''Bachelor Bait'' is a 1934 American
comedy film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
about a man (William Watts) who is fired from his job issuing marriage licenses at city hall because of the actions of a co-worker. He starts a match making business which becomes very successful because of Mr. Watts' ability to find suitable matches for everybody except for himself. ''Bachelor Bait'' (originally titled ''The Great American Harem'') was director
George Stevens
George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''A Place in the Sun (1951 film), A Place in the Sun'' (1951) ...
' first feature-length film for RKO, filmed from 30 April to 18 May 1934.
[His first feature was The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble (1933), for Universal. Marilyn Ann Moss, ''Giant: George Stevens, a Life on Film'' (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2004), 29; ]
Plot
Stu Erwin plays a kindhearted man who, after losing his job as a civil servant in a marriage license office, opens his own business, Romance Inc., which becomes a successful matrimonial agency. When he sets up his secretary (
Rochelle Hudson) with a wealthy client (
Grady Sutton), he realizes just in time that he is really in love with her.
[Moss, ''Giant: George Stevens, a Life on Film'' (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2004), 29; ]
Cast
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Stuart Erwin as Mr. William Watts
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Rochelle Hudson as Cynthia Douglas
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Pert Kelton as Allie Summers
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Richard "Skeets" Gallagher as Bramwell Van Dusan
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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 at nigh ...
as "Big" Barney Nolan
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Grady Sutton as Don Beldon/Diker
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Clarence Wilson as District Attorney Clement Craftsman
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Landers Stevens as Mr. Wells
Analysis
According to Marilyn Ann Moss, ''Bachelor Bait'' "is a light comedy that touches briefly on the Depression (when mention is made of "everyone being out of work these days") before it supplies its audience with a leisurely paced series of misadventures."
The film lost $3,000 for RKO Studios.
References
External links
''Bachelor Bait''at
IMDb
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
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1934 romantic comedy films
1934 films
Films directed by George Stevens
1930s English-language films
American romantic comedy films
English-language romantic comedy films
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