh and Get Rich at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
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