''Anything Goes'' is a 1936 American

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

directed by

Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was an American film director. Milestone directed '' Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1 ...

and starring

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theatre, musical theater,Obituary ''Variety Obitua ...

, Charles Ruggles and

Ida Lupino Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was a British actress, director, writer, and producer. Throughout her 48-y ...

. It is based on the 1934 stage musical ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised considerably by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madc ...

'' by

Guy Bolton Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical theatre, musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. B ...

and

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

, which included songs by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

. When Paramount sold the film's television rights, it retitled the film ''Tops Is the Limit'' because the 1956 film version, also produced by Paramount, was currently running in theaters.

Plot

A young man falls in love with a beautiful woman whom he follows onto a luxury liner, where he discovers that she is an English heiress who fled her home and is being returned to England. He also discovers that his boss is on the ship. To avoid identification, he disguises himself as the gangster accomplice of a minister, who is actually a gangster running from the law.

Cast

as Billy Crocker *

as Reno Sweeney * Charles Ruggles as Rev. Dr. Moon *

as Hope Harcourt *

Grace Bradley Grace Bradley (September 21, 1913 – September 21, 2010) was an American film actress who was active in Hollywood during the 1930s. Early life Bradley was born in Brooklyn and was an only child. As a child she took piano lessons and at the age ...

as Bonnie LeTour *

Arthur Treacher Arthur Veary Treacher, Jr. ( ; 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 ...

as Sir Evelyn Oakleigh *

Robert McWade Robert McWade (January 25, 1872 – January 19, 1938), was an American stage and film actor. Biography McWade was born in Buffalo, New York. He was the third actor named Robert McWade, after his father and grandfather. In 1902, McWade debut ...

as Elisha J. Whitney * Richard Carle as Bishop Dobson *

Margaret Dumont Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically ...

as Mrs. Wentworth * Jerry Tucker as Junior * Matt Moore as Capt. McPhail *

Edward Gargan Edward Gargan (July 17, 1902 – February 19, 1964) was an American film and television actor. Career Gargan was born of Irish parents in Brooklyn, New York. He was the elder brother of actor William Gargan. As soon as Gargan had left colle ...

as Detective *

Matt McHugh Matthew O. McHugh (January 22, 1894 – February 22, 1971 ) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 200 films between 1931 and 1955, primarily in small parts. Career McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents ran a stock t ...

as Detective * Budd Fine as Pug-Ugly *

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

as Ship's Purser *

Jack Norton Jack Norton (born Mortimer John Naughton; September 2, 1882 – October 15, 1958) was an American stage and film character actor who appeared in more than 180 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a ...

as Drunken passenger *

The Avalon Boys The Avalon Boys were a quartet of singers popular in the 1930s. They appeared in a number of comedy films and had a memorable role in Laurel and Hardy's '' Way Out West''. Members *Chill Wills (bass), b. July 18, 1902, d. December 15, 1978 *Art ...

as Quartet

Production credits

- director *

Benjamin Glazer Benjamin F. Glazer (May 7, 1887 – March 18, 1956) was a screenwriter, producer, Foley artist, and director of American films from the 1920s through the 1950s. He made the first translation of author / playwright Ferenc Molnár's play '' Li ...

- producer *

- music and lyrics * Karl Struss - photography *

Lindsay and Crouse Lindsay may refer to: People *Clan Lindsay, a Scottish family clan *Lindsay (name), an English surname and given name, derived from the Scottish clan name; variants include Lindsey, Lyndsay, Linsay, Linsey, Lyndsey, Lyndsy, Lynsay, Lynsey Places ...

- screenplay *

LeRoy Prinz LeRoy Jerome Prinz (July 14, 1895 – September 15, 1983) was an American choreographer, director and producer, who was involved in the production of dozens of motion pictures, mainly for Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers, from 1929 through ...

- staging of dance ensembles *

Farciot Edouart Farciot Edouart, ASC (born Alexander Farciot Edouart; November 5, 1884 – March 17, 1980) was a film special-effects artist and innovator perhaps best known for his work with process photography, also known as rear projection. Edouart was born ...

- special photographic effects *

Hans Dreier Hans Dreier (August 21, 1885 – October 24, 1966) was a German motion picture art director. He was Paramount Pictures' supervising art director from 1927 until his retirement in 1950, when he was succeeded by Hal Pereira. Hans Dreier was born ...

