''Time Out for Romance'' is a 1937 American romantic comedy film directed by Malcolm St. Clair, written by Lou Breslow and John Patrick, and starring

Claire Trevor Claire Trevor ( Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Key Largo'' (1948), and received nomina ...

, Michael Whalen,

Joan Davis Josephine "Joan" Davis (June 29, 1907 – May 22, 1961) was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy ''I Married Joan'', Davis had a successful earl ...

, Chick Chandler, Douglas Fowley and

Benny Bartlett Floyd B. Bartlett, known professionally as Benny Bartlett or Bennie Bartlett (August 16, 1924 – December 26, 1999), was an American child actor, musician, and later a member of the long-running feature-film series ''The Bowery Boys''. Biog ...

. It was released on February 10, 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 Dis ...

Plot

Barbara Blanchard, the daughter of rags-to-riches divorced oilman Jim Blanchard, is going to marry Count Michael Montaine. When Jim receives a telegram from the count insisting upon a settlement of $500,000 ''before'' the marriage, he sends word of this to Barbara. However, the radiogram reaches her just after the wedding has taken place. Furious, she drives off. Her mother Vera is determined to avoid

public humiliation Public humiliation or public shaming is a form of punishment whose main feature is dishonoring or disgracing a person, usually an offender or a prisoner, especially in a public place. It was regularly used as a form of judicially sanctioned puni ...

and to see her matchmaking scheme completed. Vera has her daughter declared mentally unbalanced and swears out a warrant for her arrest. When Barbara learns of this from the radio, she has her hairdresser Mabel dye her hair blonde. She also switches clothes with her. Barbara sets out for Los Angeles to meet her father's yacht. (However, Vera sends a wireless message to Jim, telling him the couple have reconciled. He believes her and heads to Acapulco instead.) When police chase her for speeding, she abandons her car. After numerous attempts at hitchhiking fail, she pretends to faint. Bob and his friends the Dooleys both stop. Midge Dooley tells Bob to give her a lift, but he has had a bad experience with a blonde, plus he risks losing his job (driving a new car to California for Willoughby Sproggs as part of a four-car caravan). When she conveniently faints again, Bob gives in, but only until they reach the next town. She claims she is on the run because when she cashed her check from a walkathon she won, it turned out there was no money. At the next town, he loans her $10 and sends her on her way. She tries to send a telegram to her father collect, but cannot because she would have to show some ID. She sneaks back into Bob's car undetected. On the way to Omaha, when Bob tries to get rid of her, Sproggs finds out about the unauthorized passenger. Barbara claims to be Bob's wife, and Midge backs her up, so Bob is forced to take her along. When they stop for the night, Bob will not let her share his room. Roy, another one of Sproggs' drivers, tries to pick her up, but Bob knocks him down. She goes to sleep in the car. There she finds a necklace hidden away, which leads her to assume Bob is a thief. Meanwhile, Midge reads a newspaper article about a "blonde gun-moll" wanted in connection with a diamond robbery and thinks Barbara is her. Midge tells Bob. Eventually, it is all sorted out. Roy turns out to be the jewel thief, Barbara's father will get her marriage annulled, and the couple embrace.

Cast

as Barbara Blanchard * Michael Whalen as Bob Reynolds *

as Midge Dooley, a dancer * Chick Chandler as Ted Dooley, her husband and manager * Douglas Fowley as Roy Webster *

as Orville Healy, Ambrose's young son *Billy Griffith as Ambrose Healy, a driver and photography enthusiast *

William Demarest Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 27, 1983) was an American character actor, known especially for his roles in screwball comedies by Preston Sturges and for playing Uncle Charley in the sitcom '' My Three Sons'' Demarest, ...

as Willoughby Sproggs *Lelah Tyler as Cora Sproggs, Willoughby's wife *

Andrew Tombes Andrew Tombes (29 June 1885 – 17 March 1976) was an American comedian and character actor. Biography The son of a grocer, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, Tombes was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. Early in his career, he worked as a v ...

as James "Jim" Blanchard * Georgia Caine as Vera Blanchard *

Vernon Steele Vernon Steele (born Arturo Romeo Antonietti; 18 September 1882 – 23 July 1955) was a Chilean-born British actor known for his appearances on the Broadway stage and in American films. He often played patrician young men in silent films. Steele ...

as Count Michael Montaine *

Inez Courtney Inez Courtney (October 12, 1897 – April 5, 1975) was an American actress on the Broadway stage and in films. Early years Born in Amsterdam, New York, Courtney came from a large Irish-American family. After her father's death when she was fif ...

as Mabel * George Chandler as Simpson *

Fred Kelsey Frederick Alvin Kelsey (August 20, 1884 – September 2, 1961) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. Kelsey directed one- and two-reel films for Universal Film Manufacturing Company. He appeared in more than 400 films betw ...

as Policeman

References

External links

* * {{Malcolm St. Clair 1937 films 1937 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy films 1930s English-language films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Malcolm St. Clair Films set in 1937 20th Century Fox films Films scored by Samuel Kaylin 1930s American films