''Susie Steps Out'' is a 1946 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

Reginald Le Borg Reginald LeBorg (born Harry Gröbel; 11 December 1902 – 25 March 1989) was an Austrian-American film director. He directed 68 films between 1936 and 1974. Film career In 1934, he moved to Hollywood, California to seek employment as a scre ...

, written by

Elwood Ullman Elwood Ullman (May 27, 1903 — October 11, 1985) was an American film comedy writer most famous for his credits on The Three Stooges shorts and many other low-budget comedies. Career A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Ullman chose a writing caree ...

and

Fred Freiberger Fred Freiberger (February 19, 1915March 2, 2003) was an American film and television writer and television producer, whose career spanned four decades and work on films such as ''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' (1953) and TV series including '' B ...

, and starring David Bruce, Cleatus Caldwell, Nita Hunter,

Howard Freeman Howard Freeman (December 9, 1899 – December 11, 1967) was an American actor of the early 20th century, and film and television actor of the 1940s through the 1960s. Biography Freeman was born in Helena, Montana, and began working as ...

Grady Sutton Grady Harwell Sutton (April 5, 1906 – September 17, 1995) was an American film and television character actor from the 1920s to the 1970s. He appeared in more than 180 films. Early years Sutton was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the son ...

and

Margaret Dumont Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically ...

. It was released on December 13, 1946 by

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

Plot

Jeffrey Westcott is a popular singer represented by Mr. Starr's advertising agency. He is attracted to Clara Russell, a secretary at the agency. Clara and her 15-year-old sister Susie are concerned because their father, a

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

player, is unable to work. Susie lies that she is 19 and lands a job singing in a nightclub. Jeffrey goes to the club with Starr sees that the girl is underage, though he is unaware that Clara is her sister. He takes her home, where Clara finds him and mistakenly accuses him of improper behavior. Starr's wife believes that he is having an affair with his secretary and has Clara is fired. Susie confronts her and explains all.

Cast

* David Bruce as Jeffrey Westcott *Cleatus Caldwell as Clara Russell *Nita Hunter as Susie Russell *

as Mr. Starr *

as Dixon *

as Mrs. Starr *Percival Vivian as Papa Russell *Joseph J. Greene as Bailey *John Berkes as Wilkins *

Harry Barris Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was an American popular singer and songwriter. He was one of the earliest singers to use " scat singing" in recordings. Barris, one of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, along with Bing Crosby an ...

as Ned *

Emmett Vogan Charles Emmett Vogan (September 27, 1893 – October 6, 1969) was an American actor with almost 500 film appearances from 1934 to 1954, making him, along with Bess Flowers, one of the most prolific film actors of all time. In 1913, Vogan ...

as Dr. Hennings *

Syd Saylor Syd Saylor (born Leo Sailor; March 24, 1895 – December 21, 1962) was an American comedic actor and movie cowboy sidekick who appeared in 395 films and television series between 1926 and 1962. Early years Saylor was born Leo Sailor in 18 ...

as Biegelman *

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American film actress whose career spanned seven decades. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film), The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ' ...

as Band Singer

Production

''Susie Steps Out'' was the first of director Reginald LeBorg’s projects for Comet Pictures, produced by Charles “Buddy” Rogers and Ralph Cohn. Rogers and Cohn conceived of the film as a “B” picture, providing a second feature for double-feature screenings. LeBorg, who had proved his efficiency in delivering low-budget features on schedule and under-budget for Universal Pictures was considered the ideal choice to direct. Suzie Steps Out was shot in 15 days. The nightclub setting was particularly appealing to LeBorg. A prolific director of “

soundie A soundie is a three-minute American film displaying both the audio and video of a musical performance. Over 1,850 soundies were produced between 1940 and 1946, regarded today as "precursors to music videos". Soundies exhibited a variety of mu ...

s,” and an accomplished pianist, he “loved to be associated with any project that involved music.” Susie Steps Out includes songs by

Hal Borne Hal Borne (December 26, 1911, Chicago, Illinois - February 25, 2000, Tarzana, California) was an American popular song composer, orchestra leader, music arranger and musical director, who studied music at the University of Illinois. He often colla ...

and Eddie Cherkose.

Retrospective appraisal

Characterizing the film as a “cheerful, yet unremarkable feature,” film historian Wheeler W. Dixon merits LeBorg for the “deft” handling of the actors, and “bringing his usual glossy professionalism to the musical sequences.”Dixon, 1992 p. 24

Notes

References

* Dixon, Wheeler Winston. 1992. ''The Films of Reginald LeBorg: Interviews, Essays, and Filmography.'' Filmmakers No. 31 ''

The Scarecrow Press Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns t ...

'', Metuchen, New Jersey.

External links

* 1946 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Reginald Le Borg United Artists films 1946 comedy films American comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-US-comedy-film-stub