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 ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
El Brendel
Elmer Goodfellow "El" Brendel (March 25, 1890 – April 9, 1964) was an American vaudeville comedian turned movie star, best remembered for his dialect routine as a Swedish immigrant. His biggest role was as "Single-0" in the sci-fi musical ' ...
,
Fifi D'Orsay
Fifi D'Orsay (born Marie-Rose Angelina Yvonne Lussier; April 16, 1904 – December 2, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress and singer.
Early life
Fifi D'Orsay was born Yvonne Lussier in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to a father who was a postal cl ...
and Ruth Warren. It was produced and distributed by the
Fox Film Corporation
The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...
.
Plot
El Brendel plays the dual role of Silent McGee, a tough gangster, and Mr. Oscar Lemon, a mild-mannered Swede who coincidentally looks exactly like the gangster McGee. Silent McGee disguises himself as a Swedish immigrant while running from the law, causing Mr. Lemon to be mistaken for the wanted man. Fifi D'Orsay stars as Julie LaRue, a comedic vamp who pursues the comparatively innocent Mr. Lemon.
Cast
*
El Brendel
Elmer Goodfellow "El" Brendel (March 25, 1890 – April 9, 1964) was an American vaudeville comedian turned movie star, best remembered for his dialect routine as a Swedish immigrant. His biggest role was as "Single-0" in the sci-fi musical ' ...
as Mr. Lemon/Silent McGee
*
Fifi D'Orsay
Fifi D'Orsay (born Marie-Rose Angelina Yvonne Lussier; April 16, 1904 – December 2, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress and singer.
Early life
Fifi D'Orsay was born Yvonne Lussier in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to a father who was a postal cl ...
as Julie LaRue
*
William Collier Sr.
William Collier Sr. (November 12, 1864 – January 13, 1944), born William Morenus, was an American writer, director and actor.
Collier ran away from home when only 11 years old to join a touring company run by Eddie Foy and in 1879 he appeared ...
Nat Pendleton
Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899-1987), was a well-known music composer and choir master ...
Don Dillaway
Donald Provost Dillaway (March 17, 1903 – November 18, 1982) was an American stage and film actor.
Early years
Dillaway's mother, billed as Nettie Gordon, sang in vaudeville. Because she and his father insisted on a professional career for h ...
as Jerry
*
Eddie Gribbon
Eddie Gribbon (January 3, 1890 – September 29, 1965) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films from the 1910s to the 1950s. Gribbon began working in Mack Sennett films in 1916 and continued through the 1920s. He usuall ...
as Walter
*
Erville Alderson
Erville Alderson (September 11, 1882 – August 4, 1957) was an American character actor, usually portraying strong-willed or wise men. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1918 and 1957.
Life
Alderson was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He ...
Dixie Lee
Dixie Lee (born Wilma Winifred Wyatt; November 4, 1909 – November 1, 1952) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She was the first wife of singer Bing Crosby.
Biography
She was born Wilma Winifred Wyatt in Harriman, Tennessee, on N ...
George Magrill
George Magrill (January 5, 1900 – May 31, 1952) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 320 films between 1923 and 1952.
Magrill performed on stage before he began to work in films. Besides his acting, Magrill worked as a s ...
as Henchman
Reception
''The New York Times
Mordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.