''Beauty and the Boss'' is a 1932 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 ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring

Marian Marsh Marian Marsh (born Violet Ethelred Krauth; October 17, 1913 – November 9, 2006) was a Trinidad-born American film actress and later an environmentalist. Early life Violet Ethelred Krauth was born on October 17, 1913, in Trinidad, British ...

David Manners David Joseph Manners (born Rauff de Ryther Duan Acklom; April 30, 1900 – December 23, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor who plays John Harker in Tod Browning's 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', which stars Bela Lugosi in the title role.Pace ...

and

Warren William Warren William (born Warren William Krech; December 2, 1894 – September 24, 1948) was a Broadway and Hollywood actor, immensely popular during the early 1930s; he was later nicknamed the "King of Pre-Code". He was the first actor to play Pe ...

. It was based on a 1928 Hungarian play by

Ladislas Fodor Ladislas Fodor (1898–1978) was a Hungarian novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Plays *''A Church Mouse'' (''A templom egére''); a comedy in three acts, adapted by James L. A. Burrell (1928) *''Jewel Robbery'' (''Ékszerrablás a Váci utcá ...

about a secretary who eventually marries her boss. An English language adaptation of the play by

Benn Levy Benn Wolfe Levy (7 March 1900 – 7 December 1973) was a Labour Party Member of Parliament in the House of Commons (1945–1950), and a successful playwright. He was educated at Repton School and University College, Oxford and served in uniform ...

, entitled ''A Church Mouse'', opened in London in early May 1931. Another English language adaptation by Frederic and Fanny Hatton, also called ''A Church Mouse'', opened in New York on October 12, 1931.http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/32/Beauty-and-the-Boss/trivia.html In 1934 Warner Brothers' British subsidiary remade the story at

Teddington Studios Teddington Studios was a large British television studio in Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky1 and others. The complex also prov ...

as '' The Church Mouse''. The film's sets were designed by

Anton Grot Anton Grot (18 January 1884 – 21 March 1974) was a Polish art director long active in Hollywood. He was known for his prolific output with Warner Brothers, contributing, in such films as '' Little Caesar'' (1931), and ''Gold Diggers of 19 ...

Plot summary

An executive hires a mousy, plain woman as his secretary so she will not divert him from his work, but she still becomes determined to win his heart.

Cast

as Susie Sachs *

as Baron Paul von Ullrich *

as Baron Josef von Ullrich * Charles Butterworth as Ludwig Pfeffer Jr. *

Frederick Kerr Frederick Kerr (born Frederick Grinham Keen, 11 October 1858 – 3 May 1933) was an English actor who appeared on stage in both London and New York and in British and American films; he also worked as a major theatrical manager in London. Early ...

as Count Von Tolheim *

Mary Doran Mary Doran (September 8, 1910 – September 6, 1995) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 80 films from 1927 to 1944. Biography Doran was born in New York and attended public schools there before graduating and going to Colum ...

as Olive 'Ollie' Frey *

Robert Greig Robert Greig (December 27, 1879 – June 27, 1958) was an Australian-American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler. Born Arthur Alfred Bede Greig, he was the nephew of Australian pol ...

as Chappel *

Lilian Bond Lilian Bond (January 18, 1908 – January 25, 1991) was an English-American actress based in the United States. Life and career Bond was born in London and made her first professional stage appearance at the age of 14 in the pantomime ''Dic ...

as Girl at Bar *

Yola d'Avril Yola d'Avril (8 April 1906 – 2 March 1984) was a French-American actress, who appeared in numerous productions between 1925 and 1953. She was also known as Yola Vermairion and Yola d'Avril Montiague. Biography d'Avril was born in Lille, Franc ...

as Girl in Bath Tub *

Harry Holman Harry James Holman (March 15, 1862 – May 3, 1947) was an American character actor. He appeared in approximately 130 films between 1923 and 1947. Biography Born in Conway, Missouri, Holman dropped out of school in the ninth grade an ...

as Hotel Manager *

Olaf Hytten Olaf Hytten (3 March 1888 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1921 and 1955. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and died in Los Angeles, California from a heart attack, while sitting in his car ...

as Business Associate * Barbara Leonard as Girl With Dog * Polly Walters as Ludwig's Girl *

Leo White Leo White (November 10, 1882 – September 20, 1948), Leo Weiss, was a German-born British-American film and stage actor who appeared as a character actor in many Charlie Chaplin films. Biography Born in Germany, White grew up in England where ...

as Man in Elevator

References

Bibliography

* Dick, Bernard F. ''The Merchant Prince of Poverty Row: Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures''. University Press of Kentucky.

External links

* * * * 1932 films 1932 romantic comedy films 1930s English-language films American romantic comedy films Films directed by Roy Del Ruth American black-and-white films Warner Bros. films American films based on plays 1930s American films {{1930s-romantic-comedy-film-stub