''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 Susan Alva Fleming (February 19, 1908 – December 22, 2002) was an American actress and the wife of comic actor Harpo Marx and sister in law to Groucho, Chico, Zeppo and Gummo. Fleming was known as the "Girl with the Million Dollar Legs" ...

. 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 Constance Cummings CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-British actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Cummings was born on 15 May 1910 in Seattle, Washington, the only daughter and younger child of Kate ...

as Joan Whelan *

Russ Columbo Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolfo Colombo (January 14, 1908 – September 2, 1934), known as Russ Columbo, was an American baritone, songwriter, violinist, and actor. He is famous for romantic ballads such as his signature tune "You Call It Madne ...

as Clark Brian * Paul Kelly as Frank Rocci *

Blossom Seeley Blossom Seeley (July 16, 1886 Blossom Seeley biography
ragpiano.com. Accessed July 14, 2022.

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 *

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 Hugh O'Connell (August 4, 1898 – January 19, 1943) was an American film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the trad ...

as Chuck Haskins *

Hobart Cavanaugh Hobart Cavanaugh (September 22, 1886 – April 26, 1950 ) was an American character actor in films and on stage. Biography Cavanaugh was born in Virginia City, Nevada, on September 22, 1886. He attended the University of California, then worked ...

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 William Burress (19 August 1867 – 30 October 1948) was an American actor. He appeared in fifteen Broadway productions from 1900 to 1920, and more than seventy films from 1915 to 1939. Filmography References External links * 1867 ...

as Thomas Barnum *

Helen Jerome Eddy Helen Jerome Eddy (February 25, 1897 – January 27, 1990) was a movie actress from New York City. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as '' Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' (1917). Early years Eddy was bor ...

as Esther *

as Chorine (uncredited) *

as Singer (uncredited)

External links

*
Review
at 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 {{musical-film-stub