By Violet LeVoit
Four Jacks and a Jill
Brief Synopsis
A nightclub band's new singer becomes the center of a romantic mix-up.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Jack Hively
Director
Ray Bolger
Nifty Sullivan
Anne Shirley
Karinina "Nina" Novak
June Havoc
Opal
Desi Arnaz
Steve Sarto
Jack Durant
The Noodle
Film Details
Also Known As
Four Jacks and a Queen, Street Girl
Genre
Musical
Release Date
Jan
23,
1942
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Suggested by the short story "The Viennese Charmer" by W. Carey Wonderly in Young's Magazine (Mar 1928).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 8m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6,107ft
Synopsis
Band leader Nifty Sullivan meets Karinina "Nina" Novak when he pulls her from the path of an onrushing car. Nina is ungrateful, however, and accuses him of causing her to lose her ticket to a concert that night. Chagrined, Nifty trades in his own concert ticket for two balcony seats, and they attend the performance together. Later, Nifty returns to Mike's Cellar, where he and his band, "Four Jacks and a Queen," perform. There, band members Happy McScud, Nat and Eddie inform Nifty that their singer, Opal, is thinking of deserting the group for The Noodle, her gangster boyfriend, and convince him to try to change her mind by romancing her. Nifty makes a date to meet Opal that night, but when a suspicious Noodle comes looking for his girl, he is about to throttle Nifty when Nina appears and claims that she, not Opal, is his date. In gratitude, Nifty invites the hungry Nina back to his apartment for a meal. There, she meets the rest of the band and tells them that she comes from the Balkan state of Aregal, where she enthralled King Stephan with her singing. Recognizing that her story is a fabrication, Nifty invites Nina, who is destitute, to spend the night at their apartment. The next morning, Nina tells the boys that the owner of Mike's Cellar has fired them because Opal has announced her retirement. Spinning her story of King Stephan to Mr. Hoople, the owner of the Little Aregal Café, Nina secures an engagement for the band, which is renamed "Four Jacks and a Jill." As Hoople awaits the appearance of the king, Steve Sarto, a taxi driver who has been dating Opal, takes refuge at the club to escape the jealous Noodle. Steve, an exact double for the king, is mistaken for his highness and decides to continue the charade. When Nifty, who has fallen in love with Nina, becomes jealous of Steve's attentions to her and quits the band, Hoople cancels their contract. Unemployed and hungry, Nifty is reduced to pantomiming prizefights to feed himself. Trying to reconcile the pair, Steve drives Nifty to meet Nina at the band's apartment, and during the ride there, he sees Steve's taxi license. At the apartment, Nifty exposes Steve as a lowly cab driver and announces that he is planning to take a job in Chicago. Promising Nina that he will prevent Nifty from leaving, Steve has him arrested for stealing his cab, and when the other band members try to prevent the arrest, they are jailed, too. Steve then convinces Hoople to rehire the band to stage "King's Night," promoting the appearance of King Stephan. Noodle deems "King's Night" the perfect opportunity to trap his rival Stephan and bails the band out of jail, and Nifty and Nina make up. The night of the performance, Steve arrives wearing the king's uniform. When the real king, who has been vacationing in South America, appears at the club, Steve flees with Opal, leaving a confused Noodle in his wake.
Director
Jack Hively
Director
Cast
Ray Bolger
Nifty Sullivan
Anne Shirley
Karinina "Nina" Novak
June Havoc
Opal
Desi Arnaz
Steve Sarto
Jack Durant
The Noodle
Eddie Foy Jr.
Happy McScud
Fritz Feld
Mr. Hoople
Henry Daniell
Bobo
Jack Briggs
Nat
William Blees
Eddie
Robert Smith
Joe
Fortunio Bonanova
Mika
Charles Arnt
Drunk
Ted O'shea
Drunk
Grady Sutton
Drunk
Norman Mayes
Bootblack
Mary Gordon
Landlady
Amarilla Morris
Girl
Leo White
Perfumer
Rosemary Coleman
Salesgirl
Frank Martinelli
Ditch digger
Armand "curley" Wright
Hot dog vendor
Florence Lake
Counter girl
Mantan Moreland
Attendant
Eddie Dunn
Policeman
Frank Mills
Policeman
Rafael Storm
Headwaiter
Eddie Hart
Taxi driver
Bob Perry
Gorilla
Constantine Romanoff
Gorilla
Max Lucke
Otto
Nina Wayler
Katherine
Roy Crane
Keva
Jack Carr
Big guy
Jack Gardner
Usher
Joe Bernard
Jailor
Patti Lacey
Jitterbug specialty
Jane Woodworth
Crew
C. Bakaleinikoff
Music Director
Monte Brice
Story
Aida Broadbent
Dance Director
Albert D'agostino
Art Director
Mort Greene
Composer
George Hively
Editing
J. R. Mcdonough
Executive Producer
Russell Metty
Director of Photography
Renie
Gowns
Harry Revel
Composer
Gene Rose
Orchestration
Dewey Starkey
Assistant Director
John E. Tribby
Recording
John Twist
Producer
John Twist
Screenwriter
Vernon L. Walker
Special Effects
Videos
Movie Clip
Film Details
Also Known As
Four Jacks and a Queen, Street Girl
Genre
Musical
Release Date
Jan
23,
1942
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Suggested by the short story "The Viennese Charmer" by W. Carey Wonderly in Young's Magazine (Mar 1928).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 8m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6,107ft
Articles
Four Jacks and a Jill
Ray Bolger is most remembered for his ungainly dancing as the Scarecrow in The Wizard Of Oz (1939). But those ragdoll dance moves were actually full of unseen skill and control, a fact that can't be seen until compared to the grace and suavity he displays when properly attired in tux and tie in Four Jacks And a Jill (1942). A remake of the Lily Pons vehicle That Girl From Paris (1936), it follows band leader Nifty (Bolger) and his brush with fate when he pulls Nina (Anne Shirley) from the path of a car, kicking off a series of adventures that include June Havoc (sister of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee) in her first role as a torch singer, and Desi Arnaz as a cab driver impersonating a king (!). Songs like "Wherever You Are" and "I'm In Good Shape" are ably performed by Bolger and company, and if not immortal melodies, they are still sweetly entertaining.
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Four Jacks and a Jill
Ray Bolger is most remembered for his ungainly dancing as the Scarecrow in The Wizard Of Oz (1939). But those ragdoll dance moves were actually full of unseen skill and control, a fact that can't be seen until compared to the grace and suavity he displays when properly attired in tux and tie in Four Jacks And a Jill (1942). A remake of the Lily Pons vehicle That Girl From Paris (1936), it follows band leader Nifty (Bolger) and his brush with fate when he pulls Nina (Anne Shirley) from the path of a car, kicking off a series of adventures that include June Havoc (sister of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee) in her first role as a torch singer, and Desi Arnaz as a cab driver impersonating a king (!). Songs like "Wherever You Are" and "I'm In Good Shape" are ably performed by Bolger and company, and if not immortal melodies, they are still sweetly entertaining.
By Violet LeVoit
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this picture were Four Jacks and a Queen and Street Girl. This picture marked actress June Havoc's screen debut and the promotion of writer John Twist to writer-associate producer. News items in Hollywood Reporter note that director Jack Hively and star Anne Shirley were orginally slated to work on Call Out the Marines, but were assigned to this picture when that production was delayed. According to other news items in Hollywood Reporter, Fritz Feld replaced Lou Holtz in the role of "Mr. Hoople," and Jack Durant replaced Sam Levene as "Noodle" because Levene had a prior commitment to another film. Pre-production news item in Hollywood Reporter add James Burke and Matt McHugh to the cast, but their appearance in the completed film has not been confirmed. A news item in Hollywood Reporter notes that the film was to include a musical number by Kay Kyser, but Kyser does not appear in the final film. According to modern sources, actor Ray Bolger later sued the studio for incorporating the prizefight routine that he performs in this picture into the 1949 film Make Mine Laughs. Bolger's suit forced RKO to withdraw that picture from distribution in 1951. Street Girl, RKO's first version of W. Casey Wonderly's story, was directed by Wesley Ruggles in 1929 and starred Betty Compson and Jack Oakie (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1921-30; F2.5436). In 1937, the studio remade Wonderly's story as That Girl from Paris, directed by Leigh Jason and starring Lily Pons and Jack Oakie (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40; F3.4538).
