The Gentleman Misbehaves
Cast & Crew
George Sherman
Robert Stanton
Osa Massen
Hillary Brooke
Frank Sully
Dusty Anderson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After his star, and girl friend Nina Mallory, walks out of dress rehearsal because of his philandering, thus causing the critics to savage his new production, Broadway producer Edgar Raleigh finds himself in financial difficulty. Later, Edgar receives a horseshoe from Nina, accompanied by a sarcastic note wishing him "better luck next time," and hurls it out the window of his hotel room, where it strikes Suzette Fleury, an innocent bystander on the sidewalk below. Chagrined, Edgar invites the injured Suzette to his room, and while he argues over his bill with Quackenbush, the hotel manager, Suzette notices a stack of unpaid bills on the table. After Quackenbush leaves, Suzette, a French refugee, offers Edgar $5,000 to marry her, explaining that marriage to a U.S. citizen would allow her to remain in the country. Observing that Suzette is wearing a chinchilla coat, Edgar assumes that she is wealthy and agrees to the bargain on the condition that she grant him an annulment after the ceremony. Edgar hires a taxi to drive them to the justice of the peace office and is astounded to discover after the ceremony that his bride is penniless except for her $20,000 coat. When a taxi driver takes the coat as collateral for their cab fare, Edgar determines to raise the money himself and takes off with the driver. As Suzette waits alone in her hotel room, Marty, an associate of gangster Trigger Stazzi, pulls open the door, tosses a satchel filled with the winnings from a crap game into the room and then runs away. Suzette discovers that the bag is stuffed with cash and assumes that it is a present from her new husband. Edgar, meanwhile, has gone to the Coral Club in hopes of collecting some unpaid debts. An inebriated Edgar sees Nina there and when the driver blurts out the news of Edgar's marriage, she becomes intrigued and accompanies Edgar home. When Edgar declares his love for Nina in front of his new wife, Nina is puzzled until Suzette explains the terms of their marriage. Fascinated, Nina makes a deal with Suzette: if Suzette keeps Nina's rival, Marian Rand, away from Edgar, Nina will appear in his new show. After Nina leaves, Edgar spies the pile of cash on the table and faints. The next morning, Marian phones Edgar, and Suzette sweetly informs her that she is his new wife. Later, Edgar reads a newspaper account about a floating crap game that went on at the hotel the previous night and realizes that the cash belongs to Trigger. Suzette, meanwhile, assumes the job of Edgar's secretary, and discards all perfumed letters addressed to him and refuses to allow Marian to speak to him. Deciding to teach the philandering Edgar a lesson, Suzette then permits him and Nina to dine at the Coral Club, even though she knows that Marian will be performing there. That night, after a row between Nina and Marian, Edgar returns home from the club to find Suzette singing one of the numbers from his new production. After Suzette criticizes Edgar for his cavalier attitude toward women, they embrace and initiate a whirlwind romance. At rehearsal one day, Trigger and Marty come to the theater in search of their money, and Suzette informs them that it has been invested in the show. Spotting Nina, Trigger is immediately smitten and offers to become Edgar's partner in the production. When the temperamental Nina becomes jealous of Suzette and announces that she is quitting, Trigger refuses to let her go until he learns of her affair with Edgar. Appalled by her lack of morals, Trigger fires Nina and replaces her with Suzette. During intermission on opening night, an immigration officer presents Suzette with deportation papers and informs her that the law granting citizenship to spouses has been repealed. When Suzette declares that she is pregnant, however, the officer leaves to discuss the issue with his superiors. After he departs, Edgar congratulates Suzette on her ingenuity and confides that he loathes children. Heartbroken because she really is pregnant, Suzette pens a farewell note to Edgar and disappears immediately after the last act. When Trigger comes backstage to tell Edgar of his engagement to Nina and compliment him on the success of the show, they find Suzette's note. Discovering that Suzette has bought a steamship ticket home, Trigger intercepts her at the docks and takes her back to Edgar.
Director
George Sherman
Cast
Robert Stanton
Osa Massen
Hillary Brooke
Frank Sully
Dusty Anderson
Shemp Howard
Sheldon Leonard
Jimmy Lloyd
Chester Clute
Ernie Adams
William Haade
Edgar Dearing
Jack George
Cy Shindell
Billy Benedict
Dan Stowell
George Eldredge
Gladys Blake
Doris Houck
Jack Frack
Milt Kibbee
P. J. Kelly
Alphonse Martell
Mary Field
Earle S. Dewey
Cy Malis
Charles Cane
Alfred Allegro
Victor Travers
Virginia Vann
Crew
Juanita L. Bell
Chris Beute
Sammy Cahn
John B. Clymer
James Crowe
Gene De Paul
Frank Goodwin
Kenneth Green
Oscar Hammerstein Ii
Gene Havlick
Jean Louis
Ben Oakland
Jerome Pycha Jr.
Don Raye
Mario Silva
Jule Styne
Philip Tannura
Alexis Thurn-taxis
Richard Weil
J. S. Westmoreland
Edwin Wetzel
Robert Wyler
Robert Wyler
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Working titles for this film were Lullaby of Broadway and The Lady Misbehaves.
