''My Weakness'' is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

musical film directed by David Butler and starring

Lilian Harvey Lilian Harvey (born Helene Lilian Muriel Pape; 19 January 1906 – 27 July 1968) was an Anglo-German actress and singer, long based in Germany, where she is best known for her role as Christel Weinzinger in Erik Charell's 1931 film ''Der Kongr ...

Lew Ayres Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film '' All Quiet on the Western Fr ...

and Charles Butterworth. It was the second of four films made by the British-German actress Harvey in Hollywood, who had emerged as major star during

Weimar Germany The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is als ...

. It both was and wasn't the first mainstream Hollywood film to use the word "

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

" as a descriptor of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

. In one scene, Charles Butterworth and

Sid Silvers Sid Silvers (January 16, 1901 in Brooklyn, New York – August 20, 1976 in Brooklyn) was an American actor, comedian, lyricist, and writer. Silvers began his career in vaudeville in the early 1920s as a comedy partner of Phil Baker. As part of ...

commiserate over their miserable, hopeless shared love for

, until Butterworth is struck by a solution: "Let's be gay!" However, the Studio Relations Committee censors decreed that the line had to be muffled.Vieira, Mark A., Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood, Abrams, 1999, pg. 133

Synopsis

A wealthy young man bets that he can turn a

cleaning woman A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

into a sophisticated lady and trick three men into wanting to marry her.

Cast

as Looloo Blake *

as Ronnie Gregory * Charles Butterworth as Gerald Gregory *

Harry Langdon Harry Philmore Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety'', December 27, 1944, page 39. Life and career Bor ...

as Dan Cupid *

as Maxie * Irene Bentley as Jane Holman *

Henry Travers Travers John Heagerty (5 March 1874 – 18 October 1965), known professionally as Henry Travers, was an English film and stage character actor. His best known role was the guardian angel Clarence Odbody in the 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life' ...

as Ellery Gregory * Adrian Rosley as Baptiste * Mary Howard as Diana Griffith *

Irene Ware Irene Ware (born Irene Catherine Ahlberg; November 6, 1910 – March 11, 1993) was an American actress. She was a beauty queen and showgirl before appearing in 29 films between 1932 and 1940, and is mostly remembered for her roles as Princess Na ...

as Eve Millstead * Barbara Weeks as Lois Crowley *

Susan Fleming Susan Fleming (February 19, 1908 – December 22, 2002) was an American actress and the wife of comic actor Harpo Marx and sister in law to Groucho, Chico, Zeppo and Gummo. Fleming was known as the "Girl with the Million Dollar Legs" for a r ...

as Jacqueline Wood *

Marcelle Edwards Marcelle may refer to: *Marcelle, a French feminine version of Marcel *1300 Marcelle (1934 CL), a main-belt asteroid *Groupe Marcelle, a Canadian cosmetics company See also * Marcel (disambiguation) * Marcell (disambiguation) Marcell may refer t ...

as Marion * Marjorie King as Lillian *

Jean Allen Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

as Consuello * Gladys Blake as Mitzi * Dixie Francis as Dixie

References

Bibliography

* Solomon, Aubrey. ''The Fox Film Corporation, 1915-1935: A History and Filmography''. McFarland, 2011.

External links

* 1933 films American musical films 1933 musical films 1930s English-language films Films directed by David Butler Fox Film films American black-and-white films Films scored by Arthur Lange Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge 1930s American films {{musical-film-stub