- art direction * Ernst Fegté - art direction * Eda Warren - editor * Jack Goodrich - sound recording * Don Johnson - sound recording *

Travis Banton Travis Banton (August 18, 1894 – February 2, 1958) was an American costume designer. He is perhaps best known for his long collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich and director Josef von Sternberg. He is generally considered one of the ...

- costume design * A. E. Freudman - interior decorations *

Vinton Freedley Vinton Freedley (November 5, 1891 – June 5, 1969) was an American theater and television producer known for his productions of the works of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and television shows such as Talent Jackpot and ''Showtim ...

- production advisor

Soundtrack

", sung by Ethel Merman *"

You're the Top "You're the Top" is a list song by Cole Porter, from the 1934 musical '' Anything Goes''. It is about a man and a woman who take turns complimenting each other. The best-selling version was Paul Whiteman's Victor single, which made the top five. ...

", sung by Bing Crosby and Ethel Merman *"

I Get a Kick Out of You "I Get a Kick Out of You" is a song by Cole Porter, which was first sung in the 1934 Broadway musical '' Anything Goes'', and then in the 1936 film version. Originally sung by Ethel Merman, it has been covered by dozens of prominent performers, ...

", sung by Ethel Merman *"There'll Always Be a Lady Fair", written by Cole Porter, sung by the Avalon Boys and Bing Crosby *"My Heart and I", written by

Frederick Hollander Friedrich Hollaender (in exile also Frederick Hollander; 18 October 189618 January 1976) was a German film composer and author. Life and career He was born in London to a Jewish family, where his father, operetta composer Victor Hollaende ...

and

Leo Robin Leo Robin (April 6, 1895 – December 29, 1984) was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song " Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope and Shi ...

, sung by Bing Crosby *"Sailor Beware" written by Richard Whiting and Leo Robin, sung by Bing Crosby *" Moonburn", sung by Bing Crosby *"Shanghai-De-Ho", written by Frederick Hollander and Leo Robin, sung by Bing Crosby and Ethel Merman The film required revisions of Cole Porter's lyrics to pass

Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as th ...

censors. Only four of his songs remained: "

", "

", "There'll Always Be a Lady Fair" and "

". "You're the Top" contained substantially revised lyrics, and only the first line (sung by Ethel Merman during the opening credits) was retained from the song "Anything Goes". Crosby helped to obtain four new songs from several new songwriters, Richard A. Whiting,

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor, author and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s and 1940s, a ...

Edward Heyman Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul", " When I Fall in Love", and " For Sentimental Reasons". He also contributed to a number of songs for films. Bi ...

and Friedrich Hollander. " Moonburn", written by Carmichael and Heyman, became a minor hit for Crosby. Crosby recorded three of the new songs for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, and they were also included in the ''Bing's Hollywood'' series.

Reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', critic

Frank Nugent Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer. He wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...

lamented the absence of

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

, the star of the stage production of ''Anything Goes'': "'Anything Goes' without Victor Moore is comparable to 'You're the Top' without Cole Porter's lyrics. It gets by, but without distinction. ... Otherwise (but what a huge deficit to overcome!) Paramount has done rather well by 'Anything Goes.' ... Bing Crosby is an acceptable substitute for the show’s William Gaxton in almost every subdivision except that in which he joins Miss Merman in 'You’re the Top'. It doesn’t seem possible, but Mr. Crosby croons it." ''Variety'' wrote: "Cole Porter’s lyrics, which were the original essence and chief asset of the original stage ''Anything Goes'' have been sacrificed for and replaced by plot motion in this Paramount film adaptation. ... Ethel Merman comes from the original cast and her job in the picture equals her job in the stage version, which means aces. Crosby in the Billy Gaxton juve lead makes it more important than the latter did, because of the extra territory taken in by his singing ... As directed by Lewis Milestone everything moves along swiftly. On the whole, as screen entertainment and as musical adaptation, Par’s ‘Goes’ will do." Writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' in 1936,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

panned the film and criticized Crosby's slow and "moony methods" of singing in "a picture which should rattle quite as fast as a sub-machine gun." Greene also wrote that the song "You're the Top" had been "murdered." (reprinted in: )

References

* Green, Stanley (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation page 52

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anything Goes (1936 Film) 1936 films 1936 musical films American black-and-white films Films scored by Cole Porter Films based on musicals Films based on works by P. G. Wodehouse Films directed by Lewis Milestone Paramount Pictures films American musical films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language musical films