''Come Up Smiling'' (also known as ''Ants in His Pants'') is a 1939 Australian

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 ol ...

starring popular American stage comedian

Will Mahoney William James Fitzpatrick Mahoney (February 5, 1894February 9, 1967) was an American vaudevillian performer, stage actor and theatre manager of the latter he was best known for carving out a successful stage career in Australia. Early life He ...

and his wife

Evie Hayes Vina Evelyn Hayes (1 June 1912 - 26 December 1988), better known as Evie Hayes, was an American-born actor and singer, best known for her stage success in Australia. She was once described as "the most popular box office attraction in Australi ...

. It was the only feature from

Cinesound Productions Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company, established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres, that covered all facets of the film process, from produ ...

not directed by

Ken G. Hall Kenneth George Hall, AO, OBE (22 February 1901 – 8 February 1994), better known as Ken G. Hall, was an Australian film producer and director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry. ...

Synopsis

Barney O'Hara is a performer in a touring carnival. He runs a sideshow act with his daughter, Pat, and ex-Shakespearean actor, Horace Worthington Howard, which is struggling to make money. One of the main attractions is Pat's voice. One day Pat is invited to sing at a party held by Colonel Cameron and his daughter Eve, but her voice fails her. A specialist tells Barney that Pat requires an expensive operation. To raise the money, Barney agrees to fight a boxer known as 'The Killer'. He is helped in his training by dancer Kitty Katkin. On the day of the fight, ants are slipped into Barney's shorts, causing him to defeat the Killer. He wins the money to enable Pat to have her operation.

Cast

Production

The film was developed as a star vehicle for popular comedian

, an American vaudevillian who toured Australia successfully in 1938.

also hired Mahoney's regular co-stars, his wife

and manager, Bob Geraghty. Hall hoped that Mahoney's appeal would help the film outside Australia:

This is the most important contract that has been signed at Cinesound as Mahoney is the highest paid star we have ever signed up. In fact, I think he's the highest paid stage artist ever to have toured Australia. It is only the improved conditions of the Australian film industry, due to recent legislation, that has made it possible for us to enlarge our production budget. If any artist can carry an Australian film to overseas markets, it's Will Mahoney.

Mahoney later said, "I think I'll be a big success in this film, but don't get me wrong. It's only because I'm playing myself and I feel I know me pretty well." It was the only film from

not directed by Hall. The writer-director,

William Freshman William Freshman (1 November 1902, in Sydney, Australia – 1980 in London, England) was an Australian-born actor, scriptwriter and director. He moved to England as a child and worked in the British film industry, writing over 20 screenplays an ...

, was born in Australia but had been working in the British film industry. Freshman was hired along with his wife, scriptwriter Lydia Hayward, to give Hall time to prepare for other projects. "We are now planning bigger things, as we are well able to do, by reason of the additional time at my disposal", said Hall at the time. "Opportunity will be taken to find big subjects from which to make big pictures – like ''Robbery Under Arms'', which I expect to direct personally, ''Overland Telegraph'', ''Eureka Stockade'', and others of that calibre, though not all necessarily historic." (None of these movies ended up being made.) The Freshmans arrived in Australia in April 1939 and the script was ready by June. Hall later wrote that Freshman "seemed to lack the vital comedy sense we needed, but he was a good constructor in a general way of screenplay writing. The boxing ring sequence was, I think, one of the funniest things we did at Cinesound." The romantic leads were played by Cinesound regular

Shirley Ann Richards Shirley Ann Richards (13 December 1917 – 25 August 2006) was an Australian actress and author, who achieved notability in a series of 1930s Australian films for Ken G. Hall before moving to the United States, where she continued her caree ...

and John Fleeting. Fleeting had previously appeared in '' Gone to the Dogs'' (1939). Singing star Jean Hatton appeared in her second movie, after ''

Mr. Chedworth Steps Out ''Mr. Chedworth Steps Out'' is a 1939 Australian comedy film directed by Ken G. Hall starring Cecil Kellaway. Kellaway returned to Australia from Hollywood to make the film, which features an early screen appearance by Peter Finch. It was the fi ...

'' (1938). The film was the first starring future Australian filmstar

Chips Rafferty John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until his death ...

(as an uncredited extra).

Shooting

The movie was mostly shot at Cinesound's Bondi studios, with carnival scenes filmed at the Sydney Showground. An estimated 16,000 extras were used. During filming, Jean Hatton was injured falling down two flights of stairs but managed to recover.

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; hu, Zukor Adolf; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produ ...

of Paramount visited the set during filming. He had seen ''

Dad and Dave Come to Town ''Dad and Dave Come to Town'' is a 1938 Australian comedy film directed by Ken G. Hall, the third in the 'Dad and Dave' comedy series starring Bert Bailey. It was the feature film debut of Peter Finch and is one of the best known Australian fi ...

'' on the boat out to Australia and was so impressed by its quality that he asked to visit Cinesound. Zukor watched Hall direct a sequence of ''Come Up Smiling'' and told reporters, "I watched that director at work and he certainly seems to be fully conversant with film technique. I've been pleasantly surprised with what I have seen to-day. I didn't expect to find anything like the facilities that this studio possesses. I would say that Clnesound is just as good as anything we have to Hollywood."

Reception

The film was not an immediate success at the box office so Hall had it re-cut and re-released as ''Ants in His Pants'', adding a new song to explain the title. The movie performed much better on re-release. Reviews were mediocre.

References

External links

*
''Come Up Smiling''
at Oz Movies
''Come Up Smiling''
at

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature), usually referred to simply as AustLit, is an internet-based, non-profit collaboration betwee ...

{{Ken G. Hall 1939 films Films directed by Ken G. Hall Australian black-and-white films Australian musical comedy films 1939 musical comedy films 1930s English-language films 1930s Australian films Cinesound Productions films