Hats Off
Cast & Crew
Boris Petroff
Mae Clarke
John Payne
Helen Lynd
Luis Alberni
Skeets Gallagher
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
When twin Texas cities Bradfield and Hempstead compete for business by staging simultaneous expositions, Bradfield's event coordinator, Mr. J. D. Murdock, hires Jo Allen as his press agent to outdo Hempstead's Jimmy Maxwell. Posing as a newly-arrived schoolteacher named Judy, Jo befriends Jimmy in order to learn his exposition secrets, while her friend Mr. Churchill poses as "Jo Allen" at her request. When Jo learns that Jimmy is planning a prizefight for the Hempstead opening and expects 100,000 attendants, she contacts Broadway showman Caesar Rosero, an old friend. To meet Rosero's exorbitant costs, however, Bradfield needs the backing of local oilman Tex Connolly, who spurns the exposition as a mere "carnival." Meanwhile, Jo and Jimmy fall silently in love, and Jimmy, discovering Bradfield's plan to get Rosero to sign a contract, arranges an evening with Tex, hoping to get him to back Rosero's troupe for Hempstead. Although Jo wins Tex's backing, she resigns when Jimmy learns her true identity, because she is unwilling to rival the man she loves. Furious at Jo's duplicity, Jimmy further schemes to get Rosero for Hempstead, until Rosero, seeing that Jo is in love, promises to perform for Hempstead's exposition. On the opening night, Rosero gives Jimmy a ticket for a seat next to Jo, and they are reconciled.
Director
Boris Petroff
Cast
Mae Clarke
John Payne
Helen Lynd
Luis Alberni
Skeets Gallagher
Franklyn Pangborn
Robert Middlemass
George Irving
Clarence Wilson
Val & Ernie Stanton
The Three Radio Rogues
Crew
Edward L. Alperson
Lon Anthony
Arthur Dreifuss
Sam Fuller
Gaston Glass
Danny Hall
Edmund Joseph
Thiele Lawrence
Herb Magidson
Paul Mertz
L. J. Meyers
Thomas Neff
Harry Neumann
William Nolte
Ben Oakland
Boris Petroff
Boris Petroff
Victor Petroff
Victor Petroff
Walter S. Stern
Howard Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The Three Radio Rogues were Jimmy Hollywood, R. D. Bartell and Henry Taylor. Val and Ernie Stanton were a vaudeville team. Motion Picture Herald credits "75 Grand National gorgeous girls" as appearing in the film. According to Daily Variety, the news scenes were filmed at Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, CA the weekend of September 26, 1936. As reported in Daily Variety on September 29, 1936, screenwriter Edmund Joseph placed portions of the film in Hempstead because it was his home town. This was Grand National's first musical comedy. Numerous trade articles mention the film's similarities to the recent Texas Centennial celebrated in Dallas/Fort Worth. Two contemporary reviews credit Harold Stern with editing, although Walther Stern is credited as supervising editor on the film. A news item in Daily Variety states that a novelty train which appears in musical numbers in the film was used as part of an exploitation stunt that included a "bevy of cuties" accompanying the train in key cities. The train, which consisted of an engine and observation car, reportedly cost $50,000 to build and was purchased by the filmmakers for $10,000.
