''Times Square Playboy'' is a 1936 American

romance film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed by

William C. McGann William C. McGann (April 15, 1893 – November 15, 1977) was an American film director. He directed more than 50 films between 1930 and 1942. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and died in Los Angeles, California. He worked for ten year ...

and starring

Warren William Warren William (born Warren William Krech; December 2, 1894 – September 24, 1948) was a Broadway and Hollywood actor, immensely popular during the early 1930s; he was later nicknamed the "King of Pre-Code". He was the first actor to play Per ...

, June Travis and

Barton MacLane Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...

. It is based on the 1926 play ''Hometowners'' by

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

, and was produced and distributed by

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

. It is also known by the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the ...

of ''His Best Man''. The film's

art direction Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to super ...

was by

Esdras Hartley Esdras Hartley (1892–1946) was the art director for the 1935 film Don't Bet on Blondes. He worked on over a hundred films during his career, many of them at the Hollywood studio Warner Brothers. Selected filmography * '' Miss Pacific Fleet'' ...

, its costume design by

Orry-Kelly Orry-Kelly was the professional name of Orry George Kelly (31 December 1897 – 27 February 1964), an Australian-American Cinema of the United States, Hollywood costume designer. Until being overtaken by Catherine Martin (designer), Catherin ...

Plot

Hardworking New York City stockbroker Vic Arnold is elated to announce at a business meeting that Beth Calhoun has agreed to marry him. He invites his best friend, Ben "Pig Head" Bancroft, to come from his home town of Big Bend, Indiana, to be his

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...

. However, Ben becomes convinced that the much younger Beth is only marrying Vic for his money and that she is secretly still attached to college football star and admirer Joe Roberts, who is about her age. Despite the efforts of his wife Lottie, he accuses Beth of being a gold digger, and her brother Wally and their parents of complicity. Insulted, Beth makes Vic choose between them. Vic refuses to give up his best friend, so Beth gives him back his engagement ring. Later, Ben finds out he was mistaken. Wally returns a $40,000 bracelet Vic gave Beth; he also reveals that Joe, who has repeatedly proposed to Beth, is actually much richer than Vic. However, when Vic opens the jewelry case, it is empty. The Calhouns show up to defend themselves from the insinuation that Beth kept the bracelet. Ben then admits he hid it in order to bring everybody together. He even resorts to putting Wally in a half nelson to get him to stay and listen to his heartfelt apology. In the end, he succeeds in reuniting the couple.

Cast

as Victor "Vic" Arnold * June Travis as Beth Calhoun, aka Fay Melody *

as Casey, Vic's butler / trainer *

Gene Lockhart Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)"Gene Lockhart"
''The ...

as P.H. Ben "Pig Head" Bancroft * Kathleen Lockhart as Lottie Bancroft *

Dick Purcell Richard Gerold Purcell Jr. (August 6, 1905 – April 10, 1944) was an American actor best known for playing Marvel Comics' Captain America in the 1944 film serial, co-starring with Lorna Gray and Lionel Atwill. Purcell also appeared in f ...

as Wally Calhoun * Craig Reynolds as Joe Roberts *

Granville Bates Granville Bates (January 7, 1882 – July 8, 1940) was an American character actor and bit player, appearing in over ninety films. Biography Bates was born in Chicago in 1882 to Granville Bates, Sr., a developer and builder, and Adaline Bates ...

as Mr. Mort Calhoun *

Dorothy Vaughan Dorothy Jean Johnson Vaughan (September 20, 1910 – November 10, 2008) was an American mathematician and human computer who worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and NASA, at Langley Research Center in Hampton, ...

as Mrs. Nellie Calhoun

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' gave the film a lukewarm review, calling it "a noisy comedy which manages to be alternately amusing and dull" and "suffers in the main because it is too reverent an adaptation of the parent work", though the "principal rôles are in capable hands and are played for what they are worth by Warren William and Gene and Kathleen Lockhart".

References

Bibliography

* John Stangeland. ''Warren William: Magnificent Scoundrel of Pre-Code Hollywood''. McFarland, 2010.

External links

* * {{William C. McGann 1936 films 1936 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy films American films based on plays Films directed by William C. McGann Films set in New York City Warner Bros. films Films scored by Heinz Roemheld 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language romantic comedy films