By Frank Miller
Top Speed
Brief Synopsis
A humble clerk pretends to be a millionaire and gets mixed up in a yachting race.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Mervyn Leroy
Director
Joe E. Brown
Elmer Peters
Bernice Claire
Virginia Rollins
Jack Whiting
Jerry Brooks
Frank Mchugh
Tad Jordan
Laura Lee
Babs Green
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Adaptation
Musical
Release Date
Aug
24,
1930
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
First National Pictures
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the play Top Speed by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Guy Bolton (New York, 25 Dec 1929).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 20m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.33 : 1
Film Length
7,200ft
(8 reels)
Synopsis
At the fashionable Lackawanna Lodge, where they are spending the last day of their vacation, bond clerks Jerry and Elmer decide to stay for another day to watch the speedboat race. At the last minute, Rollins, a boat owner, fires his pilot and induces Jerry to substitute and throw the race. Jerry then plans to accept half the payoff which Elmer, having boasted of being a millionaire, bets on Rollins' boat. Jerry wins the race but is confronted by a sheriff who claims that he and Elmer are wanted for the theft of a bond; but Elmer, who finds the missing certificate, turns it over to the sheriff. Then, with sighs of relief, both boys embrace their girls. ...
Director
Mervyn Leroy
Director
Cast
Joe E. Brown
Elmer Peters
Bernice Claire
Virginia Rollins
Jack Whiting
Jerry Brooks
Frank Mchugh
Tad Jordan
Laura Lee
Babs Green
Rita Flynn
Daisy
Edwin Maxwell
J. W. Rollins
Wade Boteler
Sheriff
Edmund Breese
Spencer Colgate
Cyril Ring
Vincent Colgate
Billy Bletcher
Ipps
Al Hill
Briggs
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Adaptation
Musical
Release Date
Aug
24,
1930
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
First National Pictures
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the play Top Speed by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Guy Bolton (New York, 25 Dec 1929).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 20m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.33 : 1
Film Length
7,200ft
(8 reels)
Articles
Top Speed (1930) -
The end of the screen's first cycle of musicals proved a boon for comedian Joe E. Brown. He was cast as the lead in this adaptation of the Bert Kalmar-Harry Ruby musical that had introduced Ginger Rogers to Broadway, but most of the musical numbers were jettisoned. In their place, Warner Bros. built up Brown's comedy routines, which helped turn him into the studio's top clown. Brown and Jack Whiting star as a pair of office workers on vacation in Florida. To get out of an arrest, Brown starts telling tall tales about being a millionaire and even labels Whiting a champion boat racer. In short order, the two have found new girlfriends, and Whiting is scheduled for the big race. Rogers was unavailable to repeat her role, which went to Laura Lee. Brown's love interest, Bernice Claire, was advertised as "the screen's youngest soprano" but had little to do when most of the numbers were cut. Both she and Lee would leave Hollywood after only a few pictures. Oddly, the cut numbers included the only songs from the original show and a few new ones written by the play's songwriting team, Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Those numbers are now thought lost, though the soundtrack remains.
By Frank Miller
By Frank Miller
Top Speed (1930) -
The end of the screen's first cycle of musicals proved a boon for comedian Joe E. Brown. He was cast as the lead in this adaptation of the Bert Kalmar-Harry Ruby musical that had introduced Ginger Rogers to Broadway, but most of the musical numbers were jettisoned. In their place, Warner Bros. built up Brown's comedy routines, which helped turn him into the studio's top clown. Brown and Jack Whiting star as a pair of office workers on vacation in Florida. To get out of an arrest, Brown starts telling tall tales about being a millionaire and even labels Whiting a champion boat racer. In short order, the two have found new girlfriends, and Whiting is scheduled for the big race. Rogers was unavailable to repeat her role, which went to Laura Lee. Brown's love interest, Bernice Claire, was advertised as "the screen's youngest soprano" but had little to do when most of the numbers were cut. Both she and Lee would leave Hollywood after only a few pictures. Oddly, the cut numbers included the only songs from the original show and a few new ones written by the play's songwriting team, Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Those numbers are now thought lost, though the soundtrack remains. By Frank Miller
