''The Tenderfoot'' 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 ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Ray Enright and written by

Earl Baldwin Earl Baldwin (January 11, 1901 in Newark, New Jersey – October 9, 1970 in Hollywood, California, age 69) was an American screenwriter. During his career he wrote more than 50 produced screenplays, including '' Wild Boys of the Road'', '' Br ...

Monty Banks Montague (Monty) Banks (18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950), born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the UK and the United States. Career Banks was born Mario ...

and Arthur Caesar. The film stars

Joe E. Brown Joseph Evans Brown (July 28, 1891 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his friendly screen persona, comic timing, and enormous elastic-mouth smile. He was one of the most popular American comedians in the 19 ...

and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

. The film was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

on May 23, 1932. It is based on

Richard Carle Richard Carle (born Charles Nicholas Carleton, July 7, 1871 – June 28, 1941) was an American stage and film actor as well as a playwright and stage director. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1915 and 1941. Carle was born in Som ...

's 1903 play ''The Tenderfoot'', and George S. Kaufman's 1925 play ''

The Butter and Egg Man ''The Butter and Egg Man'' is a 1925 play by George S. Kaufman, the only play he wrote without collaborating. It was a Broadway hit during the 1925–26 season at the Longacre Theatre. Adapted to film six times, it is still performed on stages toda ...

''. The play was first adapted to film ''

'' in 1928. It was remade as ''

Dance Charlie Dance ''Dance Charlie Dance'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Crane Wilbur and William Jacobs, based on the play ''The Butter and Egg Man'' by George S. Kaufman, which opened on Broadway on September 23, 1925 ...

'' (1937) and '' An Angel from Texas'' (1940), and enough of the plot elements were worked into ''

Hello, Sweetheart ''Hello, Sweetheart'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Claude Hulbert, Gregory Ratoff and Jane Carr. The film was made by the British subsidiary of Warner Brothers at the company's Teddington Studios.Wood p.86 I ...

'' (1935) and ''

Three Sailors and a Girl ''Three Sailors and a Girl'' is a 1953 Technicolor musical film made by Warner Bros. It was directed by Roy Del Ruth and written by Devery Freeman and Roland Kibbee, based on the George S. Kaufman play '' The Butter and Egg Man''. Ray Heindorf w ...

'' (1953) to warrant a credit for Kaufman's play as a basis of those scripts. ''An Angel from Texas'' was directed by Ray Enright, who also directed ''The Tenderfoot''. Enright and Brown worked together on five pictures.

Plot

Calvin Jones (

), a naive cowboy from Texas, comes to New York City, determined to take care of his mother by investing his life savings in a Broadway show. He is duped by producers Lehman (

Lew Cody Lew Cody (born Louis Joseph Côté; February 22, 1884 – May 31, 1934) was an American stage and film actor whose career spanned the silent film and early sound film age. He gained notoriety in the late 1910s for playing "male vamps" in films ...

) and McLure into buying a 49-percent interest in their new show, a surefire flop. Lehman's beautiful secretary, Ruth Weston (

), catches the shy cowboy's eye. Jones makes up his mind to produce the play by himself after Lehman and McLure close it out of town. When he can't pay for proper costumes, his star actress quits, so Ruth goes on in her place. Although the play is a drama, it is so poorly done that the audience mistakes it for a comedy. The laughter makes it a surprise comedy hit. Jones and Ruth make a big profit, get married and decide to live in Texas.

Cast

as Calvin Jones *

as Ruth Weston *

as Joe Lehman *

Vivien Oakland Vivien Oakland (born Vivian Ruth Andersen; May 20, 1895 – August 1, 1958), was an American actress best known for her work in comedies in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s, most notably with the Hal Roach Studios. Oakland appeared in 157 films ...

as Miss Martin *

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 Mack *

Ralph Ince Ralph Waldo Ince (January 16, 1887 – April 10, 1937) was an American pioneer film actor, director and screenwriter whose career began near the dawn of the silent film, silent film era. Ralph Ince was the brother of John Ince (actor), John E. I ...

as Dolan *

Marion Byron Marion Byron (born Miriam Bilenkin; 1911 – 1985) was an American movie comedian. Early years Born in Dayton, Ohio, Byron was one of five daughters of Louis and Bertha Bilenkin. Career After following her sister into a short stage caree ...

as Kitty (as Marion Bryon) *

Spencer Charters Spencer Charters (March 25, 1875 – January 25, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 220 films between 1920 and 1943, mostly in small supporting roles. Biography Charters was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. Until ...

as Oscar *

Douglas Gerrard Douglas Gerrard (12 August 1891 – 5 June 1950) was an Irish-American actor and film director of the silent and early sound era. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1913 and 1949. He also directed 23 films between 1916 and 1920. He ...

as Stage Director

References

External links

* * * * 1932 films 1930s English-language films 1930s Western (genre) comedy films American musical comedy films 1932 musical comedy films Films directed by Ray Enright American black-and-white films 1930s American films {{musical-comedy-film-stub