''Girl Crazy'' is a 1932 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 ...

adaptation of the 1930 stage play of the same name. The film was very unlike the stage play except for its score. It was tailored for the comic talents of

Wheeler & Woolsey Wheeler & Woolsey were an American vaudeville comedy double act who performed together in comedy films from the late 1920s. The team comprised Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) of New Jersey and Robert Woolsey (1888–1938) of Illinois. Collaboration T ...

, a popular comedy team of the time. Three songs written by

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

and

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...

for the play were retained: " Bidin' My Time", "

I Got Rhythm "I Got Rhythm" is a piece composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and published in 1930, which became a jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the " rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes su ...

", and " But Not for Me". According to RKO records, the film lost $150,000.

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dracula ...

appears in the film (uncredited) as a dancer in the chorus.Smith, Don G. (1996). "Lon Chaney Jr.". McFarland & Co. Inc. Pg. 201. ISBN 0-7864-0120-6.

Plot

N.Y. playboy Danny Churchill (Eddie Quillan) is relocated to a small Arizona town to keep him from getting entangled with women. He decides to open a dude ranch with the aid of his gambler friend "Slick" (Robert Woolsey) and Slick's wife Kate (Kitty Kelly). The local bully is running for sheriff and wants to shut down Danny's ranch. Danny prompts his friend Jimmy (a cab driver) to run against the heavy for sheriff. Jimmy (Bert Wheeler) is elected sheriff. Meanwhile, Danny falls in love with a young woman named Molly (Arline Judge), but Molly heads down to Mexico accompanied by a NY conman. Danny, Jimmy, Slick and their friends all head down to Mexico to persuade Molly to come back so Danny can propose to her. Meanwhile the local bully and his friend follow them.

Cast

Bert Wheeler Bert Wheeler (April 7, 1895 – January 18, 1968) was an American comedian who performed in vaudeville acts, Broadway theatre, American comedy feature films, and television. He was teamed with Broadway comic Robert Woolsey, and they went on to ...

as Jimmy Deagan *

Robert Woolsey Robert Rollie Woolsey (August 14, 1888 – October 31, 1938) was an American stage and screen comedian and half of the 1930s comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey. Early life Robert Rollie Woolsey (sometimes spelled Rolla or even Raleigh) was born o ...

as Slick Foster *

Eddie Quillan Edward Quillan (March 31, 1907 – July 19, 1990) was an American film actor and singer whose career began as a child on the vaudeville stages and silent film and continued through the age of television in the 1980s. Vaudeville and silent fi ...

as Danny Churchill * Dorothy Lee as Patsy *

Mitzi Green Mitzi Green (born Elizabeth Keno; October 22, 1920 – May 24, 1969) was an American actress and singer known for her work as a child actress for Paramount and RKO, in the early "talkies" era. She then acted on Broadway and in other stage w ...

as Tessie *

Brooks Benedict Brooks Benedict (born Harold J. Mann, February 6, 1896 – January 1, 1968) was an American actor of the silent and sound film eras, when he played supporting and utility roles in over 300 films, mostly uncredited. Life He was born to Alice Ju ...

as George Mason *

Kitty Kelly Kitty Kelly (born Sue O'Neil; April 27, 1902 – June 29, 1968), was an American stage and film character actress. Biography Born in New York City in 1902, Kelly was best known as a member of the Ziegfeld Follies and her radio hosting with ...

as Kate Foster *

Arline Judge Margaret Arline Judge (February 21, 1912 – February 7, 1974) was an American actress and singer who worked mostly in low-budget B movies, but gained some fame for habitually marrying, including two brothers. Judge specialized in playing fai ...

as Molly Gray * Stanley Fields as Lank Sanders * Lita Chevret as Mary *

Chris-Pin Martin Chris-Pin Martin (born Ysabel Ponciana Chris-Pin Martin Paiz, November 19, 1893 – June 27, 1953) was an American character actor whose specialty lay in portraying comical Mexicans, particularly sidekicks in ''The Cisco Kid'' film series. ...

as Pete *

Monte Collins Monte Collins (also credited as Monty Collins; December 3, 1898 – June 1, 1951) was an American film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1920 and 1948. He also wrote for 32 films between 1930 and 1951. Caree ...

as Bartender *

as a chorus dancer

Soundtrack

* " Bidin' My Time" :Music by George Gershwin :Lyrics by Ira Gershwin :Sung by male quartet * "

" :Music by George Gershwin :Lyrics by Ira Gershwin :Performed by Kitty Kelly and chorus * " You've Got What Gets Me" :Music by George Gershwin :Lyrics by Ira Gershwin :Sung by Bert Wheeler and Dorothy Lee :Danced by Bert Wheeler, Dorothy Lee and Mitzi Green * " But Not for Me" :Music by George Gershwin :Lyrics by Ira Gershwin :Sung by Eddie Quillan and Arline Judge :Also sung by Mitzi Green

References

External links

* * * 1932 films 1932 musical comedy films American musical comedy films American black-and-white films Films based on musicals American films based on plays Films directed by William A. Seiter Films scored by Max Steiner Films scored by George Gershwin Films with screenplays by Herman J. Mankiewicz RKO Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language musical comedy films {{musical-comedy-film-stub