''Scatterbrain'' is a 1940 American
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Gus Meins
Gus Meins (March 6, 1893 – August 1, 1940), born Gustave Peter Ludwig Luley, was an American film director. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany.
Career
Meins started out in the 'teens as a cartoonist for the Los Angeles Evening Herald before ...
and written by Val Burton,
Jack Townley and Paul Conlan. The film stars
Judy Canova
Judy Canova (November 20, 1913 – August 5, 1983),Although one source gives her birth date as November 20, 1916, (DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland ...
,
Alan Mowbray
Alan Mowbray (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood.
Early life
Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army in W ...
,
Ruth Donnelly
Ruth Donnelly (May 17, 1896 – November 17, 1982) was an American film and stage actress.
Early years and family
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Donnelly was the daughter of Harry Augustus and Bessie B. Donnelly.
Her uncle, Frederi ...
,
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.
Early life
Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. was born on February 4, 1905, in New Rochelle, New York, the ...
,
Joseph Cawthorn
Joseph Bridger Cawthorn (March 29, 1868 – January 21, 1949) was an American stage and film comic actor.
Biography
Born on March 29, 1868, in New York City to a minstrel-show family, Cawthorn started out in show business as a child, debut ...
and
Wallace Ford
Wallace Ford (born Samuel Grundy Jones; 12 February 1898 – 11 June 1966) was an English-born naturalized American vaudevillian, stage performer and screen actor. Usually playing wise-cracking characters, he combined a tough but friendly-face ...
. The film was released on July 20, 1940, by
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City a ...
.
Plot
Cast
*
Judy Canova
Judy Canova (November 20, 1913 – August 5, 1983),Although one source gives her birth date as November 20, 1916, (DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland ...
as Judy Hull
*
Alan Mowbray
Alan Mowbray (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood.
Early life
Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army in W ...
as J.R. Russell
*
Ruth Donnelly
Ruth Donnelly (May 17, 1896 – November 17, 1982) was an American film and stage actress.
Early years and family
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Donnelly was the daughter of Harry Augustus and Bessie B. Donnelly.
Her uncle, Frederi ...
as Miss Stevens
*
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.
Early life
Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. was born on February 4, 1905, in New Rochelle, New York, the ...
as Eddie MacIntyre
*
Joseph Cawthorn
Joseph Bridger Cawthorn (March 29, 1868 – January 21, 1949) was an American stage and film comic actor.
Biography
Born on March 29, 1868, in New York City to a minstrel-show family, Cawthorn started out in show business as a child, debut ...
as Nicholas Raptis
*
Wallace Ford
Wallace Ford (born Samuel Grundy Jones; 12 February 1898 – 11 June 1966) was an English-born naturalized American vaudevillian, stage performer and screen actor. Usually playing wise-cracking characters, he combined a tough but friendly-face ...
as Sam Maxwell
*
Isabel Jewell
Isabel Jewell (July 19, 1907 – April 5, 1972) was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s and early 1940s. Some of her more famous films were '' Ceiling Zero'', ''Marked Woman'', ''A Tale of Two Cities'', and '' Gone with ...
as Esther Harrington
*
Luis Alberni
Luis Alberni (October 4, 1886 – December 23, 1962) was a Spanish-born American character actor of stage and films.
Early years
Alberni was born in Barcelona, Spain, on October 4, 1886. He acted in stock theater for four years in Marseille ...
as Prof. DeLemma
*
Billy Gilbert
William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally
as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...
as Hoffman
*
Emmett Lynn
Emmett Earl Lynn (February 14, 1897 – October 20, 1958) was an American actor of the stage and screen.
Early life
Lynn was born in Muscatine, Iowa. When he was nine years old, Lynn became a song plugger in Denver, Colorado. From that ...
as Pappy Hull
*
Jimmy Starr
Jimmy Starr (3 February 1904 – August 13, 1990) was an American screenwriter and columnist.
Starr worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood during the 1930s. From the 1940s he worked as a film writer and columnist, providing reviews and insight ...
as Joe Kelton
*
Matty Malneck
Matthew Michael "Matty" Malneck (December 9, 1903 – February 25, 1981) was an American jazz violinist, songwriter, and arranger.
Career
Born in 1903, Malneck's career as a violinist began when he was age 16. He was a member of the Paul Whit ...
as Orchestra Leader
References
External links
*
1940 films
American comedy films
1940 comedy films
Republic Pictures films
Films directed by Gus Meins
Films scored by William Lava
Films produced by Gus Meins
Films with screenplays by Jack Townley
American black-and-white films
1940s English-language films
1940s American films
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