''Brooklyn Orchid'' is a 1942 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 ol ...

directed by Kurt Neumann and written by Earle Snell and Clarence Marks that was one of

Hal Roach's Streamliners Hal Roach's Streamliners are a series of featurette comedy films created by Hal Roach that are longer than a short subject and shorter than a feature film, not exceeding 50 minutes in length. Twenty of the 29 features that Roach produced for United ...

. The film stars

William Bendix William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, who typically played rough, blue-collar characters. He is best remembered for his role in ''Wake Island'', which earned him an Academy ...

Joe Sawyer Joe Sawyer (born Joseph Sauers, August 29, 1906 – April 21, 1982) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1927 and 1962, and was sometimes billed under his birth name. Early life Sawyer was born August 29, 1 ...

Marjorie Woodworth Marjorie Woodworth (June 5, 1919 – August 23, 2000) was an American actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she was a drum majorette at the University of Southern California. Woodworth appeared in the films '' Dance, Girl, Dance'', '' Road S ...

Grace Bradley Grace Bradley (September 21, 1913 – September 21, 2010) was an American film actress who was active in Hollywood during the 1930s. Early life Bradley was born in Brooklyn and was an only child. As a child, she took piano lessons and, by the ...

, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Florine McKinney and

Leonid Kinskey Leonid Kinskey (1893/1894 – September 8, 1998) was a Russian-born American film and television actor, best known for his role as "Sascha" in the film ''Casablanca'' (1942). His last name was sometimes spelled Kinsky. Life and career Kinskey ...

. The film was released on January 31, 1942, by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

. This was the first of the so-called Taxi Comedies series, which featured Bendix, Sawyer, and Bradley playing the same characters. The latter two films were '' The McGuerins from Brooklyn'' and ''

Taxi, Mister ''Taxi, Mister'' is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Kurt Neumann and written by Earle Snell and Clarence Marks. The film stars William Bendix, Grace Bradley, Joe Sawyer, Sheldon Leonard, Joe Devlin, Jack Norton, Frank Faylen, Mike Mazurk ...

''.

Plot

A couple of cab drivers, Tim McGuerin and Eddie Corbett, cope with the women in their lives. Tim's social-climbing wife Sadie has a secret, that she once worked as a stripper. Eddie's conniving sweetheart Mabel plans to use this information against Sadie when she becomes irritated by her. Tim and Eddie go fishing and catch a whopper—a beautiful woman. Lucy Gibbs turns out to be the winner of the "Brooklyn Orchid" beauty pageant, but rather than be pleased, she's actually making a suicide attempt over its adverse effect on her life. She now blames Tim and Eddie for spoiling her plans. The boys take their ladies to a health spa, but Lucy follows them and complicates matters. When a band strikes up, Mabel announces that Sadie is in the room and can do her "act". Lucy saves the day, pretending to be Sadie and hiding her secret. Sadie then cuts up Mabel's dress and tosses her into a swimming pool. Tim and Eddie decide not to go fishing again.

Cast

as Timothy 'Tim' McGuerin *

as Eddie Corbett *

as Lucy 'The Brooklyn Orchid' Gibbs *

as Sadie McGuerin * Richard "Skeets" Gallagher as Tommy Lyman Goodweek * Florine McKinney as Mabel Cooney *

as Ignatz Rachkowsky * Rex Evans as Sterling, McGuerin's Butler *

Jack Norton Jack Norton (born Mortimer John Naughton; September 2, 1882 – October 15, 1958) was an American stage and film character actor who appeared in more than 180 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a ...

as Jonathan McFeeder * Ray Walker as Orchestra Leader/Emcee

References

External links

* 1942 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Kurt Neumann United Artists films 1942 comedy films American comedy films Films scored by Edward Ward (composer) 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-comedy-film-stub