''You Can't Beat Love'' 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

Christy Cabanne William Christy Cabanne (April 16, 1888 – October 15, 1950) was an American film director, screenwriter, and silent film actor. Biography Born in 1888, Cabanne (pronounced CAB-a-nay) started his career on stage as an actor and director. He a ...

and written by Maxwell Shane and David Silverstein. The film stars

Preston Foster Preston Stratton Foster (August 24, 1900 – July 14, 1970), was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist. Early life Born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

, Herbert Mundin, William Brisbane and Alan Bruce. The film was released on June 25, 1937.

Plot

Jimmy Hughes (

) is a fun-loving carouser who can't resist a dare. He is awakened by his

gentleman's gentleman A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "val ...

Jasper ( Herbert Mundin) after a drunken evening in which he misappropriated a milk truck, and instructs Jasper to see that the damages (thirty dollars' worth of lost milk) are paid and the truck is returned. Accompanied by Jasper, Jimmy then fulfills a bet by putting in a day of hard work digging ditches in formal wear, good-naturedly tangling with other crew members in the process. He donates his winnings to a children's charity. When a campaign truck stops by the site to dispense free cake and solicit support for Mayor Olson's re-election, Jimmy engages in a heckling match with a campaign worker who proves to be the mayor's daughter, Trudy Olson (

). Trudy angrily suggests that he throw his hat in the ring, and in a bluff, he declares that he will. When the newspapers run with the story, Jimmy is caught by surprise and the mayor's campaign is concerned. Trudy visits Jimmy at his home with a cake to patch things up, and as he pledges to clear up the misunderstanding, the two become mutually attracted. Trudy accompanies Jimmy to the newspaper office the next day to help him announce his withdrawal, but she mistakenly dares him to run for real, obliging him to do so. Jimmy pledges a clean campaign, but still ruffles Trudy at times as he continues to pursue her. Things begin to go well between them again as Jimmy helps Trudy save a child who has stolen ice from an ice truck from punishment, and they steal a fun ride on the back of the truck together. The corrupt police chief, who works for the mayor, secretly attempts to frame Jimmy by luring him to a phony love nest with a hired woman (

Barbara Pepper Barbara Pepper (born Marion Pepper; May 31, 1915 – July 18, 1969) was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best known as the first Doris Ziffel on the sitcom '' Green Acres''. Early life and career Marion Pepper ...

) and a waiting photographer, but catches Jimmy's friend instead. In retaliation, Jimmy recruits the woman's jealous boyfriend, a gangster, to involve the police chief in a citywide gambling ring. As the mayor comes under criticism for the resulting scandal, Trudy visits Jimmy's campaign office and overhears him colluding with the gamblers. At a debate on election eve, she accuses him of being behind the ring. Jimmy produces a check designating all gambling proceeds to a children's charity, and plays a recording for the crowd of the police chief agreeing to participate in the criminal profits. He also has a recording of the mayor angrily confronting the police chief, proving the mayor's innocence. Jimmy then endorses the mayor for re-election as the guilty parties are arrested. The press asks for a photo of Jimmy kissing Trudy, and she dares him.

Cast

as James Ellsworth 'Jimmy' Hughes *

as Trudy Olson * Herbert Mundin as Jasper 'Meadows' Hives * William Brisbane as Clem Bruner * Alan Bruce as Scoop Gallagher *

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...

as Foreman Butch Mehaffey * Bradley Page as Dwight Parsons *

Berton Churchill Berton Churchill (December 9, 1876 – October 10, 1940) was a Canadian stage and film actor. Early years Churchill was born in Toronto, Ontario. After his family moved to New York City, he graduated from high school there, studied law a ...

as Police Chief Brennan * Frank M. Thomas as Mayor Olson * Harold Huber as Pretty Boy Jones *

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He retu ...

as Louie the Weasel *

as May 'Bubbles' Smith

References

External links

* * * * {{Christy Cabanne 1937 films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films RKO Pictures films Films directed by Christy Cabanne American comedy films 1937 comedy films 1930s American films