''Take the Heir'' is a 1930 American synchronized comedy

sound film A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

directed by

Lloyd Ingraham Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director. Biography Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...

and starring

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton, Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor and comedian. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born March 18 ...

, Dorothy Devore and

Edythe Chapman Edythe Chapman (October 8, 1863 – October 15, 1948) was an American stage and silent film actress. Career Born in Rochester, New York, Chapman began her stage career as early as 1898 when she appeared in New York City in ''The Charity Ball''. ...

.Pitts p.62 While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects and featured a theme song that was sung by an uncredited tenor. The film was produced during the transition to

and a separate silent version was also released.

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...

took place around

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. A review in the ''

Motion Picture News The ''Motion Picture News'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930. History The publication was created through the 1913 merger of the ''Moving Picture News'' founded in 1908 and ''The Exhibitors' Times'', founde ...

'' considered the film "very, very weak" and a waste of Everett Horton's talents.

Plot

An English

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

Lord Tweedham inherits property in the United States. However, when he arrives he is in such a drunken state that his

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, ''valet de chambre'' was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "va ...

Smithers is forced to impersonate him. At the house of the

executor An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, is sometimes used. Executor of will An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker o ...

Smithers falls in love with Susan the maid while being pursued by his daughter Muriel under the impression that he is Tweedham.

Cast

as Smithers * Dorothy Devore as Susan * Frank Elliott as Lord Tweedham *

as Lady Tweedham *

Otis Harlan Otis Harlan (December 29, 1865 – January 20, 1940) was an American actor and comedian. He voiced Happy, one of the Seven Dwarfs in the Disney animated film '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''. This made him the earliest born actor to feature ...

as John Walker * Kay Deslys as Muriel Walker * Margaret Campbell as Mrs. Smythe-Bellingham

Music

The film features a theme song entitled "I Always Knew It Would Be You" with music by J.M. Coopersmith and lyrics by Cliff Hess.

References

Bibliography

* Pitts, Michael R. ''Poverty Row Studios, 1929–1940''. McFarland & Company, 2005.

External links

* 1930 films 1930 comedy films 1930s English-language films American comedy films Films directed by Lloyd Ingraham American black-and-white films 1930s American films Synchronized sound films {{1930s-US-film-stub