''Florida Special'' is a 1936 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 ...

directed by

Ralph Murphy Ralph Murphy (May 1, 1895 – February 10, 1967) was an American film and television director. Born in Rockville, Connecticut, Murphy was active in films from 1931 through 1962, with some work in television. From 1941 to 1944 he was married to G ...

and written by

David Boehm David Boehm (1 February 1893 in New York – 31 July 1962 in Santa Monica, California) was an American screenwriter. He is best known for the 1944 World War II heavenly fantasy ''A Guy Named Joe'' (remade by Steven Spielberg in 1989 as ''Always' ...

, Marguerite Roberts, Laura Perelman and

S. J. Perelman Sidney Joseph Perelman (February 1, 1904 – October 17, 1979) was an American humorist and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for ''The New Yorker''. He also wrote for several other magazines, ...

. The film stars

Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Chaplin's ''The Great Dictator'' (1940) ...

Sally Eilers Dorothea Sally Eilers (December 11, 1908 – January 5, 1978) was an American actress. Early life Eilers was born in New York City to a Jewish-American mother, Paula (or Pauline) Schoenberger, and a German-American father, Hio Peter Eilers (a ...

Kent Taylor Kent Taylor (born Louis William Weiss; May 11, 1906 – April 11, 1987) was an American actor of film and television. Taylor appeared in more than 110 films, the bulk of them B-movies in the 1930s and 1940s, although he also had roles in more pr ...

Frances Drake Frances Drake (born Frances Morgan Dean; October 22, 1912 – January 18, 2000) was an American actress best known for playing Eponine in ''Les Misérables'' (1935). Early years Drake was born in New York City as Frances Morgan Dean to a ...

Claude Gillingwater Claude Benton Gillingwater (August 2, 1870 – November 1, 1939) was an American stage and screen actor. He first appeared on the stage then in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1939, including the Academy Award-nominated ''A Tale of Two ...

and Sam Hearn. The film was released on April 21, 1936, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Plot

Newspaper reporter Bangs Carter and his rich buddy Wally Tucker end up on the '' Florida Special'' train bound for

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

with jewel thieves and Wally's ex-girlfriend. Bangs falls for a passenger, Jerry Quinn, along the way as they try to catch the crooks.

Cast

as Bangs Carter *

as Jerry Quinn *

as Wally Tucker *

as Marina Landon *

as Simeon Stafford *Sam Hearn as Schlepperman * J. Farrell MacDonald as Captain Timothy Harrigan *

Sidney Blackmer Sidney Alderman Blackmer (July 13, 1895 – October 6, 1973) was an American Broadway theatre, Broadway and film actor active between 1914 and 1971, usually in major supporting roles. Biography Blackmer was born and raised in Salisbury, ...

as Jack Macklyn *

Matthew Betz Matthew Betz (September 13, 1881 – January 26, 1938) was an American film actor. Betz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1881. Following an extended career in the U.S. Cavalry, Betz spent eight years in Vaudeville. His first stage play w ...

as Herman Weil *

Dwight Frye Dwight Iliff Frye (born Fry; February 22, 1899 – November 7, 1943) was an American character actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his portrayals of neurotic, murderous villains in several classic Universal horror films, such as Re ...

as Jenkins * Garry Owen as Joe *Clyde Dilson as Dominic *

Mack Gray Mack Gray (December 11, 1905 – January 17, 1981) was an American actor who was the brother of Joe Gray (actor) and great-uncle of Jon Abrahams. He was given the nickname "Killer" by Carole Lombard due to his roles in films as a tough guy. Lo ...

as Louie *

Stanley Andrews Stanley Martin Andrews (born Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first host of ...

as Armstrong

References

External links

* 1936 films 1936 comedy films American black-and-white films American comedy films Films directed by Ralph Murphy Films set on trains Paramount Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub