''Leathernecking'' is a 1930 American musical comedy film directed by

Edward F. Cline Edward Francis Cline (November 4, 1891 – May 22, 1961) was an American screenwriter, actor, writer and director best known for his work with comedians W.C. Fields and Buster Keaton. He was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin and died in Hollywood, Cal ...

, from a screenplay by Alfred Jackson and

Jane Murfin Jane Murfin, née Macklem (October 27, 1884 – August 10, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. The author of several successful plays, she wrote some of them with actress Jane Cowl—most notably ''Smilin' Through (play), Smilin' ...

, adapted from the Broadway musical comedy '' Present Arms'', by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...

and

Herbert Fields Herbert Fields (July 26, 1897 – March 24, 1958) was an American librettist and screenwriter. Biography Born in New York City, Fields began his career as an actor, then graduated to choreography and stage direction before turning to writing. Fr ...

. Although based on a musical, it used only two of the original

Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's ...

songs from the Broadway hit, along with original songs, including three by

Oscar Levant Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor (music), conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian, and actor. He had roles in the films ''Rhapsody in Bl ...

and

Sidney Clare Sidney Clare (August 15, 1892 – August 29, 1972) was an American comedian, dancer and composer. His best-known songs include " On the Good Ship Lollipop" (introduced by Shirley Temple), " You're My Thrill" (recorded by Billie Holiday), and " P ...

. An early part-color feature film with a

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

insert, this film was

Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during Classical Hollywood cinema, the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she perf ...

's film debut.

Plot

Chick Evans is a Marine private in Honolulu, Hawaii. He falls for society girl Delphine Witherspoon, and begins to scheme as to how to win her over. His first plan involves impersonating an officer in order to get invited to a society party. However, when his Marine buddies decide to crash the party as well, his real rank is revealed, and so having the opposite effect on Delphine as he had planned. Despondent, he bares his soul to a mutual friend, Edna, who arranges to have the two reunited on Delphine's yacht at sea. However, this meeting goes terribly wrong as well, and a desperate Chick convinces the yacht's captain to fake a shipwreck in order to give him time to win Delphine over. Unfortunately, a real storm arises and the ship is actually wrecked, coming to rest on a desert island. While they are on the island, Chick's persistence with Delphine pays off. Not only that, on their return to Honolulu, he is hailed as a hero and promoted to captain.

Cast

as Delphine Witherspoon * Ken Murray as Frank *

Louise Fazenda Louise Fazenda (June 17, 1895 – April 17, 1962) was an American film actress, appearing chiefly in silent comedy films. Early life Fazenda was born in her maternal grandparents' house in Lafayette, Indiana, the daughter of merchandise bro ...

as Hortense *

Ned Sparks Ned Sparks (born Edward Arthur Sparkman, November 19, 1883 – April 3, 1957) was a Canadian character actor of the American stage and screen. He was known for his deadpan expression and comically nasal, monotone delivery. Life and career Spark ...

as Reynolds (Sparks) *

Lilyan Tashman Lilyan Tashman (October 23, 1896 – March 21, 1934) was an American stage, silent film, and sound film actress. Early life Born Lillian Tashman in 1896 in Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish family, Tashman was the youngest of eight children, bor ...

as Edna *

Eddie Foy Jr. Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. (February 4, 1905 – July 15, 1983), known professionally as Eddie Foy Jr., was an American stage, film and television actor. His career spanned six decades, beginning as part of the vaudeville act Eddie Foy and the Seven ...

as Chick Evans *

Benny Rubin Benjamin Rubin (February 2, 1899 – July 15, 1986) was an American comedian and film actor. Born in Boston, Rubin made more than 200 radio, film and television appearances over a span of 50 years. Career In 1929, Rubin went to Hollywood, where ...

as Stein *

Rita La Roy Rita La Roy (born Ina La Roi Stuart; October 2, 1901 – February 18, 1993) was an American actress and dancer, beginning her career in 1929, and having her last significant role in 1940. Career La Roy appeared in over 50 films, the best k ...

as Fortune Teller *

Fred Santley Fred Santley (November 20, 1887 – May 14, 1953), also known variously as Freddie Santley, Fredric Santley, Frederick Santley, Frederic Santley, and Fredric M. Santley, was an American character actor of the silent and sound film eras, as well ...

as Douglas * William von Brinken as Richter *

Carl Gerard Carl Gerard (born Carl Gerhard Petersen; 28 September 1885 – 6 January 1966), sometimes credited as Carl Gerrard, was a Danish-American actor known for playing supporting roles. Biography Gerard spent much of his career in Los Angeles and ...

as Colonel * Werther Weidler as Richter's son * Wolfgang Weidler as Richter's son (Cast list as per AFI database)

Songs (partial list)

You Took Advantage of Me "You Took Advantage of Me" is a 1928 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, for the musical '' Present Arms'' (1928), where it was introduced by Joyce Barbour and Busby Berkeley as the characters Edna Stevens and Dou ...

" *"A Kiss For Cinderella" *"All My Life" *"Careless Kisses" *"Evening Star" *"Mighty Nice and So Particular" *"Shake It Off and Smile" "You Took Advantage Of Me" and "A Kiss For Cinderella", the first two songs, were written by

. The other songs were written by

and

, except for "All My Life", which had words and music by

Benny Davis Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. Biography Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. In ...

and

Harry Akst Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963)
- accessed November 19, 2011 was an American

Notes

A copy of the film survives in the Warner Bros. film vault. The musical comedy on which this film was based, ''Present Arms'', ran from April through September 1928 at Lew Fields' Mansfield Theatre (currently the Brooks Atkinson Theatre). Produced by

Lew Fields Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager, and producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber. He also produced shows on his own and starred in com ...

, it had music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, with a book by Herbert Fields. It starred and was choreographed by

Busby Berkeley Berkeley William Enos, (November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) known professionally as Busby Berkeley, was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geo ...

. The John Tiller Sunshine Girls also appeared in this film. In 1958, the film entered the

public domain in the United States Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by the intellectual property right known as copyright, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired. Works automatically enter the public domain when their copyright has ...

because the claimants did not renew its

copyright registration The purpose of copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of infringement or plagiarism, the copyright owner can produce a cop ...

in the 28th year after publication. See Note #60, pg. 143

References

External links