By Richard Harland Smith
The Nitwits
Brief Synopsis
Two cigar-stand attendants get mixed up in a murder investigation.
Cast & Crew
Read More
George Stevens
Director
Bert Wheeler
Johnny
Robert Woolsey
Newton
Fred Keating
William Darrell
Betty Grable
Mary Roberts
Evelyn Brent
Alice Lake
Film Details
Also Known As
Murder Song
Genre
Comedy
Release Date
Jun
7,
1935
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 21m
Sound
Mono (RCA Victor System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
9 reels
Synopsis
After music publisher Winfield Lake receives an extortion letter from someone calling himself The Black Widow, his wife Alice insists that he hire William Darrell, a famous private detective, to protect him. As Darrell begins his assignment for Lake, unsuspecting Johnny and Newton, who run the cigar store in Lake's office building, audition their new song, "The Black Widow Is Going to Get You If You Don't Watch Out," for him. Terrified, Lake angrily rejects the song and storms up to his office, where he is greeted by songwriter George Clark, who charges him with cheating on his royalty payments. Lake then accuses Lurch, his auditor, of tampering with the account books and assures Clark that he will investigate the matter. After locking Clark's file in his desk, Lake flirts with his secretary, Mary Roberts, who is also Johnny's girl friend. When Johnny shows up with an unloaded gun to "plug" his song again, he sees Lake being repulsed by Mary and slugs him, then announces that Mary is quitting. While Mary prepares to go, Lake is murdered by The Black Widow, who fires his gun through a hole hidden in the ceiling. Caught hiding on the balcony with Johnny's gun, Mary is arrested in spite of "confessions" from both Johnny and Newton. That night Johnny and Newton visit Mary's jail cell and learn that she saw Lurch trying to break into Lake's desk shortly after the murder. Determined to help Mary, Johnny and Newton return to the Lake Building to plant Newton's "truth device" invention on Lake's chair and then trick Lurch into confessing. At the same time, the police surround the building in order to catch The Black Widow, who is to collect extortion money that has been deposited by Alice and others in the basement. While Johnny and Newton set up their device, Darrell shows up and suggests that they re-enact the crime. By accident, Darrell activates the truth device and confesses that he is The Black Widow, but Johnny and Newton conclude that the device has malfunctioned and proceed with the re-enactment. After the boys barely escape with their lives, Darrell murders Lurch, who has shown up to retrieve Clark's file, and then knocks out Clark as he arrives on the scene. A group of blacks, meanwhile, who have snuck into a costume company office to play a game of craps, discover Darrell's money, which has blown up the ventilation shaft from the basement, in a heating grate. To retrieve his money, Darrell dons a "skeleton" costume and scares the blacks, but is then confronted by Johnny and Newton. After an extended chase and fight involving Darrell, his men, the blacks, and Johnny and Newton, the police burst in and apprehend Darrell. Cleared of all charges, Mary accepts both Johnny's proposal and his pegboard engagement ring.
Director
George Stevens
Director
Cast
Bert Wheeler
Johnny
Robert Woolsey
Newton
Fred Keating
William Darrell
Betty Grable
Mary Roberts
Evelyn Brent
Alice Lake
Erik Rhodes
George Clark
Hale Hamilton
Winfield Lake
Charles Wilson
Captain Jennings
Arthur Aylesworth
Lurch
Willie Best
Sleepy
Lew Kelly
J. Gabriel Hazel
Dorothy Granger
Phyllis
Edgar Dearing
Officer Barney Riley
Crew
Felix Bernard
Composer
Al Boasberg
Screenwriter
Edward Cronjager
Photography
P. J. Faulkner Jr.
Recording
Perry Ferguson
Art Director Associate
Dorothy Fields
Composer
Grant Garrett
Contr to dial
L. Wolfe Gilbert
Composer
Leslie Goodwins
Contr to comedy const
Fred Guiol
Screenwriter
John Lockert
Editing
Lee Marcus
Associate Producer
Jimmy Mchugh
Composer
Stuart Palmer
Story
Van Nest Polglase
Art Director
Roy Webb
Music Director
Videos
Movie Clip
Film Details
Also Known As
Murder Song
Genre
Comedy
Release Date
Jun
7,
1935
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 21m
Sound
Mono (RCA Victor System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
9 reels
Articles
The Nitwits -
All but forgotten today, the comic team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey saved RKO Radio Pictures from bankruptcy in the early 1930s. The manic duo's sixteenth feature went into production as Murder in Tin Pan Alley, with Wheeler and Woolsey playing music industry underlings who unmask an extortionist and murderer known as The Black Widow. A title change to Mellodicks displeased producer Lee Marcus, who offered a fifty dollar reward to the RKO employee who could dream up something catchier. Rejected titles included Death Strikes a Chord, The Dead Soprano, and Murder in 3/4 Time while the studio ultimately settled on The Nitwits (1935). With regular Wheeler and Woolsey director Mark Sandrich promoted to Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals, former Hal Roach cameraman George Stevens stepped in. (Stevens' last minute script doctoring delayed the start of principal photography, costing the film the presence of Lionel Atwill, who was replaced by Fred Keating; Atwill later played the villain in the 1946 remake, Genius at Work.) The result was one of the comic team's biggest hits and its success promoted George Stevens to the A-list adventure Gunga Din (1939) and Oscar glory with A Place in the Sun (1951) and Giant (1956). Fourth-billed Betty Grable had to wait a bit longer for her own star to shine but was within a decade Hollywood's highest-paid actress.
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
The Nitwits -
All but forgotten today, the comic team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey saved RKO Radio Pictures from bankruptcy in the early 1930s. The manic duo's sixteenth feature went into production as Murder in Tin Pan Alley, with Wheeler and Woolsey playing music industry underlings who unmask an extortionist and murderer known as The Black Widow. A title change to Mellodicks displeased producer Lee Marcus, who offered a fifty dollar reward to the RKO employee who could dream up something catchier. Rejected titles included Death Strikes a Chord, The Dead Soprano, and Murder in 3/4 Time while the studio ultimately settled on The Nitwits (1935). With regular Wheeler and Woolsey director Mark Sandrich promoted to Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals, former Hal Roach cameraman George Stevens stepped in. (Stevens' last minute script doctoring delayed the start of principal photography, costing the film the presence of Lionel Atwill, who was replaced by Fred Keating; Atwill later played the villain in the 1946 remake, Genius at Work.) The result was one of the comic team's biggest hits and its success promoted George Stevens to the A-list adventure Gunga Din (1939) and Oscar glory with A Place in the Sun (1951) and Giant (1956). Fourth-billed Betty Grable had to wait a bit longer for her own star to shine but was within a decade Hollywood's highest-paid actress.
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were Nitwits and Murder Song. According to a Hollywood Reporter production chart, Bill Wells, Etienne Girardot and Robert Middlemass were cast members, but their participation in the final film has not been confirmed.
