The Girl Friend (1935) - Turner Classic Movies

Cast & Crew

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Edward N. Buzzell

Ann Sothern

Jack Haley

[Henry Henry] Henry

Roger Pryor

George [Thorne, also known as George Harmon]

Thurston Hall

[George S.] Harmon

Victor Kilian

Film Details

Genre

Musical

Comedy

Romance

Release Date

Aug 9, 1935

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Columbia Pictures Corp.

Distribution Company

Columbia Pictures Corp.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 7m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

7 reels

Synopsis

Theatrical producer George S. Harmon refuses to produce a musical satire by struggling young actor George Thorne based on the life of Napoleon. He gives back to Thorne what he thinks is his play, but what he actually gives the young actor is a five-act tragedy about Napoleon by someone named "Henry," who has invited the producer to visit him at his farm. Thorne and his friends, Sunshine and Doc Parks, are broke and have no prospects for the summer, so they pretend to be the producer and his entourage and accept the playwright's offer. They live at the farm for two weeks, when Linda, Henry's sister, with whom Thorne has fallen in love, questions why they have not begun production on the play. Thorne claims that there are no theaters available to try out the play, so Henry's grandmother mortgages her farm for three-thousand dollars and converts the barn into a theater. Thorne finally reads the play, and it is terrible. He then tells Linda there are no actors available, but she offers up a variety of local talent. With his back to the wall, Thorne begins to produce his musical satire, telling Henry that it is simply a rewrite of his play. He hopes to have the real Harmon see the play and buy it. On opening night, the production is a hit until a rainstorm strikes, the roof begins to leak and all the displaced animals come in to reclaim their barn. Thorne's plans go further awry when he learns that Harmon never arrived at the theater. When Thorne is finally asked if he is going to buy the play, he admits that he is an imposter. The actor and his friends are forced to leave town, but, at the train station, Thorne runs into the real Harmon, who has come into town for another try-out. When Harmon refuses to see their play, Thorne then pretends to be the producer once more and cancels the other play. Henry kidnaps the cast of the other play and locks them in his barn. Thorne then puts his satire on in its place. Harmon is furious when he arrives at the theater and discovers what has happened. At the first act curtain, he threatens to put the entire company in jail, but Thorne convinces him to let them continue with their production. Henry is cast as Napoleon, and every time the real producer looks at him, he becomes nervous and the audience thinks he is even funnier. The play is a huge success, and Thorne allows all to believe that Henry is its author. Harmon then buys the production as is, and Thorne is once again in Linda's good graces.

Director

Edward N. Buzzell

Cast

Ann Sothern

Jack Haley

[Henry Henry] Henry

Roger Pryor

George [Thorne, also known as George Harmon]

Thurston Hall

[George S.] Harmon

Victor Kilian

Ray Walker

Inez Courtney

Margaret Seddon

Grandma [Henry]

Geneva Mitchell

Harmon's secretary

Lee Kohlmar

German landlord

Elspeth Dudgeon

Lillian Rich

John T. Murray

Victor Potel

Small town farmer

Pat West

Al Klein

Sam Fisher

Arthur Rankin

Roger Gray

Billy Nelson

Henry Sylvester

Lon Kay

Bobbie Dale

Harry Mount

Buddy Roosevelt

Vangie Beilby

English actress

Bruce Wyndham

Lafe Mckee

Patricia Caron

Betty Dumbries

Meeka Aldrich

Maxine Barbour

Florence Dudley

Marie Astaire

Lucille Day

Marie Wilson

Beatrice Coleman

Doris Davenport

Agnes O'laughlin

Anne Johnson

Billie Van Every

Norma Taylor

Irene Coleman

Shirley Lloyd

Gertrude Von Pein

Monica Bannister

Clarice Sherry

Eleanor Huntley

Dee Dowell

Beverly Royde

Jean Joyce

Doris Carlyle

Ruth Riley

Marbeth Wright

Cleo Cullen

Anya Taranda

Juanita Field

Aileen Covington

Arthur Millett

Charles Marsh

Mark Strong

Matty Roubert

Fred Mayan

Bert Kalmar Jr.

Sumner Getchell

Tommy Hicks

Al Snelling

Patrick Cunning

John Storall

George Ford

Eric Alden

Rod Bacon

Louis Adlon

Sam Rice Jr.

