''Broadway Through a Keyhole'', also billed as ''Broadway Thru a Keyhole'', is a 1933 American
pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...
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 ...
produced by
Twentieth Century Pictures
Twentieth Century Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film, independent Cinema of the United States, Hollywood motion picture production company created in 1933 by Joseph Schenck (the former president of United Artists) and Darryl F. Za ...
and released by
United Artists
United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
.
New York City
speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.
In the United State ...
proprietress
Texas Guinan
Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan (January 12, 1884 – November 5, 1933) was an American actress, producer,
and entrepreneur. Born in Texas to Irish immigrant parents, Guinan decided at an early age to become an entertainer. After becoming a s ...
appears as a fictionalized version of herself in the film. It also features early appearances by
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...
,
Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920s ...
, and
Susan Fleming. The film is based on an original story by Broadway columnist
Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...
.
Plot
Racketeer Frank Rocci is smitten with Joan Whelan, a dancer at Texas Guinan's famous Broadway night spot. He uses his influence to help her get a starring role in the show, hoping that it will also get Joan to fall in love with him. After scoring a hit, Joan accepts Frank's marriage proposal, more out of gratitude than love. The situation gets even stickier when she falls for a handsome band leader during a trip to Florida. Can she tell Frank she's in love with someone else?
Cast
*
Constance Cummings as Joan Whelan
*
Russ Columbo as Clark Brian
*
Paul Kelly as Frank Rocci
*
Blossom Seeley as Sybil Smith
*
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was best known for his role as producer "Max Fabian" in ''All About Eve'' (195 ...
as Max Mefoofski
*
Texas Guinan
Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan (January 12, 1884 – November 5, 1933) was an American actress, producer,
and entrepreneur. Born in Texas to Irish immigrant parents, Guinan decided at an early age to become an entertainer. After becoming a s ...
as Tex Kaley
*
Abe Lyman
Abe Lyman (born Abraham Simon; August 4, 1897 – October 23, 1957) was a bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including '' Your Hit Parade''.
Biography
Bo ...
as Orchestra Leader
*
Hugh O'Connell as Chuck Haskins
*
Hobart Cavanaugh as Peanuts Dinwiddie
* Frances Williams as Frances Williams
*
Eddie Foy, Jr. as Joan's partner
*
George Mann as George Mann - Columnist
*
C. Henry Gordon as Tim Crowley
*
William Burress as Thomas Barnum
*
Helen Jerome Eddy as Esther
*
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...
as Chorine (uncredited)
*
Susan Fleming as Chorine (uncredited)
*
Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920s ...
as Singer (uncredited)
External links
*
Reviewat pre-code.com
1933 films
1933 musical films
American musical films
American black-and-white films
Films about musical theatre
Films directed by Lowell Sherman
Films scored by Alfred Newman
Films set in New York City
Twentieth Century Pictures films
United Artists films
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
English-language musical films
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