By Frank Miller
Sons O' Guns
Brief Synopsis
A song-and-dance man gets caught up in war and espionage.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Lloyd Bacon
Director
Joe E. Brown
Jimmy Canfield
Joan Blondell
Yvonne
Beverly Roberts
Mary Harper
Eric Blore
Hobson
Craig Reynolds
Lieut. Burton
Film Details
Genre
Musical
Adaptation
Comedy
Release Date
May
30,
1936
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
The Vitaphone Corp.; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the musical play Sons O' Guns by Fred Thompson and Jack Donohue (New York, 26 Nov 1929).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Film Length
9 reels
Synopsis
During World War I, musical star Jimmy Canfield shows no interest in fighting, to the disgust of his fiancée Mary Harper. General Harper, her father, accuses Jimmy of being a coward and stipulates that he must join the army or stop seeing Mary. Then when he learns that Bernice Pearce plans to bring a breach of promise suit against him, Jimmy pretends to be joining the army to avoid the suit but accidentally finds himself actually enlisted. In France, he discovers that Hobson, his valet, is a sergeant, while he himself is only a private. The only bright spot is Yvonne, an attractive waitress in a nearby cafe. Mary arrives at the front with her father and is pleased to see Jimmy there, and her response makes Yvonne jealous, even though Jimmy denies that Mary is his girl friend. Then, when Bernice arrives with a group of entertainers, Yvonne is madder than ever. Jimmy takes a room in Yvonne's house without knowing that her stepfather is a spy. He accidentally releases their carrier pigeons and is arrested for espionage. Jimmy later manages to escape from his prison by pretending to be an officer, a disguise that backfires when he is ordered to the front to capture a German machine gun nest. He is knocked out by a blast just before he arrives and when he comes to, he puts on a German helmet. He takes the Germans prisoner, finding that all the soldiers on the front are tired of fighting and are eager to surrender. At first, when he returns with the Germans, the Allies think Jimmy is a spy, but when they understand, he is decorated for capturing the Germans and Yvonne decorates him with a kiss.
Director
Lloyd Bacon
Director
Cast
Joe E. Brown
Jimmy Canfield
Joan Blondell
Yvonne
Beverly Roberts
Mary Harper
Eric Blore
Hobson
Craig Reynolds
Lieut. Burton
Winifred Shaw
Bernice Pearce
Joseph King
General Harper
Robert Barrat
Pierre
G. P. Huntley Jr.
Capt. Ponsonby-Falcke
Frank Mitchell
Ritter
Bert Roach
Vogel
Hans Joby
German prisoner
Michael Mark
Carl
Otto Fries
German spy
Misha Auer
German spy
Crew
Harry Joe Brown
Supervisor
Al Dubin
Composer
Julius J. Epstein
Screenwriter
Pat C. Flick
Additional Dialogue
Leo F. Forbstein
Vitaphone Orch Conductor
James Gibbon
Film Editor
Orry-kelly
Gowns
Max Parker
Art Director
Sol Polito
Photography
Jack Sullivan
Assistant Director
Jerry Wald
Screenwriter
Jack L. Warner
Executive Producer
Harry Warren
Composer
Film Details
Genre
Musical
Adaptation
Comedy
Release Date
May
30,
1936
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
The Vitaphone Corp.; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the musical play Sons O' Guns by Fred Thompson and Jack Donohue (New York, 26 Nov 1929).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Film Length
9 reels
Articles
Sons O' Guns
Rubber-faced comic Joe E. Brown was one of Warner Bros.' top stars when he made this wartime comedy with music. He stars as a World War I era stage star trapped into enlisting to escape a breach of promise suit. At first overseas duty seems a chore, particularly when he discovers his former valet (Eric Blore) is now his drill sergeant. But things pick up when he embarks on a romance with French barmaid Yvonne (Joan Blondell). Brown had three leading ladies in this film, Blondell, Beverly Roberts, as a general's daughter who encourages him to enlist, and Wini Shaw, as the actress who thinks they're engaged. But his real co-star turns out to be Blore, the British comedian usually typed as obsequious valets. His transition to tough sergeant is one of the film's highlights. Warner's had bought the rights to the hit stage musical -- in which Willaim Frawley had played the valet and Lili Damita the barmaid -- years earlier. They only kept one song from the original and then only added two more by resident songsmiths Harry Warren and Al Dubin. Instead of music, the focus was on comedy, with future producer Jerry Wald and Julius J. Epstein providing the witty script.
By Frank Miller
By Frank Miller
Sons O' Guns
Rubber-faced comic Joe E. Brown was one of Warner Bros.' top stars when he made this wartime comedy with music. He stars as a World War I era stage star trapped into enlisting to escape a breach of promise suit. At first overseas duty seems a chore, particularly when he discovers his former valet (Eric Blore) is now his drill sergeant. But things pick up when he embarks on a romance with French barmaid Yvonne (Joan Blondell). Brown had three leading ladies in this film, Blondell, Beverly Roberts, as a general's daughter who encourages him to enlist, and Wini Shaw, as the actress who thinks they're engaged. But his real co-star turns out to be Blore, the British comedian usually typed as obsequious valets. His transition to tough sergeant is one of the film's highlights. Warner's had bought the rights to the hit stage musical -- in which Willaim Frawley had played the valet and Lili Damita the barmaid -- years earlier. They only kept one song from the original and then only added two more by resident songsmiths Harry Warren and Al Dubin. Instead of music, the focus was on comedy, with future producer Jerry Wald and Julius J. Epstein providing the witty script.
By Frank Miller
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Variety reports that noted character actor William Frawley played the Eric Blore role on stage and Jack Donohue played the lead.
