''Gift of Gab'' is a 1934

black-and-white film Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

released by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

Edmund Lowe Edmund Dantes Lowe (March 3, 1890 – April 21, 1971) was an American actor. His formative experience began in vaudeville and silent film. Biography Lowe was born in San Jose, California. His father was a local judge. His childhood home was a ...

stars as a man with the "Gift of Gab"—he can sell anyone anything. The film costars Ruth Etting,

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

, and Gloria Stuart, and features

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

and Béla Lugosi. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

David Garber. Ruth Etting sings "Talking to Myself" and "Tomorrow, Who Cares?" Originally the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeare ...

were signed to appear in the film, but they had just signed with

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

for ''

Woman Haters ''Woman Haters'' is a 1934 musical short subject directed by Archie Gottler starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges ( Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Jerry Howard). It is the inaugural entry in the series released by Columbi ...

'', the first of their

short subjects A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

, so three look-alike actors replaced them in ''Gift of Gab''.

Cast

– Phillip "Gift of Gab" Gabney * Gloria Stuart – Barbara Kelton * Ruth Etting – Ruth * Phil Baker – absent-minded doctor *

– Ethel *

Alice White Alice White (born Alva White; August 25, 1904Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. , pg. 1228. – February 19, 1983) was an American film ac ...

– Margot *

Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio p ...

– cameo appearance *

– Colonel Trivers *

Hugh O'Connell Hugh O'Connell (August 4, 1898 – January 19, 1943) was an American film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in ...

– Patsy *

Helen Vinson Helen Vinson (born Helen Rulfs, September 17, 1907 – October 7, 1999) was an American film actress who appeared in 40 films between 1932 and 1945. Early life Vinson was born in Beaumont, Texas, the daughter of oil man Edward Rulfs. She de ...

– nurse *

Gene Austin Lemeul Eugene Lucas (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972), better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the early " crooners". His recording of " My Blue Heaven" sold over 5 million copies and was for ...

– radio artist * Tom Hanlon – radio announcer * Henry Armetta – janitor *

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature fil ...

– McDougal, the waiter * Wini Shaw – cabaret singer *

– cameo appearance * Béla Lugosi – cameo appearance * Roger Pryor as himself

External links

* * 1934 films 1934 musical comedy films American black-and-white films American musical comedy films Films directed by Karl Freund Universal Pictures films Films with screenplays by Philip G. Epstein 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{musical-comedy-film-stub

Cast

See also

External links