''Step Lively, Jeeves!'' is a 1937 American

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 o ...

directed by Eugene Forde, written by Frank Fenton and Lynn Root, and starring

Arthur Treacher Arthur Veary Treacher (, 23 July 1894 – 14 December 1975) was an English film and stage actor active from the 1920s to the 1960s, and known for playing English types, especially butler and manservant roles, such as the P.G. Wodehouse valet c ...

as P. G. Wodehouse's

Jeeves Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Berti ...

alongside

Patricia Ellis Patricia Ellis (born Patricia Gene O'Brien; died March 26, 1970) was an American film actress of the 1930s. Early years Born in Birmingham, Michigan, most likely in 1915 (although she gave her year of birth to the Social Security Administration ...

, Robert Kent,

Alan Dinehart Mason Alan Dinehart Sr. (born Harold Alan Dinehart; October 3, 1889 – July 18, 1944) was an American actor, director, writer, and stage manager. Biography Dinehart initially studied to be a priest, but he turned to the theater instead. ...

, George Givot and Helen Flint. The film was released on April 1, 1937, by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

. The character of Jeeves' master,

Bertie Wooster Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intelligenc ...

, does not appear. The film is not based on any Jeeves story, and portrays Jeeves as a naive bumbler (which is not how he is portrayed by Wodehouse in the novels and short stories about him.

Plot

Two swindlers con Jeeves (portrayed by

), claiming he has a fortune waiting for him in America, and he meets some gangsters there.

Cast

as Jeeves *

as Patricia Westley * Robert Kent as Gerry Townsend *

as Hon. Cedric B. Cromwell * George Givot as Prince Boris Caminov *

Helen Flint Helen Flint (January 14, 1898 – September 9, 1967) was an American actress. Flint debuted as a member of the chorus in the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' when she was 17. Her work on Broadway included more than 20 productions between 1921 and 1946. Fl ...

as Babe *John Harrington as Barney Ross * George Cooper as Slug *

Arthur Housman Arthur Housman (October 10, 1889 – April 8, 1942) was an American actor in films during both the silent film era and the Golden Age of Hollywood. Career Arthur Housman was one of the first screen comedians known to the public by name, and on ...

as Max *

Max Wagner Max Wagner (November 28, 1901 – November 16, 1975) was a Mexican-born American film actor who specialized in playing small parts such as thugs, gangsters, sailors, henchmen, bodyguards, cab drivers and moving men, appearing more than 400 ...

as Joey *

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Interna ...

as Gaston *

Phyllis Barry Phyllis Barry (born Gertrude Phyllis Hillyard; 7 December 1908 – 1 July 1954) was an English film actress. Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Seth Henry and Bertha (née Giles) Hillyard, Barry appeared in over 40 films ...

as Mrs. Tremaine *

George Cowl George Cowl (1878–1942) was a British film actor active in the United States.Solomon p.300 He also directed four films during the silent era. Selected filmography * ''Dan'' (1914) * ''The Rack'' (1916) * '' The Closed Road'' (1916) * '' The B ...

as Inspector

References

External links

* 1937 films 1930s English-language films 20th Century Fox films American comedy films 1937 comedy films Films based on works by P. G. Wodehouse Films directed by Eugene Forde American black-and-white films Films scored by Samuel Kaylin 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub