A Gentleman at Heart
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Ray Mccarey
Cesar Romero
Carole Landis
Milton Berle
J. Carroll Naish
Richard Derr
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
New York City bookie Tony Miller is infuriated upon discovering that one of his workers, Lucky Cullen, has been placing bets under a false name and now owes him $5,000. Tony gives Lucky twenty-four hours to pay up, and as Lucky prepares to leave town, a lawyer arrives at his apartment and tells him that he has inherited the Leonardo Art Gallery from his uncle. Hoping to use the gallery to clear himself, Lucky takes Tony there, but they learn from the manager, Helen Mason, and chief buyer, Stewart Haines, that the gallery, while possessing an excellent reputation, is deeply in debt. Tony is entranced by Helen, however, and, determined to learn about the art world in order to be near her, persuades her to tutor him in exchange for help keeping the gallery open. As time passes, Tony assumes ownership of the gallery, cancels Lucky's debt and falls in love with Helen as they spend long hours touring museums and pouring over art books. In order to get rid of Stewart, who is Helen's boyfriend, Tony sends him to Europe to acquire paintings. Meanwhile, Lucky tells Tony about socialite Claire Barrington, who has fallen upon hard times and wishes to sell a Rembrandt in her possession. Hoping to surprise Helen, Tony and Lucky go to Claire's house, where they buy the painting from her and her uncle for $20,000. Upon returning to the gallery, however, they learn from Helen and the gallery's art expert, Appleby, that the painting is merely a copy worth $500. Furious at being conned, Tony gets his money back from Claire and her "uncle," who is actually an expert forger named Gigi. Gigi's arrogant presumption that he improves upon the masters is supported by the fact that numerous of his canvases are hanging in galleries throughout the country. Tony's anger is assuaged by this news, and he determines to go into the "art racket" with forgeries supplied by Gigi. Their first opportunity comes when Helen tells him about "Two Children of the Court," a long-lost painting by 17th century Spanish artist Velázquez. Pretending to have found it, Tony gives Helen Gigi's forged version, and she decides to auction it at the gallery's grand re-opening. Tony becomes anxious at the auction, however, for the painting is purchased by Finchley, a buyer for the Washington Museum. Tony's anxiety about the government inspectors who will appraise the painting is temporarily forgotten when Stewart arrives with Don Fernando Cortez, who asserts that he owns the real Velázquez painting. Tony purchases Cortez' painting and substitutes it for Gigi's canvas, but Harrison, the government expert, pronounces it a fake. When Helen demands another appraisal, Finchley leaves to get more experts, and while he is gone, Tony confesses the scheme to her. Gigi switches back his canvas while Tony is not looking, and it is pronounced the real thing by the new experts. Relieved but still distraught about having upset Helen, Tony gives her the gallery and asserts that in the future, he will stick to what he knows. Soon after, Tony and Lucky are at the racetrack when they are joined by Helen, who embraces Tony and tells him that she wants him to come back to her. Lucky then reveals that it is Gigi's painting hanging in the Washington museum, and that he paid Cortez with counterfeit money.
Director
Ray Mccarey
Cast
Cesar Romero
Carole Landis
Milton Berle
J. Carroll Naish
Richard Derr
Rose Hobart
Jerome Cowan
Elisha Cook Jr.
Francis Pierlot
Chick Chandler
Steve Geray
Matt Mchugh
Kane Richmond
Sid Saylor
Charles Lane
William Halligan
Dell Henderson
Robert Emmett Keane
Dick Rich
Forbes Murray
Bertram Marburgh
Edwin Stanley
James Metcalf
William B. Davidson
Dick French
Leroy Mason
Crew
Joseph E. Aiken
Harold Buchman
Charles [g.] Clarke
Richard Day
William Eckhardt
Paul Hervey Fox
Herschel
Nathan Juran
Harry M. Leonard
Thomas Little
Lee Loeb
Walter Morosco
Emil Newman
J. Watson Webb Jr.
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were Masterpiece, Her Masterpiece, Accent on Love and Between the Devil. The title of Paul Hervey Fox's original screen story was "Masterpiece." According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, Twentieth Century-Fox purchased the story in May 1937. A September 1937 Los Angeles Times item claims that the story was first published in a "foreign magazine," but all other other list it as a screen original. According to information in the Twentieth Century-Fox Produced Scripts Collection, located at the UCLA Arts-Special Collections Library, writers Niven Busch, Richard Sherman, Karl Tunberg, Don Ettlinger, Eleanor Harris and Charles Bennett worked on treatments or screenplays for the picture, but the extent of their contributions to the completed film has not been determined.
The studio records also reveal that in 1937, Gene Markey was designated as the picture's producer, with Ralph Dietrich as his assistant. Early treatments were written for Don Ameche in the male lead, and either Simone Simon or Annabella in the female lead, and Mischa Auer in the role of "Gigi." A September 28, 1937 Los Angeles Times news item reported that Gregory Ratoff would direct the picture, and a November 20, 1937 Hollywood Reporter news item noted that the stars would be Loretta Young and Tyrone Power. In 1940, Harry Joe Brown was assigned as the producer. A October 29, 1941 Hollywood Reporter news item stated that Fortunio Bonanova was to be in the film, but his appearance in the completed picture has not been confirmed. Although actor Kane Richmond is credited onscreen as "Steve," the CBCS lists him as "FBI man" and LeRoy Mason as "Steve." According to a Hollywood Reporter news item and studio publicity, the surrealist paintings done by the "Genius" were actually painted by B. D. K. Ana, Marjorie Morris and Lorser Feitelson, and were rented from the Stendahl Galleries in Los Angeles. Studio publicity also noted that "Two Children of the Court" was not an actual Velázquez painting, but was instead a reproduction and enlargement of "another painting owned by the studio."
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1942
Released in United States 1942
