About Face
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Kurt Neumann
William Tracy
Joe Sawyer
Jean Porter
Marjorie Lord
Margaret Dumont
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
At Camp Carver, Sergeant Ames leads a platoon in a marching drill, but is out-commanded by Sergeant Dorian "Dodo" Doubleday, who is practicing aloud for his sergeant's examination. Because Doubleday is Colonel Gunning's favorite, Gunning introduces him to socialite Mrs. Culpepper and her niece, Betty Marlow. Both women are impressed by Doubleday's encyclopedic knowledge and invite him to a meeting of their women's group. Ames is furious at Doubleday for interfering with his platoon until he discovers that Doubleday has just received a $100 prize from a cereal contest. Ames tricks Doubleday into going with him to an underground bar called The Grotto, even though naïve Doubleday would rather go to a soda shop. Once there, Ames buys drinks for Daisy, a beautiful blonde gold digger, and her friends, expecting Doubleday to pay. Doubleday, meanwhile, is distracted by Sally, a squeaky-voiced salesgirl who spends her lunch hour jitterbug dancing in the Grotto. When Sally's heel breaks off her shoe, Doubleday leaves to fix it, and Ames is thrown out of the bar because he cannot pay the tab. Betty then encounters Doubleday in front of the bar and encourages him to bring Ames to the women's club. Ames is too much of an oaf to impress any of the beautiful intellectuals at the women's club, and Doubleday, who hopes to impress Betty, is embarrassed when Sally, who is working as a hostess at the party, forces a kiss on him. During the party, Mrs. Culpepper delivers a lecture on the modern army, and describes Ames as a "semi-moron type" and an "outmoded Army mule," while praising the physically inferior Doubleday as a modern thinking machine. Ames is affronted and, after borrowing twenty dollars from Doubleday, returns to the Grotto and lures Daisy away with the promise of a steak dinner at the country club. To further impress her, Ames rents a car, but having spent all his money, he tricks Doubleday into leaving the women's club and going with them. Doubleday is reluctant to leave, so Ames lifts him into the car, not noticing when Doubleday's wallet drops into the gutter. Later, havoc erupts when Ames crashes into a Marine's car in the country club parking lot. Ames keeps bumping into other cars, and the sailors take revenge by dismantling his vehicle. While an infuriated Ames vandalizes the Marines' cars, the rental car agent, stands by and writes up the tab for the damage. Military police finally arrive and Ames escapes, leaving Doubleday to take the blame. Doubleday follows the unwritten code of honor and accepts the blame until Daisy reveals Ames's hiding place. Ames is arrested and Betty, who watched the incident, offers Doubleday a kiss. He is too embarrassed to kiss in public until a blackout occurs. When the lights go on again, Doubleday is surprised to find that he is now kissing Sally.
Director
Kurt Neumann
Cast
William Tracy
Joe Sawyer
Jean Porter
Marjorie Lord
Margaret Dumont
Veda Ann Borg
Joe Cunningham
Harold Goodwin
Frank Faylen
Dick Wessell
Charles Lane
Jewel Mcgowan
Mike Mazurki
Crew
Charles Althouse
Eugene Conrad
Jack Crosby
Fred Guiol
Charles D. Hall
Paul Ivano
Bert Jordan
Eddie Montagne
Hal Roach
Royer
Edward E. Seabrook
W. L. Stevens
Edward Ward
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
A Hollywood Reporter news item implies that Hal Roach "discovered" actress Jean Porter, whose real name was Apryl Shauer; however, Jean Porter appears in several films in the 1930s. About Face was one of Roach's "streamlined features," a series of short comedies intended to fill the second half of a double bill. For further information on the "Doubleday-Ames" series and on Roach's streamlined features, please consult the Series Index and for Tanks a Million.
