''Twenty Million Sweethearts'' is a 1934 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 ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

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

Ray Enright Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of ...

and starring Pat O'Brien,

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...

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 ...

, and

The Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...

. The film was remade in 1949 as ''

My Dream Is Yours ''My Dream Is Yours'' is a 1949 Technicolor musical romantic comedy film starring Jack Carson, Doris Day, and Lee Bowman. Plot The film opens in Los Angeles, where Doug Blake is dumped as a manager by Gary Mitchell. He goes to New York City to f ...

''.

Plot

Agent Russell Edward 'Rush' Blake ( Pat O'Brien) is able to promote the singing

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

waiter Buddy Clayton (

) as a major radio star whilst Buddy's wife Peggy Cornell (

) loses out. In the end, Peggy does not lose Buddy to his "twenty million sweethearts" – his female fans.

Cast

* Pat O'Brien as Russell Edward 'Rush' Blake *

as Buddy Clayton *

as Peggy Cornell *

Ted Fio Rito Theodore Salvatore Fiorito (December 20, 1900 – July 22, 1971),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 95. known professionally a ...

as Himself *

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. Life and career Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 1900. ...

as 'Uncle' Pete * Grant Mitchell as Chester A. Sharpe *

Joseph Cawthorn Joseph Bridger Cawthorn (March 29, 1868 – January 21, 1949) was an American stage and film comic actor. Biography Born on March 29, 1868, in New York City to a minstrel-show family, Cawthorn started out in show business as a child, debu ...

as Mr. Herbert 'Herbie' Brokman *

Joan Wheeler Joan Wheeler Ankrum (January 8, 1913 – December 20, 2001) was an American film actress and founder of the Ankrum Gallery on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. Life and career Ankrum was born Joan Natalia Wheeler on January 8, 1913, in P ...

as Marge, the Receptionist *

Henry O'Neill Henry O'Neill (August 10, 1891 – May 18, 1961) was an American film actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles during the 1930s and 1940s. Early years He was born in Orange, New Jersey. Caree ...

as Lemuel Tappan *

Johnny Arthur Johnny Arthur (born John Lennox Arthur Williams; May 20, 1883 – December 31, 1951) was an American stage and motion picture actor. Early years Born in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Arthur was a veteran of twenty-five years on stage before he made ...

as Norma Hanson's Secretary *

as Themselves * The Radio Rogues as Themselves *

George Chandler George Chandler (June 30, 1898 – June 10, 1985) was an American actor who starred in over 140 feature films, usually in smaller supporting roles, and he is perhaps best known for playing the character of Uncle Petrie Martin on the televi ...

as Johnny Klinger, radio columnist (uncredited)

Music

The film features the well-known song "I'll String Along with You" by

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

and

Al Dubin Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren. Life Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that emigrated to the United States from Swit ...

Reception

The film was considered a box office disappointment for Warner Bros. According to studio records, it earned $821,000 domestically and $392,000 foreign.

References

External links

* * * * 1934 films 1934 musical comedy films American musical comedy films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Ray Enright First National Pictures films Warner Bros. films 1930s American films {{musical-comedy-film-stub