''Hats Off'' (1936) is an American film directed by

Boris Petroff Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name *:''See'': List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) * Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his ...

, and originally released by

Grand National Pictures Grand National Films, Inc (or Grand National Pictures, Grand National Productions and Grand National Film Distributing Co.) was an American Poverty Row motion picture production-distribution company in operation from 1936 to 1939. The company ha ...

. The film is now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

Plot summary

A pair of Texas towns are trying to outdo one another in planning a huge fair. While one community has Jimmy Maxwell arranging the entertainment, the other brings in Jo Allen, who uses a ruse to learn about Jimmy's plans, pretending to be a school teacher named Judy while her friend Mr. Churchill passes himself off as "Joe" Allen. After learning that Jimmy's decided on a prizefight to draw the crowds, Jo counters by contacting a New York City showman, Caesar Rosero, and attempting to coax him into bringing his entire popular troupe to Texas to perform. By the time Jo regrets fooling Jimmy and begins to develop feelings for him, Jimmy angrily takes counter measures of his own, with Rosero getting caught in between.

Cast

Mae Clarke Mae Clarke (born Violet Mary Klotz; August 16, 1910 – April 29, 1992) was an American actress. She is widely remembered for playing Henry Frankenstein's bride Elizabeth, who is chased by Boris Karloff in ''Frankenstein'', and for being o ...

as Jo Allen * John Payne as Jimmy Maxwell *Helen Lynd as Ginger Connolly *

Luis Alberni Luis Alberni (October 4, 1886 – December 23, 1962) was a Spanish-born American character actor of stage and films. Early years Alberni was born in Barcelona, Spain, on October 4, 1886. He acted in stock theater for four years in Marseille ...

as Rosero * Richard "Skeets" Gallagher as Buzz Morton *

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Interna ...

as Churchill *

Robert Middlemass Robert Middlemass (September 3, 1883 – September 10, 1949) was an American playwright and stage actor, and later character actor with over 100 film appearances, usually playing detectives or policemen.(13 Feb 1937)Mrs. Susan C. Middlemass ...

as Tex Connelly * George Irving as J.D. Murdock * Clarence Wilson as C.D. Pottingham

Soundtrack

* "Hats Off" (Music by

Ben Oakland Ben Oakland (September 24, 1907 – August 26, 1979) was an American composer, lyricist, and pianist, most active from the 1920s through the 1940s. He composed mainly for Broadway and vaudeville, though he also worked on several Hollywood scores ...

, lyrics by

Herb Magidson Herbert A. Magidson (January 7, 1906 – January 2, 1986) was an American popular lyricist. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway revues. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934. Life and career Magidson was ...

) * "Where Have You Been All My Life?" (Music by Ben Oakland, lyrics by Herb Magidson) * "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" (Music by Ben Oakland, lyrics by Herb Magidson) * "Little Odd Rhythm" (Music by Ben Oakland, lyrics by Herb Magidson) * "Let's Have Another" (Music by Ben Oakland, lyrics by Herb Magidson) * "Zilch's Hats" (Music by Ben Oakland, lyrics by Herb Magidson)

References

External links

* * * 1936 films 1936 musical comedy films 1936 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films American black-and-white films Grand National Films films 1930s romantic musical films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{romantic-musical-film-stub