''Brother Rat'' is a 1938 American

comedy drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

about cadets at

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

, directed by

William Keighley William Jackson Keighley (August 4, 1889 – June 24, 1984) was an American stage actor and Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood film director. Career After graduating from the Ludlum School of Dramatic Art, Keighley began acting at the age of ...

, and starring

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, Priscilla Lane,

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor. He is known for his roles on stage and screen and received nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Albert made his actin ...

(in his film debut),

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007). was an American actress. A star of both movies and television, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress, four Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Pr ...

, and

Wayne Morris Wayne Morris (born Bert DeWayne Morris Jr. February 17, 1914 – September 14, 1959) was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many films, including '' Paths of Glory'' (1957), ' ...

. The film is an adaptation of the successful Broadway play of the same name written by two former VMI cadets, John Monks, Jr. and Fred Finklehoffe, which ran for 577 performances between December 1936 and April 1938. Albert and supporting actor

William Tracy William Tracy (December 1, 1917 – July 18, 1967) was an American character actor. Early life and career Tracy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is perhaps best known for the role of Pepi Katona, the delivery boy, in '' The Shop Ar ...

reprised their roles from the stage productions. After the film's production, Reagan married Wyman in 1940. The title refers to the term used for cadets in their first year at the Institute. Scenes of the film were shot on site in Lexington on the institute's historic parade ground, and the baseball game scene was filmed at Alumni Memorial Field.

Plot

At the Virginia Military Institute, roommates Billy Randolph (

), Dan Crawford (

) and Bing Edwards (

) are three good-natured troublemakers who are trying to clean up their act in the weeks leading up to graduation. Still, try as they might, they cannot seem to stop breaking the rules, which include sneaking girlfriends on campus, and pawning the college's valuable sword to get money to bet on a baseball game. When the secretly married Edwards learns his wife (

Jane Bryan Jane Bryan (born Jane O'Brien; June 11, 1918 – April 8, 2009) was an American actress who appeared in Hollywood films throughout the late 1930s. She was groomed by Warner Bros. to become one of its leading ladies, but instead chose to retire fr ...

) is pregnant, his preoccupation leads to events that really send everything out of order.

Cast

as Dan Crawford * Priscilla Lane as Joyce Winfree *

as Bing Edwards *

as Claire Adams *

as Billy Randolph * Johnnie Davis as A. Furman Towsend, Jr. *

as Kate Rice *

Henry O'Neill Henry O'Neill (August 10, 1891 – May 18, 1961) was an American actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles on film during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life Henry O'Neill was born in Orange, New J ...

as Colonel Ramm * Gordon Oliver as Capt. 'Lacedrawers' Rogers * Larry Williams as Harley Harrington *

as Misto Bottome * Jessie Busley as Mrs. Brooks *

Olin Howland Olin Ross Howland (February 10, 1886 – September 20, 1959) was an American film and theatre actor. Life and career Howland was born in Denver, Colorado, to Joby A. Howland, one of the youngest enlisted participants in the Civil War, an ...

as Slim *

Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1900 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress who appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows from the 1920s to 1960. She played a prominent role in advancing the lives of black Am ...

as Jenny * Isabel Withers as Nurse * Sam Komie as Cadet * Billy Smith as Cadet *

Allan Cavan Allan Cavan (March 25, 1880 – January 19, 1941) was an American film actor. He appeared in 145 films between 1917 and 1941. Cavan was the son of Mrs. Averila Cavan, and he had a brother, Carl. He began working on films with Sam Goldwyn S ...

as Superintendent (uncredited) * Jerry Cecil as Cadet (uncredited) * Don DeFore as Baseball Catcher (uncredited) * Jerry Fletcher as Cadet With a Sweet Briar Girl (uncredited) * Mildred Gover as Colonel Ramm's Maid (uncredited) * Fred Hamilton as Newsreel Scott (uncredited) * Dutch Hendrian as Baseball Coach (uncredited) * Howard Leeds as Cadet (uncredited) *

Wilfred Lucas Wilfred Van Norman Lucas (January 30, 1871 – December 13, 1940) was a Canadian American stage actor who found success in film as an actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Lucas was born in Norfolk County, Ontario on January 30, 1871,US ...

as Ballfield Doctor (uncredited) * Hugh McArthur as Cadet (uncredited) *

George O'Hanlon George O'Hanlon (November 23, 1912 – February 11, 1989) was an American actor, comedian and writer. He was best known for his role as Joe McDoakes in the Warner Bros.' live-action ''Joe McDoakes'' short subjects from 1942 to 1956 and as the voic ...

as Orderly (uncredited) * William T. Orr as Member of the Guard (uncredited) * Mark Roberts as Tripod Andrews (uncredited)

Reception

Frank S. Nugent of ''

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 ...

'' called the film "an excellent transcription of the play, loyal to all its screenable material and matching the playwrights' lively humors in the added scenes." "None of the factors that made the play a success has been lost ... Albert gives a splendid performance," reported '' Variety''. ''

Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informati ...

'' wrote that Keighley gave the film "warm, sympathetic direction and has injected many human touches," and called Eddie Albert "a definite screen 'find'." ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City–based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publish ...

'' declared it "A delightful comedy" with "excellent" performances. John Mosher of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' called it "a serviceable time-filler." A sequel, ''

Brother Rat and a Baby ''Brother Rat and a Baby'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Ray Enright and written by John Cherry Monks, Jr. and Fred F. Finklehoffe. It is the sequel to the 1938 film ''Brother Rat''. The film stars Priscilla Lane, Wayne Morris, Ja ...

'', with several of the same main actors, was released in 1940. In 1952,

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

remade it as a Technicolor musical, '' About Face'', with Gordon MacRae,

Eddie Bracken Edward Vincent Bracken (February 7, 1915 – November 14, 2002) was an American actor. Bracken came to Hollywood prominence for his comedic lead performances in the films '' Hail the Conquering Hero'' and '' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' b ...

and in his first film,

Joel Grey Joel Grey (born Joel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical ''Cabaret (musical), Cabaret'' on Broadway theatre, ...

References

External links

* * *
Review of ''Brother Rat''
at TVGuide.com
''Brother Rat and a Baby'' (sequel, 1940)
at

Internet Movie Database 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 ...

{{VMI Keydets basketball navbox 1938 films 1930s English-language films Films directed by William Keighley Films scored by Heinz Roemheld 1938 comedy-drama films Films set in Virginia Films shot in Virginia VMI Keydets Warner Bros. films American comedy-drama films American black-and-white films 1930s American films English-language comedy-drama films