By Richard Harland Smith
God's Gift to Women
Brief Synopsis
A modern-day Don Juan tries to go straight for love of an American woman.
Cast & Crew
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Michael Curtiz
Director
Frank Fay
Jacques Duryea, also known as Toto
Laura La Plante
Diane Churchill
Joan Blondell
Fifi
Charles Winninger
Mr. Churchill
Alan Mowbray
Auguste
Film Details
Also Known As
The Devil Was Sick
Genre
Comedy
Adaptation
Release Date
Apr
25,
1931
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the play The Devil Was Sick by Jane Hinton (production undetermined).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 12m
Sound
Vitaphone
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.33 : 1
Film Length
6,708ft
(8 reels)
Synopsis
In a Parisian nightclub, Diane Churchill, an American woman, and her father are fascinated to learn that Jacques Duryea, the young man seated at a table near them, is an international lover known as Toto, able to have any woman he wants. Toto finds Diane very attractive and manages to dance with her, but as soon as their dance is over, Diane, who disapproves of him, leaves with her father. In the following days, Toto follows Diane everywhere. After she accidentally shuts the car door on his hand, she takes pity on him and bandages his injury. At tea, Toto tells her that she is his ideal woman and now that he has found her, he is finished philandering. She wants to believe him, but while she visits him at home, Tania, a former mistress, arrives with several suitcases, clearly intending to live there. Diane leaves and when Toto returns, he forces Tania to leave. That night, Churchill attends a concert, leaving Diane home alone. Wearing a disguise, Toto sneaks into her house to beg forgiveness. She admits that she is in love with him. When Toto tells Churchill that he intends to marry Diane, Churchill agrees on the condition that Toto stay away from Diane for six months. He also demands that Toto see his doctor to insure that he is in good health. After an examination, the doctor warns Toto that he has a bad heart and the least excitement may cause it to burst. In order to stay alive, he must stop drinking and give up women entirely. When they hear the news, several of Toto's old girl friends want to nurse him. Toto tries desperately to get rid of them and an angry husband appears, intending to kill him. After all this excitement, the doctor warns that even one kiss will kill him. Then Diane tells Toto that her father is taking her back to America and offers to spend an hour with him that night. Not wanting to say no, Toto arranges for his funeral. Diane arrives right on time, and Toto kisses her, expecting to die immediately. Nothing happens, however, and it turns out that Churchill paid the doctor to lie in order to discover if Toto loved Diane more than life. Now that he really believes in Toto's love for his daughter, he allows them to marry.
Director
Michael Curtiz
Director
Cast
Frank Fay
Jacques Duryea, also known as Toto
Laura La Plante
Diane Churchill
Joan Blondell
Fifi
Charles Winninger
Mr. Churchill
Alan Mowbray
Auguste
Arthur Edmund Carewe
Mr. Dumont
Billy House
Cesare
Yola D'avril
Dagmar
John T. Murray
Louise Brooks
Florine
Margaret Livingston
Tania
Armand Kaliz
Charles Judels
Tyrell Davis
Basil
Sisters G
Marie/Mabelle
Ethlyn Claire
Yvonne
Nena Quartaro
Suzanne
Hazel Howell
Camille
Crew
Film Details
Also Known As
The Devil Was Sick
Genre
Comedy
Adaptation
Release Date
Apr
25,
1931
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the play The Devil Was Sick by Jane Hinton (production undetermined).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 12m
Sound
Vitaphone
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.33 : 1
Film Length
6,708ft
(8 reels)
Articles
God's Gift to Women -
Vaudeville entertainer Frank Fay is remembered for being the first stand-up comedian, a cabaret and nightclub comic who shucked burlesque convention to tell jokes in a conversational manner that would be an influence on Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Milton Berle. Fay transitioned to films in a run of Warner Bros. musicals, beginning with Under a Texas Moon and Bright Lights, both directed by Michael Curtiz and released in 1930. As the vogue for musicals waned, Fay's popularity suffered and God's Gift to Women (1931), a musical romance set in France, was stripped of its songs in postproduction. Again directed by Curtiz (a Hungarian Jewish émigré whose professional relationship with the openly anti-Semitic Fay was problematic, to say the least), God's Gift to Women lost money at the box office and ended Fay's tenure as a movie star. Married in 1928 to fledgling actress Barbara Stanwyck, Fay was left behind as Stanwyck's industry stock rose; Hollywood rumor maintains that their rocky, short-lived marriage was the inspiration for A Star Is Born (1937). Haven fallen out of favor due to his ego and dependence on alcohol, Fay rebounded in 1944 as the star of the original Broadway production of Harvey but squandered any new-found popularity he might have enjoyed on pro-Fascist stances lionizing Hitler and Mussolini after World War II. Little remembered today, God's Gift to Women remains noteworthy for an early appearance by newly-signed Warners contract player Joan Blondell, as one of Fay's romantic conquests.
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
God's Gift to Women -
Vaudeville entertainer Frank Fay is remembered for being the first stand-up comedian, a cabaret and nightclub comic who shucked burlesque convention to tell jokes in a conversational manner that would be an influence on Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Milton Berle. Fay transitioned to films in a run of Warner Bros. musicals, beginning with Under a Texas Moon and Bright Lights, both directed by Michael Curtiz and released in 1930. As the vogue for musicals waned, Fay's popularity suffered and God's Gift to Women (1931), a musical romance set in France, was stripped of its songs in postproduction. Again directed by Curtiz (a Hungarian Jewish émigré whose professional relationship with the openly anti-Semitic Fay was problematic, to say the least), God's Gift to Women lost money at the box office and ended Fay's tenure as a movie star. Married in 1928 to fledgling actress Barbara Stanwyck, Fay was left behind as Stanwyck's industry stock rose; Hollywood rumor maintains that their rocky, short-lived marriage was the inspiration for A Star Is Born (1937). Haven fallen out of favor due to his ego and dependence on alcohol, Fay rebounded in 1944 as the star of the original Broadway production of Harvey but squandered any new-found popularity he might have enjoyed on pro-Fascist stances lionizing Hitler and Mussolini after World War II. Little remembered today, God's Gift to Women remains noteworthy for an early appearance by newly-signed Warners contract player Joan Blondell, as one of Fay's romantic conquests.
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The credits note that Brunswick Radios were used exclusively in the production. The pre-release title was The Devil Was Sick.
