Going Highbrow
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Robert Florey
Guy Kibbee
Zasu Pitts
Edward Everett Horton
Ross Alexander
June Martel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Cora Upshaw, the wife of millionaire Matt Upshaw, longs to break into New York's high society. The Upshaws have just returned from a European trip during which they purchased numerous works of art. When the news of their purchases is printed in the newspapers, Augie Witherspoon, manager of the estate of Mrs. Forrester Marsh, conceives the idea of selling the Upshaws some of the Marshes' paintings to get enough money to keep her upper-class but impoverished son Harley in music school. Meanwhile, Matt, who is uncomfortable with Cora's aspirations, sneaks across the street to a coffee shop for a meal. He strikes up a conversation with Sandy, the waitress, who is friendly even though she doesn't believe he is a millionaire. Over lunch Augie suggests to Cora that the best way to break into society would be for the Upshaws to hold a big party on their estate. He feels that a debut for the Upshaw daughter would be a perfect event, hoping that she will marry Harley and end the Marshes' financial problems. The only problem is that the Upshaws do not have a daughter. When Cora tells Matt how much she wants to meet the right people, Matt suggests that they hire Sandy to play their daughter. While shopping for clothes for her "coming out," Sandy meets Harley by accident, but is unaware of who he is. He falls instantly in love with her, but she is not impressed by him. In her role as the Upshaws' daughter, Sandy uses the name Millicent. When Harley reluctantly attends the party, he is delighted to discover that Millicent is the woman he met on the street. Nonetheless, to Augie's dismay, Harley claims to love her too much to marry her for money. To convince him otherwise, Augie has the bright idea of hiring a man to make Harley jealous enough to propose. The man he hires turns out to be Sam Long, Sandy's estranged husband. Sam tells Augie that she is his wife and shows him a picture of their vaudeville act to prove it. Augie tells Harley the truth about Sandy, and to his surprise, Harley is delighted because now she will not think he is after her money. Because he and Cora have grown genuinely fond of Sandy, Matt offers to pay for her divorce. By a ruse, however, Augie discovers that Sam was married before he married Sandy, so her marriage was never legal. Harley tells Sandy that she is free, and she agrees to marry him.
Director
Robert Florey
Cast
Guy Kibbee
Zasu Pitts
Edward Everett Horton
Ross Alexander
June Martel
Gordon Westcott
Judy Canova
Nella Walker
Jack Norton
Arthur Treacher
Frank Dufrane
Walter Clyde
Christine Gess
Milton Kibbee
Paul De Rincon
Sherry Hall
Gordon Elliott
Emmett Vogan
Joseph E. Bernard
Jack H. Richardson
Marshall Ruth
Olaf Hytten
Pauline Garon
Maude Turner Gordon
Irving Bacon
William Jeffrey
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Ralph Spence's story was entitled "Social Pirates." The film's working titles were Crashing Society and Social Pirates. A news item in Daily Variety indicates that both Joan Blondell and Aline MacMahon were considered for ZaSu Pitt's role.
