''Playing Around'' is a 1930 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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

with songs, starring

Alice White Alice White (born Alva White; August 25, 1904Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. , pg. 1228. – February 19, 1983) was an American film ac ...

Chester Morris John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Award nomination for ''Alibi'' ( ...

and William Bakewell. It was adapted from the story "Sheba", written by Viña Delmar. The film was produced and distributed by

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

, a subsidiary of

Warner Bros. 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 ...

Plot

Alice White plays Sheba Miller, a working-class girl who dreams about living a life of luxury. Her father runs a cigar store while she works as a stenographer. Jack, a soda jerk, is madly in love with her and has even asked her father for his consent to their marriage. Although Pa Miller likes Jack and would like to see his daughter marry him, Sheba refuses him on the wage he currently earns. One day, she convinces him to take her to a fancy exclusive nightclub, the Pirates Den. Once they arrive and are seated, he is shocked at the prices and suggests that they go elsewhere; this leads to an argument. As the couple is about to leave, an announcement is made for a leg contest and Sheba decides to enter. She wins first place and is awarded her prize by Nickey Solomon, a gangster. Dazzled by his fancy clothes and car, Sheba accepts his attentions and give Jack the air. Eventually Nickey asks Sheba to marry him, but before they tie the knot, Solomon, who is low on cash, robs a cigar store and in the process shoots the man behind the counter. Without knowing it, he has shot Sheba's father. As the two are about to head out for another night on the town now that they have money, they stop at her father's cigar store to say hello. As they approach, they see police stationed around and Nickey realizes what he has done. He convinces Sheba to stay in the car while he checks out what happened. He talks a bit to the police and then tells her that her father is all right and that he is now at the police station to help the police identify a thief. In reality, however, her father is at the hospital being treated for the gunshot wound. Nickey convinces Sheba to continue their date and they drive to the club, but Jack, who suspects that Solomon was behind the robbery, asks the police to help with his entrapment plan. They manage to get Nickey to unwittingly confess to the crime and convince him to skip town, but they arrest him at the train station before he has a chance to board. Solomon is taken to jail and Sheba is informed that her father is perfectly fine. Sheba, humbled by the experience, agrees to marry Jack on his $35 a week salary.

Cast

as Sheba Miller *

as Nickey Solomon * William Bakewell as Jack * Richard Carlyle as Pa Miller *

Marion Byron Marion Byron (born Miriam Bilenkin; 1911 – 1985) was an American silent film actress and comedian. Early years Born in Dayton, Ohio, Byron was one of five daughters of Louis and Bertha Bilenkin. Career She made her first stage appearan ...

as Maude *

Maurice Black Maurice Black (January 14, 1891 – January 18, 1938) was an American character actor known for his portrayal of mobsters. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1928 to 1938, when he died of pneumonia, four days after his 47th birthday. ...

as Joe *

Lionel Belmore Lionel Belmore (12 May 1867 – 30 January 1953) was an English character actor and director on stage for more than a quarter of a century. Life and career Onstage, Belmore appeared with Wilson Barrett, Sir Henry Irving, William Faversham, Lil ...

as Morgan * Shep Camp as Master of Ceremonies *

Ann Brody Ann Brody Goldstein (August 29, 1884 – July 16, 1944), known professionally as Ann Brody, was an American film actress of the silent era A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogu ...

as Mrs. Fennerbeck *

George 'Gabby' Hayes 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 ...

as Western Union Clerk

Songs

* "You Learn About Love Every Day" (''Theme Song; Sung by Alice White and unidentified tenor.'') * "You're My Captain Kidd" * "That's the Lowdown on the Lowdown" * "Playing Around"

Preservation

''Playing Around'' survives intact in the

Turner Entertainment Turner Entertainment Co. is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner on August 2, 1986. Purchased by Time Warner Entertainment on October 10, 1996, as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was lar ...

library. Also preserved in the Library of Congress collection.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', (<-book title) p.142 by the American Film Institute

References

External links

* * * {{Mervyn LeRoy 1930 films First National Pictures films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Mervyn LeRoy Warner Bros. films American black-and-white films American drama films 1930 drama films Films based on works by Viña Delmar 1930s American films English-language drama films