Jack Lubell

Evelyn Pierce

Virginia Meyer

Barbara Hubbard

Peggy Leon

Barbara Cohen

Marie Wells

Ethel Bryant

Rita Donlin

Beth Hartman

Bee Montclair

Corinne Williams

Jeanne Lawrence

Dorothy Shearer

Muriel Scheck

Richard Lancaster

Elizabeth Williams

Crew

Graham Baker

Louise Barnes

Double for Elspeth Dudgeon

Arthur S. Black

Assistant Director

Sam J. Briskin

Harry Cohn

Seymour Felix

Music seq staged by

Arthur Johnston

Gus Kahn

Edna Lyall

Double for Lillian Rich

Murray Meyer

Gertrude Purcell

John Rawlins

Glenn Rominger

Benny Rubin

Louis Silvers

Gene Towne

Joseph Walker

Ned Winchester

Film Details

Genre

Musical

Comedy

Romance

Release Date

Aug 9, 1935

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Columbia Pictures Corp.

Distribution Company

Columbia Pictures Corp.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 7m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

7 reels

Articles

TCM Remembers - Ann Sothern

April 27, 2001

Actress Ann Sothern passed away on March 15th at the age of 89. Her film career spanned sixty years and included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Whales of August (1987) and several Emmy nominations for her roles in the TV shows Private Secretary (1953) and The Ann Sothern Show (1958). Sothern was born as Harriette Lake in North Dakota. She made her first film appearance in 1927 in small roles (so small, in fact, that some sources omit any films before 1929) before deciding to work on Broadway instead. Shortly afterwards she signed with Columbia Pictures where studio head Harry Cohn insisted she change her name because there were already too many actors with the last name of Lake. So "Ann" came from her mother's name Annette and "Sothern" from Shakespearean actor E.H. Sothern. For most of the 1930s she appeared in light comedies working with Eddie Cantor, Maurice Chevalier, Mickey Rooney and Fredric March. However, it wasn't until she switched to MGM (after a brief period with RKO) and made the film Maisie (1939) that Sothern hit pay dirt. It proved enormously popular and led to a series of nine more films through 1947 when she moved into dramas and musicals. During the 50s, Sothern made a mark with her TV series but returned to mostly second tier movies in the 1960s and 1970s. Finally she earned an Oscar nomination for her work in 1987's The Whales of August (in which, incidentally, her daughter Tisha Sterling played her at an earlier age). Turner Classic Movies plans to host a retrospective film tribute to her in July. Check back for details in June.

Tcm Remembers - Ann Sothern

TCM Remembers - Ann Sothern

Actress Ann Sothern passed away on March 15th at the age of 89. Her film career spanned sixty years and included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Whales of August (1987) and several Emmy nominations for her roles in the TV shows Private Secretary (1953) and The Ann Sothern Show (1958). Sothern was born as Harriette Lake in North Dakota. She made her first film appearance in 1927 in small roles (so small, in fact, that some sources omit any films before 1929) before deciding to work on Broadway instead. Shortly afterwards she signed with Columbia Pictures where studio head Harry Cohn insisted she change her name because there were already too many actors with the last name of Lake. So "Ann" came from her mother's name Annette and "Sothern" from Shakespearean actor E.H. Sothern. For most of the 1930s she appeared in light comedies working with Eddie Cantor, Maurice Chevalier, Mickey Rooney and Fredric March. However, it wasn't until she switched to MGM (after a brief period with RKO) and made the film Maisie (1939) that Sothern hit pay dirt. It proved enormously popular and led to a series of nine more films through 1947 when she moved into dramas and musicals. During the 50s, Sothern made a mark with her TV series but returned to mostly second tier movies in the 1960s and 1970s. Finally she earned an Oscar nomination for her work in 1987's The Whales of August (in which, incidentally, her daughter Tisha Sterling played her at an earlier age). Turner Classic Movies plans to host a retrospective film tribute to her in July. Check back for details in June.

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

According to Hollywood Reporter, Lupe Velez and Jack Benny were originally cast as the leads for this picture in June 1934. In August 1934, Hollywood Reporter reported that filming on the picture had been pushed back by at least four weeks due to re-writes. During that time, Velez went on a personal appearance tour, which later conflicted with the studio's schedule for the film. News items in Hollywood Reporter reported that Velez was called back to Columbia, where she waited two weeks for filming to begin. After that time, Velez collected her check those two weeks, $10,000, and returned to her tour. Columbia, in turn, cancelled payment on the check, and Velez threatened legal action. The outcome of the dispute has not been determined, but neither she nor Benny were involved in the released film. The original director for this project was Russell Mack, whose contract expired during the production delay, and was paid his contractual $15,000 in full. Hollywood Reporter further reported that Columbia had a publicity campaign for the production of the film in June 1934, in which they planned to send studio publicist Carter Ludlow to all forty-eight states in search of buxom milkmaids for a production number planned in the film. Ludlow was to visit each state on a chartered plane, and select one actual farm girl to represent each state in the number. When the film was finally produced in 1935, producer William Rowland, who had been mentioned in the 1934 new items, was no longer associated with it.

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